Dark Metropolis (Dark Metropolis Series #1)

by Jaclyn Dolamore

Overview

Sixteen-year-old Thea Holder's mother is cursed with a spell that's driving her mad, and whenever they touch, Thea is chilled by the magic, too. With no one else to contribute, Thea must make a living for both of them in a sinister city, where danger lurks and greed rules. Thea spends her nights waitressing at the decadent Telephone Club attending to the glitzy clientele. But when her best friend, Nan, vanishes, Thea is compelled to find her. She meets Freddy, a young, magnetic patron at the club, and he agrees to help her uncover the city's secrets—even while he hides secrets of his own. Together, they find a whole new side of the city. Unrest is brewing behind closed doors as whispers of a gruesome magic spread. And if they're not careful, the heartless masterminds behind the growing disappearances will be after them, too. Perfect for fans of Cassandra Clare, this is a chilling thriller with a touch of magic where the dead don't always seem to stay that way.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781423181002
Publisher:	Disney Press
Publication date:	06/17/2014
Series:	Freddy amp; monstrene , #1
Sold by:	DISNEY PUBLISHING WORLDWIDE -EBKS
Format:	eBook
File size:	3 MB
Age Range:	12 - 17 Years

About the Author

Jaclyn Dolamore (www.jaclyndolamore.com) spent her childhood reading as many books as she could lug home from the library and playing elaborate pretend games. She has a passion for history, thrift stores, vintage dresses, drawing, and local food. She lives with her partner, Dade, and three weird cats in a Victorian house in western Maryland.

Editorial Reviews

05/01/2014
Gr 7 Up—With her father missing and presumed dead and her mother becoming increasingly mentally unstable, 16-year-old Thea Holder must find work that will support the two of them. The waitressing job she finds at the Telephone Club introduces her to a mysterious boy, Freddy, and the sinister underworld with which he seems to be involved. When her best friend and co-worker, Nan, vanishes, the situation becomes increasingly perilous as Thea and Freddy discover that the city workers are literally dead men walking, kept alive through arcane magic. Reminiscent of Fritz Lang's 1927 sci-fi film Metropolis, this grim, pseudo magical world with hints of Jazz Age—esque features never completely comes together. Unfortunately, what could have been an interesting premise is marred by stilted dialogue and two-dimension paper doll—like characters. Two understated romances develop, including one between a zombie—turned—female photographer and an asexual fae teen who is willing to sacrifice herself for the cause. Teen readers would be better off reading Libba Bray's "Diviners" series (Little, Brown).—Jane Henriksen Baird, Anchorage Public Library, AK

School Library Journal

03/31/2014
Dolamore’s urban fantasy introduces a city loosely based on culturally vibrant, politically repressive interwar Europe and plants a dark secret at its heart. The setting feels generically European; revolutionaries meet at the “Café Rouge,” and crowds flock to the “Lampenlight on Saturday night.” But the diabolical plot that entangles Thea, a 16-year-old trying to make ends meet as her mother slides into insanity; her best friend, serious and purposeful Nan; and Freddy, a magician who can revive the dead, shows substantial originality. As Freddy interacts with Thea, he discovers that his guardians are misusing his powers to enslave the dead. Meanwhile, Nan finds herself among his victims, stripped of her memories. She fights to keep her promise to rescue fellow prisoner Sigi as they navigate their complicated relationship. Dolamore (Magic Under Stone) brings the elements of her complex storyline together with flair, and an extended climax provides closure and reveals new sides to the characters—heroes, villains, and those somewhere in between all have strong motives. Though a sequel is planned, this installment stands alone. Ages 12–up. Agent: Jennifer Laughran, Andrea Brown Literary Agency. (June)

Publishers Weekly

"Dolamore (Magic Under Stone) brings the elements of her complex storyline together with flair."—Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

2014-03-12
A decadent populace, a totalitarian state and a plague of vanishing people bring three young people into the heart of an anti-government plot. Thea just wants to keep her job at the Telephone Club, serving the wealthy glitterati. Her mother's losing her reason to bound-sickness, weakened by magically enhanced grief from the destruction of her illegal marriage bond to Thea's missing-in-action father. These days, it's all Thea can do to keep the two of them alive. Freddy is one of those wealthy Telephone Club patrons. By night, he woos Thea, who fascinates him; by day, he brings corpses back to life at the request of his guardians. Nan was once a Telephone Club waitress herself, but now, she's awakened—her memory magically damaged—surrounded by gray, unhappy laborers who insist she's dead. This postwar, Jazz Age–inflected, slightly steampunk magical world is revealed through the eyes of these three teens as they try to save all their world's victims, even those long since doomed. It's not clear why this government is so wicked—it feels as though the villains' dastardly behavior is more a matter of convenience than conviction. Whatever the cause, what can comic-book evil do in the face of three adolescent protagonists? There's a possibility of sequels in the chaotic, untidy conclusion. There's enough original worldbuilding in this comfortably familiar dystopian fantasy to keep readers going despite the gaps. (Fantasy. 12-15)

Kirkus Reviews