The Blessed

Hurley, creator of the ghostgirl series, launches a trilogy with a slow and muddled story based on the legends of martyred young saints. On Halloween, three very different girls end up in the same emergency room in Brooklyn: 16-year-old Agnes, who tried to kill herself after yet another failed romance; Cecelia, a rock musician who is struggling to hold her life together; and 17-year-old tabloid favorite Lucy, who overdosed in a club. Each is given a bracelet with a decorative charm that draws her to a decommissioned church and a boy named Sebastian who believes it is their destiny to join in a battle between good and evil. Hurley spends a significant amount of time on character development before letting the story get underway more than halfway through, yet her characters remain flat and unsympathetic. Despite an intriguing premise, fiery dialogue, and digs about celebrity-obsessed culture that moves at the speed of Twitter, the plot lacks clear direction, the pacing lags, and the verbose writing, while stylish, saps the story's energy. Ages 14%E2%80%93up. Agent: Andy McNichol, William Morris Endeavor. (Sept.)