The Turning

Lisa Arsenault is a high-school English teacher who is involved in
several ministry campaigns to increase literacy.

Ben, already angry that his mother has died and he has to live with his
father, who hasn’t seen him since he was two, is becoming even more
upset at having to leave his life in Canada and move to England.

When strange things begin to happen almost at once, Ben soon realizes
that they are supernatural, of another world. What is happening is that
the order of the natural world is being adversely affected by the young
prince of the fairies who has supplanted his father, the rightful king.
The upstart drains the life force from humans to increase his powers.
Ben joins forces with Green Man, a hob, dwarflike creature, who is an
ancient protector of trees. Together they combat the growing evil and
halt the unnatural contact between fey and human.

This is a wonderful novel that combines myth and reality seamlessly. It
has obviously been meticulously researched. The fairies are not the
prettified, benign creatures of Disney; rather, they resonate with the
cold otherworldliness and potential for danger of their original
incarnations. The juxtaposition of the very young and modern
(16-year-old Ben in a contemporary high school) with the very old and
traditional (the primitive natural world populated with creatures who
long predate humans) creates an edgy contrast. The first lines of the
story establish the conflict that will erupt—“Fight! Fight!
Fight!”—and at the end, an act of brutality brings the plot full
circle. Again, the latent menace and alienation of the old order
prevails: all ends are not tied up in a sterilized, sanitized,
happily-ever-after package. Add to the paranormal conflict the more
ordinary, prosaic antipathy between Ben and his father and the result is
a gripping novel, enlivened with mythical creatures. Highly recommended.