Nayeri, Daniel and Dina Another Faust, 387 p. Candlewick, 2009. Content: G (creepy, but safe). Five years ago, five ten-year olds were given a choice. Now, they are in New York as teens, with their m…

[Cindy Mitchell]

Nayeri, Daniel and Dina Another Faust, 387 p. Candlewick, 2009. Content: G (creepy, but safe). Five years ago, five ten-year olds were given a choice. Now, they are in New York as teens, with their mysterious governess, Madame Viceroy, prepared to become the top of the heap at an ultra-exclusive prep school. Victoria, Valentin, Belle, Bice and Christian Faust (yes, Faust) each have special powers, which can wither help or hinder their climb to the top and who cares whether it is a fellow classmate or a sibling who gets in their way? Not these five. What a clever premise and what a disaster of a telling. I had to drag my way through the first 300 pages to finally get to the writing that grabbed my attention. While the cover is fabulous, that is really the best part of the book. It was just sad watching these five teens fall apart and get used over and over by their “governess”. Anyone want to guess who she really is? NO. Reviewer: Cindy, Library-Teacher