"The Darling Rebels" by Siobhan Nichols is a very different sort of YA novel than others released in Fall 2009. There are no vampires. There are no angels -- fallen, rebel, or otherwise, despite the title! -- and there are no denizens of the sea. There are, however, Charlotte, Jack, Adam, and Lucy, and they make enough magic of their own to render any outside help unnecessary.

Charlotte Abrams is a girl ahead of her time, both in her maturity when faced with adversity and in More...