Savannah Grey

Fifteen-year-old Savannah has bounced around among foster parents all her life and is plagued by constant uneasiness (and, lately, a sore throat). When Savannah meets the mysterious Reece, she soon discovers that there's more to her—and to her throat—than she realized. Savannah has superhuman strength, speed, and healing abilities, but even more powerful is the bansheelike stream of sounds that project from strange growths in her throat, which click and "billow" of their own accord and lash out destructively when threatened. Savannah's first-person narration alternates with a third-person history of the monsters she has been designed to destroy. McLish (Angel) has his horror movie–ready details and twists down pat, but he's most interested in his monsters—the story's most complex and intriguing characters—from the Horror, gruesome yet childlike, to the Ocrassa, which has used the animal kingdom like a smorgasbord, picking useful traits to become the planet's most dominant creature. Savannah, Reece, and the other humans feel like exactly what they are: pawns in an eons-old battle, as nature itself attempts to root out the ultimate invasive species. Ages 12–up. (Apr.)