Illusions

Aprilynne Pike
Pages 1-100
It's Laurel's Senior year in high school and she's in for a huge surprise. Tamani is a foreign exchange student that's now going to the same school as her, but not just for an education like everyone else. He's there to protect her from trolls and to make sure nothing horrible happens to her. Laurel is outraged, and she has every right to be. I mean, she has the capability to protect herself, so why does she always have to have a sentry attached to her side to make sure she won't get into serious danger? It makes no sense. Why don't the faeries from Avalon let her learn how to connect with her own powers (which includes creating potions, elixers and even powders)? Besides for Tamani, there's another faerie pretending to be a foreign exchange student. Her name is Yuki, and for some reason she's traveling with the huntress Klea. Although, when your a talented and uncontainable mythological creature, why would you let someone control you? Because at any point she (Yuki) could run away from Klea, and Klea wouldn't be able to do anything about it. Also, Laurel decided to choose David over Tamani, and in the last book, she had to tell Tamani that she doesn't love him (even though she does) and that she never wants to see him again. When she goes to the woods which is where the gate to Avalon is located at and catches Tamani talking to another sentry, she confesses the truth which is that she missed him and felt guilty about the last time they met. This proves that Laurel is torn between Tamani and David, and that it's hard for her to decide who she should really be with. Later on, Tamani and Laurel make the plan to go to Avalon so they can talk to the Winter faerie Jamani about their suspicions of Yuki being a faerie and what they should do if she is; but at first Shar who's garding the gate says he won't let them. Laurel is not very patient so she demands Shar to step aside for her, and he has to since the rank of a Fall faerie is higher then a Spring faerie's. This is ridicolus becuase why does the season a faerie is born in automatically mean that they're either less or more dominant another? In reality, for all creatures, someones rank should be decided by something significant they did. P: This fits into American History because americans have had to deal with people who were a possible threat and could do some heavy damage "Laurel, if she's a Winter faerie, our lives are at huge risk" symbolizes Yuki's power to make people fear her because they're not sure of her true identity. E: A moral concern is that Tamani is willing to risk his life for anyone if they're considered a higher rank being "It's just how Avalon is Laurel, it's custom" symbolizes Tamani's loyalty to the ways of the faeries in Avalon. A: The theme is that something you don't expect to ever happen could very well happen "I wouldn't have ever expected that Tamani would go to my high school, even if it was to protect me" symbolizes Laurel's shock of Tamani's presence at her high school.

Aprilynne Pike
Pages 100-200
Tamani and Laurel really want to learn more about Yuki and so they make a plan where Tamani is going to try to "seduct" Yuki. This reminds me of a gold digger who tries to seduct a rich man or woman so they can get what they want, which is money, from them. Laurel after taking Yuki's shirt (she only had it because of a car accident they were in when a group of trolls smashed into their car which was driving back from a high school dance) decides to use the sap in a experiment which will find out what type of faerie she is. Before she starts the experiment, though, she invites Tamani over as a friend. In my opinion this is confusing and wrong of Laurel to do to Tamani because she knows that only makes him hopeful of them having a future together. If a person takes this into account, then how could Laurel be so mean? What's inside her that makes her so selfish? Laurel makes me sometimes imagine her as a player. Since a lot of time passed by, and Laurel was becoming frustrated that she wasn't getting any good observations from Yuki's sap, and she also mentioned that she actually needs to have a faerie's "blood" to do some serious investigations, Tamani bites his tongue and then gives the"faerie blood" from the cut on his tongue to Laurel. In this way, Tamani reminds me of an ultimate sacrificer who is willing to put his life on the line for people he loves; but since he knows that this won't (protecting Laurel even if it puts his body in danger) gurantee that Laurel will dump David and go to him, why does he so selflessly hurt himself? I would never do that, just because I'm not that selfless. Later on Laurel and Chelsea hang out at Chelsea's house and talk about colleges and their SAT scores. While doing so, Chelsea talks about registering for Harvard and other high ranked colleges. Finally she breaks down though because her boyfriend Ryan, hasn't registered for any of the same colleges she wants to go to. This is so dramatic to Chelsea because she visualized her and Ryan having a future together; but if they're not going to see eachother for years, what's the point in dating Ryan anymore? By Chelsea being so attached to Ryan she reminds me of a very needy female who is unstable about being on her own; but in history there are plenty of woman who were strong and independent, so I have no doubt that Chelsea, a very smart girl, will be able to survive without Ryan. P: This fits into American History because at one point woman depended on dating men so they wouldn't have to worry about what they were going to do in their life "I don't know what I'm going to without him Laurel. My life basically revolves around him" proves this and symbolizes Chelsea's weakness in standing up for herself. E: There are serious moral concerns in these pages of the book. And that's Tamani willing to hurt himself (which includes making himself bleed) for no good reason "If it means you finding out the information you need to, making myself bleed is no big deal" proves this and symbolizes Tamani's inresponbility in protecting himself. A: The theme is that people can shock other people by showing what they're willing to do "What are you doing? Did you seriously bite your tongue?" proves this and symbolizes Laurel's shock that Tamani would actually inflect physical harm to himself.

