Rot, mold,
putrefaction,
all in her touch.

Necromancers in current YA lit are a dime a dozen, but viviomancers?

Sylvia Lewis’ first novel is a doozy, with Ellie facing her first possibility at love, online-only friends who can’t know her true nature, a sort-of-zombie, and supernatural corporation owners on a cost-saving (soul-sucking) quest.

Grab this summer 2013 paperback now – you’ll never look at mold in the shower the same way again, ever (I promise).
**kmm

Book info: Beautiful Decay / Sylvia Lewis. Running Press, 2013.  [author info]  [publisher site]

My book talk: Ellie can’t let her skin touch anyone or anything, unless she wants rot to overrun it all. When a new guy at school seems intent on getting close to her, she realizes that this curse may be a gift… maybe.

Even with gloves on, it’s dangerous for 16-year-old Ellie to be near people – dangerous for them, as the tiniest touch of her skin will cause any germ on or in them to suddenly multiply uncontrollably. The smell of bleach-water pervades her parents’ upscale house (they’re rarely home), and the queen bee clique at school bullies her endlessly (just out of her reach).

Why Nate says that she has an “ability” instead of a terrifying medical condition is a mystery to Ellie, until she discovers that his touch has exactly the opposing effect of hers. She is a viviomancer and can make life grow abundantly, if she can learn to control her ability. So that makes Nate a necromancer, a death controller?

Nate’s home life is even more distressing than Ellie’s, and her online friend Mackenzie has to make a personal appearance to rescue them both. That’s when things start to get weird…

When the beetle walking across her hand stays alive,
And Nate’s mom isn’t alive, but isn’t quite dead,
And the factory bosses are sure that undead workers would be a great money-saver.

A very different gift resides in Ellie and another in Nate, but whether they’ll live long enough to learn how to use them is not guaranteed in this paranormal with a twist.  (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com) Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.