Big bad me

O'Loughlin offers up a gleeful gambol through paranormal pop culture in this energetic tale, which follows two indomitable sisters searching for their missing mother. Fifteen-year-old Evie Wilder, who's diabetic, feels that her life is perfect: she has the best, if overprotective, older sister in 17-year-old Kate, and their scientist mother's mysterious experiments and frequent research trips keep things interesting. But when the siblings learn that their mom disappeared during one of her work trips, everything starts to unravel, especially since Evie relies on her mom to administer her medication. After Evie is attacked by an unknown entity, she learns that she's not diabetic, but a lycanthrope, and she and Kate go on the run to their mother's last known location: a small Canadian town called Brightside. There, they meet Kevin, a 16-year-old local with secrets of his own, who helps them in their search. While the girls' characterizations often lean on familiar tropes, their kinetic alternating perspectives--brimming with fourth-wall-breaking asides and well-timed humor--propels this lively, Buffy-esque tale. Central characters read as white. Ages 14--up. (Apr.)

Sisters go searching for their missing mom and wind up in a small Canadian town where paranormal danger lurks. Evie is 15 when she learns she doesn't actually have an extremely rare form of diabetes. Her adoptive mom and sister, Kate, used that story as a cover to give her medication to suppress her paranormal side: She's actually a werewolf, just like her biological parents. When the sisters stop hearing from their mom during her travels, they head to Brightside, her last known whereabouts. Soon, they learn that in Brightside many people have gone missing or been murdered, and werewolves aren't the only supernatural beings out there. Evie's and Kate's conversational and quippy first-person narratives alternate in short chapters, often ending with cliffhangers. The characters are funny and charming, but there isn't a whole lot of depth or growth; the story is more focused on the exciting action and mystery than the characters' interiority. Still, both sisters get cute romance subplots (Evie's is featured more prominently), and their sisterly bond is endearing. The worldbuilding is simple but effective, and the writing style skews more toward the younger range of YA, but there's also a maturity to the story that is firmly intended for teens. Several pop-culture references, from Buffy the Vampire Slayer to Frozen, give nods to the book's inspirations. Characters are cued White; Kate is bisexual. Straightforward supernatural fun. (Paranormal. 13-16) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

There was a smash! Dr Sinéad Wilder had half-convinced herself she'd dreamt it, until Katie sat up beside her. 'Mommy? 'a' go bang?' 'Sssh.Nothing, Katie-pie. Go back to sleep.' Sinéad slid her hand under the pillow, reaching for the ... crap> ! Where was it? The stairs creaked. Sinéad tried not to panic. ' 'a' doing', Mommy?' 'Nothing, I'm not ... Everything's fine. Back to sleep, sweetheart. NOW!' All right, maybe she was panicking a little. Sinéad's fingers curled around the metal, but she didn't have time to feel relieved before the door burst open. Something stumbled in. Sinéad didn't wait to find out what. She yanked the gun out, fired - and missed.Which is good, because it was Robert. Just Robert. He wasn't OK. 'Madison's gone. The front door's smashed open. But she's been in the lab. There's bits of mice and blood -' 'Blood?' said Katie. (She was two, not deaf.) Sinéad was already up, snatching more darts off the nightstand. So when Katie reached out, she just scooped her up too. 'It's all right, Katie-pie. It's - it's an adventure. Hey,you want a sleepover with Debbie Next Door?' Katie nodded. Just as well, because she was not comingwith them. Sinéad wrapped Katie in one of Brendan's old sweaters and snuggled her close, inhaling her husband's scent mingled with their daughter's. 'Sinéad?' said Robert. 'You OK?' 'Me?' Sinéad jogged Katie onto her hip, forcing a smile. 'Always. Let's go.' * * * After Brendan's funeral, Debbie had said Sinéad could call in 'any time, for anything' - and if spur-of-the-moment 3am babysitting wasn't quite what she'd meant, you'd never have guessed from her smile as she took Katie, while Sinéad sped off with Robert in whatever-she-drove-back-then. Whatever it was, it suddenly felt way too small because Robert was getting very upset. Sinéad glanced at the dart gun in her lap. It was loaded, obviously, but could she drive, aim and fire all at once? Did it even matter? If things went that far, crashing would be theleast of her worries. 'It'll be grand.' Sinéad had to sound certain, because she wasn't. 'Just take a breath and use that - that thing. The buzzy connection you two have, yeah?' 'The thing,' said Robert. 'Right. Just - just relax. Think of Maddie, and - oh God - Bump!' 'Ah, Bump's fine,' Sinéad said. 'He's a scrapper.' 'She.' 'She?' 'You know, Maddie's convinced,' said Robert. 'She's been eyeing Katie's princess costumes for - oh! LEFT, NOW.' Well, that worked. Sinéad felt a split-second of relief, before fear kicked in. Because if Robert could feel Madison, that meant - 'She's close,' he said. 'Down there.' Down that dark creepy cul-de-sac? Of course she was .Sinéad tried not to shudder as she turned the wheel again. The headlights caught Madison immediately. Robert didn't even wait for the car to stop before jumping out. 'MADDIE!' Sinéad yanked the hand-brake and flung her own door open, tripping over the seatbelt as she scrambled out. She hit the ground awkwardly and tried not to think about thecrunch of her ankle. It could hurt later. Madison looked up from the body. Except, that's not quite right, because it wasn't Madison - and that was barely a body any more. But Not-Madison - the huge leathery beast with yellow eyes and glinty claws - looked up, licked blood off its snout, then turned to growl at Robert. 'Maddie,' he said, 'it's OK, babe. Just -' Not-Maddie pounced. Sinéad grabbed the gun. The monster slashed out, catching Robert in the chest and sending him flying. The crack of his skull against the brick wall turned Sinéad's stomach. But that wasn't the worst bit. Robert looked up. Or didn't. Because it wasn't Robert any more. His eyes flashed yellow. His muscles ripped through his shirt. His jaw stretched, his fangs lengthened - but that still wasn't the worst. The worst came when Not-Robert and Not-Maddie leapt, claws flailing as they ripped at each other. Not-Maddie's stomach was as swollen as actual Madison's these days. Little Bump was right there, in the middle of the fight, and if Not-Robert knew, it didn't care. It slashed down, right across that pregnant belly. 'NO!' Sinéad jumped up, ignoring the pain in her ankle. Her hands were shaking, her palms were slippy with sweatand she was a useless shot at the best of times. But this wasn't the best of times. So Sinéad fired. Excerpted from Big Bad Me by Aislinn O'Loughlin All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.