Aprilynne Pike
200-375
During school, Tamani and David fight over who should have Laurel as their girlfriend in the hallways. This reminds me of two roosters who fight to the death so that a specific hen can be their mate. The principel catches this, which is predictable, and gives Tamani and David detention; and the interesting thing is that while they're in detention, David has to tutor Tamani. Why would the principel do this? It's completely crazy. If a person puts two people in the same room that hate eachother, they know that they're going to want to seriously beat up one another. After winterbreak, Laurel realizes that the Winter formal dance is coming up. And even though she broke up with David, she can't imagine going to any school dances without him. So, as friends, she invites him to go to the dance, and Tamani too who's going to bring Yuki because he needs to find out more information about her. By doing this action, it symbolizes that Laurel is emotionally connected to both Tamani and David. Later, all suddenly when they all go to the dance, Tamani sees some pollen on his hand, and since it's Winter, he now knows that Yuki is a Winter faerie. As every faerie knows though, this is extremely dangerous and if whoever's not careful, a Winter faerie can kill them. Personally, if for some reason I was put in this situation, I would stop my friendship with the dangerous person as soon as possible; but be careful at same time so they don't hurt me. Finally at the end of the book, sentrie faeries along with David and Chelsea trap Yuki, and cut the back of her dress to reveal her blossom, which indeed is a Winter blossom. P: This fits into American History because at a point people here were in complete fear of being attacked during the cold war, and sort of like that, Tamani and the rest of the characters live in fear of Yuki doing something horrible to them. "If she's really a Winter faerie, our lives are at high risk" symbolizes that Yuki has the power to put pure fear into other faerie's hearts. E: It's does bring up Moral concerns which is that Tamani is still willing to hang out with Yuki even though she could kill him as soon as she gets tempermental. A: The theme is that you must keep your friends close, and your enemies closer. "I need to stay close to Yuki just in case she could be a threat to us" symbolizes that Tamani is worried the most about keeping a strong relationships with his enemies.

Aprilynne Pike
Bookreview
I'd rate this book an 8 out of 10 because the genres it combined were pretty good together; those genres being comedy, romance, and violence. An example of these genres put together is when Tamani becomes worried that he accidently pollinated on Yuki; a faerie he learns is from the Winter season, and gets worried, which is funny because he had no idea that his pollen would be running, romantic because the pollen combined with Yuki's egg would make a "seedling", but violent because, realizing that she's a Winter faerie, means that he's in grave danger. Main events that happened throughout this book is Tamani going to Laurel's school to protect her from trolls, and also because he wants a better chance of stealing Laurel; who, even though she denys it, has feelings for him. "After nearly a year she had almost gotten used to the ache she felt in her chest every time she thought about him" symbolizes Laurel's emotions that she keeps deep down and hidden about Tamani. In the beginning, just as Tamani's joining Del Norte High, Laurel and Tamani find out there's another faerie who's inside their school. Her name is Yuki, and she's an exchange student from Japan. And since they're suspicous that Yuki's making an evil plan to possibly bring them down, all because she lives with Klea, the "troll huntress" they decide to try be friends with her; which they're eventually hoping will get her to spill any useful information. Lastly, one more significant event that happened is when Tamani and other faerie sentries trap Yuki in a circle of deadly powder made by a Fall faerie (Laurel in this case), tie her to a chair, and Chelsea, who tagged along, cuts open the back of her dress revealing a poinsettia. Afterwards, all the faeries stare in horror, because it means that all their lives are at risk. "Goddess help us all" proves that Yuki plays a enormous role in their fear. Personally, I don't get why a single faerie can put that much fear into another faerie. Wouldn't you think a team of faeries joining together against one faerie, even though that faerie's from a powerful season, possess a higher threat? In this way, it reminds me of Jacob Black from the Twilight Saga, a character who decided to step down from his position as alfa in his father's wolf pack; despite that he has eveything necessary to dominant, like any other alfa.