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I’ve been on such a major Scott Westerfeld kick for most of this year that not only am I reading everything of his I can get my hands on, I’m subscribed to the Westerblog and I read some of the other young adult books he talks up there, too. Here’s one:

Diana Peterfreund’s debut novel Secret Society Girl wasn’t quite what I was expecting. I knew going in that it involved a very thinly-disguised Yale and a secret society clearly modeled on Skull & Bones. I didn’t expect it to involve anything supernatural per se, but partly because it was commended to my attention by a (mostly) Sci-Fi writer, and partly because of certain events in the book itself, I expected it to be somewhat less naturalistic and more conspiracy-oriented — a little more “Secret” and a little less “Society.”

Secret Society Girl had two major problems. I’m going to try to side-step spoilers in discussing them. The first is that that future events are often obvious to the reader long before they happen to protagonist Amy Haskel. In fact, one of the revelations planned for the next book (Secret Society Girl is plainly set up as a first-in-series) is telegraphed so thoroughly that’s hard to imagine that even Haskel will really be surprised when the penny drops. That has the side effect of making the book’s first third or so feel a bit sluggish, because it’s devoid of any real suspense.

Things improve considerably when the protagonist’s primary obstacle is finally introduced. The novel turns unabashedly feminist without being the least bit didactic. Unfortunately the dénoument is a bit of a letdown — a little too deus ex machina.

To balance my criticisms, I should point out that Peterfreund has a good handle on her authorial voice, a nice gimmick for chapter headings (each one starts with “I confess: . . .”) and the requisite ear for natural-feeling dialogue. There’s one sequence that struck me as jarringly over-written, but only one. And it wouldn’t surprise me a bit if Secret Society Girl gets optioned for film, or even made into one, in which case I can stop feeling guilty for lobbing a few pebbles at it.

Needs More Demons? Definitely, even if they’re not exactly literal. Haskel deserves more significant adversity to triumph over next time.

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