#25--Redemption by Veronique Launier

There are often themes in young adult literature that come and go....currently we are in a werewolf/vampire stage (one that I personally hope goes "softly into that good night").  I recently came across two books that had gargoyles as their central characters...today's read and a title I can't bring to mind as I type this, but am hoping it comes to me.  Gargoyles are fascinating to me ever since I first saw Disney's Beauty and the Beast (and possibly even before that).  The intricate carvings builders used to include in their work, including gargoyles, are amazing, and the fact that they are still around, hundreds of years later, is even more amazing.  (We Americans are often suprised when a building or other artifact is still around at 200 years, when people in many other parts of the world think of anything 200 years old as just a teenager!)  Thanks to my quick research (go wikipedia!) I discovered that gargoyles were originally used as a way to divert water (think modern-day downspouting), and have been connected to Ancient Egypt and Ancient Greece, including the Temple of Zeus. 

One of the first things that grabbed my attention with this book was its cover:

Today's story opens with Guillaume, a gargoyle (but you don't know he is one yet), observing people going about their business in the streets below him.  While taking in his surroundings, he notices a girl, by herself, and looking aprehensive....with good reason....three men approach her in a meanacing fashion, but there is nothing Guillaume can do to help her from his perch on top the former church.  It is obvious to him that these men mean to do her harm.  Suddenly he hears distant drumming and chanting in a language he learned long ago, the Mohawk language.  The chanting, coming from the girl, sparks something in Guillaume and his three other family members, and stones from the top of the building begin to fall to earth, as do some dead pigeons.  The men take off, and so does the girl.  Guillaume, awakened from decades in stone must find this girl to discover how she was able to awaken him and his family.

Aude (pronounced Ode) is freaked out about what happened at the old church.  She is convinced that she is losing her mind.  Then this good-looking guy keeps popping up places and asking her questions that don't make sense.  All she wants is to focus her time and energy into the band she and her friends Lucy and Trick have, Lucid Pill.  Aude is the guitarist and singer, and writes a number of their songs as well.  Lucy and Trick are really her only friends, and now that Lucy and Trick have started dating, Aude worries that Lucid Pill isn't long for this world.

Guillaume quickly finds ways to run into Aude and they become wary friends.  They discover they both have a love for music....at the beginning of his life (in the middle of the thirteenth century) he studied organ at the Notre Dame in Paris and was considered to be a prodigy even then--imagine what 800 years of practice would do to improve on that!  They eventually discover that Aude has the ability to transfer essence (or life), which is what the gargoyles need in order to continue to appear human.

After further sleuthing by Guillaume, Aude, Guillaume's family, and a Mohawk shaman, it is believed that Aude may be the key to an ancient prophecy about the end of the world.  There are clues all around that the prophecy has already been set in motion, but will Aude, Guillaume and the others be able to stop it before all of Montreal, and even the world, is destroyed?

The author includes details in her story from the French legend of La Gargouille, including the form that Guillaume takes when he is at his most powerful, which made it all the more fascinating for me.  The narration alternates between Aude and Guillaume, which gives the story a little extra something, and keeps you on the edge of your seat because you don't always know the whole story until the author is ready to share it with you.

There's much more to this story, but I don't want to give too much away. 

I really enjoyed this story.  There were a few times when I believe the timeline may have been off slightly, but that also could be due to the fact that you don't find out how Guillaume and his family became gargoyles until more than halfway through the book.

This title is already in my wish list to be purchased for school for next year!  Can't wait to tell my students about this one!!  The ending leaves it open for a sequel, which I'm really hoping happens, and soon!

Disclaimer: I was provided with an advanced copy of this book for my kindle by the publisher.  All opinions are 100% mine.

This book will be available for purchase on September 8, 2012, but can currently be pre-ordered.

Happy Reading!!