This is where I pull you aside for the disclaimer. If you’re into urban dystopia with a good mixture of urban fantasy, this is a series you’ll want to start. The story flows smoothly, and Shoemaker delivers a helluva punch at the end. For me, because I’m not a big YA reader, the amount of teenaged boyfriend angst was a bit much, but the writing is crisp, concise, and comely. Mark of Four is a quick read, though unfulfilling in the sense that when you reach the end you’re left wanting more. And this from a person (me) who previously thought Tolkein and Anne McCafferty were the be-all for dragon-writing. Earlier this year saw the debut of book one of a different series by her, Kindle the Flame, which has, wait for it, dragons. That’s a quick and dirty outline of the very complex Mark of Four, book one of the Guardian of the Vale series by Tamara Shoemaker. There’s a hunt for a mysterious object (or person?) called the Vale, a bad guy who makes you believe Voldemort is back and worse than ever, and a young woman experiencing all the usual struggles with her parents but has them amplified because of her burgeoning ability with the elements. It’s rare that a person can manipulate all four equally, so rare, in fact, the person who can do that is marked for death.

Scientific progress has shown us the elements now number more than one hundred, but what if (oh, that favorite prompt for a writer) in a future dystopia the manipulation of earth, air, fire, and water are so important the government sends adolescents to special schools to hone their skills?Ī teen, or Elemental, usually exhibits a talent for one of the four elements but can be taught to manipulate them all, though not to the same degree as their primary element. Any student of ancient history knows science in its earliest iteration posited that everything around us was made of earth, air, fire, and water.

Vivir el Dream by Allison K. Garcia