Prophecy of the Sisters

I saw this book by Michelle Zink at Barnes and Noble when it first came out in August. I was intrigued by the story but wanted to wait until it came out in paperback as there are only so many hardbacks I can afford! (Why oh why do they make them so expensive?) However, when I went to the store the other day to get a specific book and discovered they didn't have it, I picked this up instead. I was surprised to find it sitting in the Young Adult section of the store. The cover of the book didn't scream YA to me, especially since most of the stuff being put out in the YA section lately is pure manure (Twilight anyone).

From the author's website (as I gave the book to my sister and can't give you the cover's blurb):

An ancient prophecy divides two sisters.
One good.
One evil.
Only one will prevail…

Twin sisters Lia and Alice Milthorpe have just become orphans. They have also become fierce enemies. As they discover their roles in a prophecy that has turned generations of sisters against each other, the girls find themselves entangled in an age-old battle that could have consequences of biblical proportions.

Lia and Alice don't know whom they can trust. They just know they can't trust each other.

The storyline itself is not something especially new but I was interested anyway by the book cover and the idea that these sisters are simply pawns in a prophecy that they may or may not even be aware of. Another surprise for me was the time period. I didn't expect a Victorian era setting from the blurb or the cover. When you're expecting modern and get Victorian that can be a bit of a jolt but it works for this book. I don't think a story like this could be told with the modern conveniences of Google. It would be way too easy to side step some fairly important discoveries. Also, the most interesting character in the book, Sonia, is a spiritualist. Spiritualists were a big thing in the Victorian era. People were in love with the idea of spiritualists and they were pretty much a dime a dozen (and mostly frauds). Sonia is not a fraud and she leads Lia through her strange and developing abilities.

For the most part I adored this book. I thought the writing was beautifully done and succinct. Except for one part where I felt Zink took too long letting her characters catch up with what the reader knew for awhile (i.e. the mystery of the Keys - that I am not revealing here), she doesn't talk down to her audience. Too often that is what happens in books written for children and young adults. The adults writing them forget that young people are not stupid (ah-hem, Meyer) and don't need to be led by the hand to understand a plot line. Zink wrote as one might for any mature audience, which makes me glad I found this book and anxious for the next one.