ANOTHER FAUST
By Daniel and Dina Nayeri
2009
Candlewick Press
387 Pages
From Inside Cover:
On a single night, five children suddenly vanish from their homes in Paris, Glasgow, Rome and London. Years later, five enigmatic teenagers make an impressive entrance at an exclusive New Your holiday party with their strange but beautiful governess, Madame Vileroy. Rumor and intrigue follow the Faust children to the elite Manhattan Marlowe School, where their very presence brings unexplainable misfortune.
Using "gifts" given to them by Madam Vileroy, these mysterious teenagers rise to suspicious heights at Marlowe. Though at first their abilities seem almost childlike in their simplicity, they soon learn that their new found talents for cheating, stealing, hiding, and lying are far more potent than they ever imagined-and far more additive.
Ignoring the side effects of pursuing their individual obsessions, bargaining with the very devil in their midst as they claw their way to the top, these five ambitious teens draw ever nearer to their goals...until two of them uncover a secret even more shocking then their own unforgivable sins. Dialing up the ancient dilemma of indulgence versus redemption, this modern day retelling of the Faustian bargain story, set in twenty-first-century Manhattan, provides a look into the cutthroat world of high-school competition that is both bitingly funny and scorchingly wicked.
My thoughts:
This story is a modern telling of Faust and the devil. First, I think it's important to know who Faust is-it explains the story line a little better. Faust was a magician and alchemist in German legend who sold his soul to the devil in exchange for power and knowledge.
Another Faust is about five kids who wished to be rich beyond all imagination, beautiful above all others and more powerful than anyone else. They wanted it so bad they were willing to do anything-even sell their souls to the devil for all eternity. But the devil doesn't give gifts for free, what you wish for always comes for a price.
Manhattan Marlowe School, a deluxe private school for the very wealthy is the setting for this tale. These new power hungry kids will stop at nothing to claw their way to the top. Some of their tricks include mind reading, stopping time, and erasing the past. Marlowe School has no idea what it's in for nor the havoc that these new students will bring to it's halls. This is a dark page turner full of twists and turns, belt yourself in a prepare for one hell of a ride!
I look forward to the next book in the series called Another Pan. I plan to do a special giveaway for Another Pan ARCS in the near future! Check back for that.
Special thanks goes to Candlewick Press for this book which will now be donated to the Salmon Public Library. I recommend this book for reader 12 and up.
