Miss Mayhem by Rachel Hawkins (review)

Abstract

Reviewed by: Miss Mayhem by Rachel Hawkins Karen Coats Hawkins, Rachel Miss Mayhem. Putnam, 2015 [288p] ISBN 978-0-399-25694-3 $17.99 Reviewed from galleys Ad Gr. 7-10 Since the disastrous shake-up at Cotillion (in Rebel Belle, 4/14), Harper and her ex-boyfriend, Ryan, have been using their newly acquired powers to protect Harper’s new boyfriend, David, who turned out to be a very powerful Oracle. They had been [End Page 495] warned that the Ephors, a group of über-baddies, would try to either kill David or co-opt his gift, but what really scared Harper was how David’s oracular visions seemed to be killing him on their own, so she and Ryan have been dampening his powers. An Ephor summons David and Harper to a meeting, telling Harper that she must submit to a series of tests to hone her ability to protect David. The Ephor returns Harper’s best friend, Bee, who disappeared at Cotillion, to them, indicating that if Harper fails her tests, she will die and Bee will take over, a circumstance neither wants. In fact, what they all want is for things to return to normal, but they have different ideas about how to make that happen. Harper’s controlling tendencies, as well as her faith in politeness as the most formidable weapon in a Southern lady’s arsenal, are tempered here, perhaps by her new relationship with David; it seems that with him as a kissing rather than sparring partner, her repartee is not as sharp. Additionally, more of the plot is taken up in relationship roulette than in deepening the supernatural angle, making the ending anticlimactic at best. Still, while not as full of snappy wit and winking Southern ironies as the first book, fans of Harper, David, Ryan, and Bee will want to know what happened after the after of the first book. Copyright © 2015 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois