Oddly I have just read the third book in a row that includes characters who are druids (or influenced by druids). One can almost understand the evil cheerleader trend I wrote about a few weeks ago, but being knee deep in druids is rather unexpected. Here's the rundown:

Girlwood by Claire Dean. I'm still not sure exactly what sort of book this one is exactly (if one has to categorize it at all) although I'm leaning towards coming-of-age with heavy environmental overtones. It is ages 12 & up so more MG than YA, and follows what happens in Polly's life after her older sister Bree runs away. Bree has been on a drugs and danger path for awhile so it's not a huge surprise when she runs away but still upsetting to her family. Polly, whose grandmother is the local eccentric/herb woman, (I kept thinking of the aunts in Practical Magic) becomes convinced that Bree is hiding out in the local woods. As it turns out those woods are threatened by developers who Polly hates (of course). She begins leaving things for Bree in the woods (food, clothing) and she and her friends also become quite attached to a certain glade (the "girlwood" of the title). And then lots of bad developer things happen but Polly kind of gets a boyfriend and there is a happy ending.

There is a hint of fantasy here - her grandmother really loves the trees (thus the druid talk) and seems born of the trees or something. Polly can see people's auras and she has visions of fairies - maybe. I don't think there is enough fantasy to term this book a fantasy however, it's just too subtle. It's more a girl power title (although again we have evil rich girl - in this case the daughter of the developer who is, of course, Polly's classmate). A pleasant read but seemed to shy away from taking bold steps in any one direction. (And was bit heavy handed on artsy people = good, finance driven folks = bad.)

Will Peterson's Triskellion is about twins Rachel and Adam who are sent to their maternal grandmother's distant English village for the summer as their parents continue their blistering break-up. The village is bizarre from the get-go, as in very creepy episode of The Avengers weird and grandma is pretty happy to see them (very happy at first) but also sorta weird. And then it just gets major scary strange and the kids find themselves joining up with another teen who seems able to communicate telepathically, disappear at will and is on a mission that requires their help. There's an archeology bend to the story as a national tv program gets involved digging up an ancient crop circle type thing in the village and the kids try to sort out the mystery at the local church which ties into the dig. Lots of thrills and chills, lots of bad guys, lots of not knowing who to trust and a bunch of absolutely crazy "green men" who are all druid wannabes in the forest and spend their time abusing and/or nearly killing villagers.

But that's just another day in the lovely ville of Triskellion.

This is an adventure that is close to being quite good - but there were too many loose ends; too many aspects of the story that I just had to accept. One thing that bothered me is the divorcing parents. At one point Adam bursts out that their father is leaving the family for a younger woman and that's why they have nothing to do with him. While the book is not about the divorce, dropping it in there and offering these hints that the father is all evil and the mother all sympathetic but apparently they used to be a happy family just raises questions. Peterson should have just killed the father off before the book began and sent the kid's to grandma's while mom organized life post-dad. That would have taken care of this orphaned subplot.

There's also some mystery with bees - what do the bees have to do with all this? Why are the bees helpful? And while you kind of know who the mystery teen is at the end, you don't really. And why does Rachel get convenient visions? And why must the villains be so obvious? And why must one guy who seems to be a three dimensional fairly decent character suddenly lose his ever loving mind and become a knife-wielding thug? Lots of questions on this one; I know that young teens will enjoy the mystery, but I think there will be frustration at the ending.

So your druid score thus far - good guys in Girlwood, bad guys in Triskellion.

Finally Guy Gavriel Kay's Ysabel is out in trade paperback and this one I can't recommend enough. Ned is 15 and tagging along with his famous photographer dad in France when he meets Kate and they stumble into a modern mystery that is tied to the deep deep past. You've got tons of history going back to the Romans and Celts (Julius Caeser's uncle Marius plays a major role here) but the history never bogs down the modern thriller - Ned and Kate learn stuff, amazing stuff, and it all plays into current scary events. What I liked is that by the end you understand why every single thing happened in this story - including just how Ned and Kate stumbled into the whole thing to begin with. There's lots of family drama, lots of running for your life, and a true respect for how in many ways history never dies (but just replays itself over and over again). As for the druids - well, they don't really want to be dragged into this story and are quite angry to be here. So not totally evil, but definitely defiant and smart. I wouldn't turn my back on this particular druid guy, that's for sure.

Oh and I forgot - one animal sacrifice in Ysabel, one animal sacrifice in Triskellion and one tree sacrifice in Girlwood. Nobody gets something for nothing anymore.

Not sure where all these books will fit into specific columns but expect to read more thorough reviews of each in the next few months at Bookslut. My favorite is Ysabel though, all history geeks must read that one. (Oh and oddly it is not a YA title, although the book is written almost completely from a teen perspective.)