Abouzeid, Chris. Anatopsis.

ABOUZEID, Chris. Anatopsis. Penguin, Dutton. 280p. c2006. 0-525-47583-4. $16.99. J Fourteen-year-old Anatopsis, known as Ana, is a slag princess; her mother is an business-like immortal witch, and her father is a peaceful knight-errant with a touch of mortality. In this future scenario of Earth, the immortals rule the mortals. Even with their power, though, the immortals cannot create and have little imagination. Ana wants to follow in her father's footsteps, but instead she must be trained alongside her rival Prince Barnaby for a year. Their teacher, the malevolent Mr. Pound, is setting up a competition in which the two will fight for power and the kingdom. Barnaby is good with his hands, but he's no sorcerer; in fact, he becomes a good friend of Ana, much to Ana's mother's chagrin.

In the meantime, the mortals live in terrible conditions. Ana is given a mortal servant to play with, Clarissa, who becomes the third in the teenage trio. When the queen sends Clarissa to the dungeon for distracting Ana, Clarissa feels betrayed. She escapes to the mortal's ghetto, and wants to see Ana and the immortals fail. Ana's father is banished to a far quest, and Ana's mother ignores both of them. Barnaby is sent to work with the forgers. Ana is truly alone, and Mr. Pound is gleefully gathering power so he can rule the universe himself.

This fantasy examines the balance of magic and nature, and the interplay of the characters makes for a good coming-of-age story. While the writing is not exceptional, the tale should satisfy most young readers. Dr. Lesley Farmer, Lib. Svcs., CSULB, Long Beach, CA