Nightfall

Halpern and Kujawinski (coauthors of the Dormia series) have created an intriguing but implausible world for this dark story. After 14 years of Day, Night descends on the island of Bliss. Meanwhile, the receding tide exposes a statue bearing the ominous words, "The houses must be without stain." As is traditional when Night approaches, the islanders prepare to flee to the Desert Lands (where, somehow, Day and Night alternate in three-day shifts) until Bliss's sun returns. When adolescent Marin and her twin brother, Kana, leave the ships to look for her best friend, Line, they become stranded on the island to face the Night: the cold, the dark, strange animals that hide by Day, and the terrifying original inhabitants of Bliss. The extremity of the world and premise requires significant suspension of disbelief (including how "years" are measured on such a planet and why anyone would settle somewhere they must abandon for 14-year spans with other options available). But the authors' lovely wordsmithing, especially in the descriptions of falling night and the rituals of departure, compensate for these and other implausibilities. Ages 12%E2%80%93up. Agent: Tina Bennett, William Morris Endeavor. (Sept.)