The Shadow and the Rose

by Amanda DeWees

Overview

"A satisfying supernatural YA tale that effectively mixes high school, magic and mystery." --Kirkus Reviews

Book one of the Ash Grove Chronicles. In the breathtaking Blue Ridge Mountains, Ash Grove High School for the Performing Arts draws the brightest and most talented teens. But beneath the peaceful surface, supernatural forces are at work...

When ordinary high-school junior Joy Sumner visits a graveyard at midnight on a dare, she doesn't expect to end up sharing a kiss with brooding teen model Tanner Lindsey. And she definitely doesn't expect to make an enemy of Tanner's seductive, sinister mentor, the ageless supermodel Melisande--who may not be entirely human--or to find that her sleepy little corner of North Carolina is buzzing with supernatural energy.

But most unexpected of all is when Joy finds out that she's pregnant. And when Tanner's love for her puts his life in danger, will she be able to rescue him--and save their future together?

Age level: 15 and up

A word from the author: As both a writer and a reader, I've always been drawn to stories in which the heroine rescues the hero, instead of the other way around. In The Shadow and the Rose, the main character, Joy, thinks of herself as ordinary and certainly not a heroine. But when she falls in love with teen model Tanner Lindsey, she finds that she has reserves of strength she never suspected. A loner from a toxic home, Tanner has never been loved before--not even by the beautiful (and much older) woman he's entangled with now--so he doesn't believe he's worth fighting for. But we and Joy know otherwise.

My inspiration for The Shadow and the Rose was a centuries-old Scottish ballad called "Tam Lin," about a handsome knight who is kidnapped by the queen of the fae and rescued by a brave mortal girl who has fallen in love with him. To me, the Tam Lin story is about having faith in the person you love even when they show you unattractive, even scary sides of themselves... and even when your rival is a supernatural temptress!

Product Details

BN ID:	2940045051569
Publisher:	Amanda DeWees
Publication date:	10/29/2012
Series:	The Ash Grove Chronicles , #1
Sold by:	Smashwords
Format:	NOOK Book
Sales rank:	140,350
File size:	559 KB

About the Author

Amanda DeWees received her PhD in English literature from the University of Georgia and likes to startle people by announcing that her dissertation topic was vampire literature. Amanda's books include the widely praised historical gothic romance "Sea of Secrets," a finalist in the 2013 Maggie Award for Excellence historical category, and the Ash Grove Chronicles, a captivating young adult "paranormal lite" romance series set in modern-day North Carolina. Besides writing, Amanda's passions include theater, classic film, Ioan Gruffudd, costume design, and the preservation of apostrophes in their natural habitat. Visit her at www.amandadewees.com to explore book extras and more delightful diversions.

Editorial Reviews

Teenagers in love battle a supernatural villain in this debut young-adult novel. Joy Sumner is an unassuming music student at Ash Grove, a prestigious performing-arts boarding school in North Carolina. Her father is undergoing chemotherapy for cancer, so Joy spends her time in the company of her loyal, plucky friends. When they overhear someone teasing a new student about the school's haunted graveyard, Joy bravely offers to put the myth to the test. She enters the graveyard at midnight and is surprised to find she's not alone: Tanner Lindsey, a handsome Ash Grove dropout, is brooding there--and he and Joy soon share a dramatic kiss. Joy's daring graveyard jaunt is overshadowed the next day by news of Melisande, a popular supermodel, arriving in Ash Grove with plans to recruit students as models. Joy is startled to find Tanner among Melisande's entourage, scantily clad and apparently drowsy with lust for his mentor. He's known now as Tristan, and he dismisses Joy, causing Joy's friends to grow suspicious. Tristan appears on Ash Grove's campus the next day, whisking Joy away and revealing how he went from being Tanner, a neglected musician, to Tristan, Melisande's most promising protégé. Although Joy is concerned about Melisande's mysterious power over Tristan, she continues their romance in secret until Melisande and her followers, including Tristan, disappear. While slogging through the emotional fallout, Joy discovers she's pregnant. Not long after, she experiences a strange "time slip" on campus, and the school's adults inform her that Ash Grove's many myths may not be myths after all. Joined by her friends, Joy sets out to rescue Tanner from Melisande's dangerous spell. The author portrays Joy and her friends smart and easy to love--especially Maddie, her sarcastic and protective best friend (she describes Melisande's mansion as "the Ikea version" of architect Frank Lloyd Wright's Falling Water home.) Readers may wish for a more daring future for Joy, but her and Tanner's love is consistently believable. Their independence makes Ash Grove a realistic and engaging world, and its seclusion, fierce loyalties among friends, and compassionate adults are Hogwarts-like at times. A satisfying supernatural YA tale that effectively mixes high school, magic and mystery.

Kirkus Reviews