Portia's life in the Midwest of the 1930's is not all she would like. First, her mother dies, then her extended family of gypsies leaves, and finally, her father abandons her to the care of Aunt Sophia. But Aunt Sophia doesn't know what to do with a girl whose heart is full of mischief and whose head is full of stories.
Once Aunt Sophia has had enough, she sends Portia to McGreavey's Home for Wayward Girls. Here Portia is subjected to a life of misery and fear. She hates this new life and wonders how her father will ever find her. The one thing she remembers about Max is that he loved the circus, so when a circus comes to town, Portia decides to make her escape and begin looking for her father.
The Wonder Show is a strange collection of people with physical oddities. They aren't like the marvels who look normal but can perform amazing feats. No, the freaks include a bearded lady, conjoined twins, a giant, and a little person among others. Portia's search for her family continues as she becomes a part of the circus herself.
Take everything you know about the witch trials and hunts of the past, and apply it to the modern world. Burn Mark is set in a modern day London where the Inquisition hunts, monitors, and sometimes burns witches.
Glory has been waiting for her fae all her life. She is part of the Cooper Street Coven, a gang of petty criminals led by her great aunt Angelina. Angelina isn't a powerful witch, but she reminds Cooper Street that they are the legacy of her powerful twin sisters, the Starlings, who lived a glamorous life fueled by witchcraft and crime. Now the Starling twins are long dead, and Cooper Street is nothing but a small piece of Charlie Morgan's empire.
Lucas's father is the chief prosecutor of the Inquisition. It has been his life's work to identify and bridle witches as well as prosecute those who live outside the law. Lucas is destined to follow in his father's footsteps. His future is assured until the unthinkable happens. Lucas develops fae powers. Fae does run in families, but it is unpredictable, and even a kid like Lucas with a certified witch-free pedigree can turn fae.
All of Lucas's hopes and plans are now destroyed, but he can still protect his country. He goes undercover to find the witches responsible for a string of violent attacks and becomes an unlikely member of the Cooper Street Coven where Angelina has her own reasons to spy on her own family. Now Glory and Lucas have formed a strange alliance that makes them uniquely able to uncover the truth, but will they be in time to save witchkind, the nation, and themselves.
I really liked the concept for Laura Powell's new book. It gets off to a slow start, but there are plenty of twists and turns at the end! I wanted this book to be really great, but I ended up disappointed; however, several students have read and enjoyed it, so you'll just have to read it and draw your own conclusions. :)
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