Vendetta

Sophie Gracewell has been trying to hold herself and her family together ever since her father was sent to jail for murdering a man at their diner. When the mysterious Falcone family moves into the supposedly haunted mansion in her Chicago neighborhood, Sophie and her best friend Millie are thrilled%E2%80%94now there are five new beautiful boys to ogle. Sophie quickly falls for Nicoli Falcone, even as she learns his family is bad news. Even more upsetting, Nic%E2%80%99s brothers forbid him from seeing Sophie because she%E2%80%99s a Gracewell. It isn%E2%80%99t long before Sophie realizes that the rift between the Gracewells and Falcones is wrapped up in why her father is in jail. With its families at war and star-crossed lovers caught in the middle, Doyle%E2%80%99s YA debut reads like a modern twist on Romeo and Juliet by way of The Sopranos. However, the use of an attempted sexual assault as a plot device to build romantic tension between Nic and Sophie detracts from this violent romantic mystery. Ages 14%E2%80%93up. Agent: Claire Wilson, Rogers, Coleridge & White. (Feb.)