Sabin, Rose E. When the beast ravens.

SABIN, Rose E. When the beast ravens. Tor. 288p. c2005. 0-765-30858-4. $23.95. JS Rabin concludes her "magically gifted" trilogy with a murder mystery at the Lesley Simonton School for the Magically Gifted. The events of the first two novels (A School for Sorcery and A Perilous Power) are interwoven seamlessly into the introductory chapters and references are made throughout the story, keeping the story new but connected to significant past events. With a new year, Grey and Rehanne develop their relationship as they return to the boarding school for the magically talented. Students each have their own gifts and take classes in such courses as alchemy, the healing arts, arcane rites, and ethics. Last year a practical joke on Grey had gone wrong and he was sent to the "dire regions," a place of horror, demons and torment. Those responsible have had their magic curtailed and are trying to get past it, but shortly after arriving at school, Grey's room is vandalized, and in the next days the suspected perpetrator, one of last year's gang, is violently attacked.

Suspicion alternately falls on Oryon, the boy in black, who was part of the previous year's pranks; Lina, the shapechanger with an attitude; Grey, who cannot account for his time; and Rehanne, who only wants things to be well with her friend Grey. The plot twists and turns through police corruption, lost library books, and alternate dimensions. Things are as they seem and not at all what they appear. Finally, through the wisdom of the Headmistress, the students realize that in order to solve the mysteries and save themselves, they will have to work together, sharing their gifts to support one another and focusing their powers to strengthen their abilities. Janis Flint-Ferguson, Assoc. Prof. of English, Gordon College, Wenham, MA

J--Recommended for junior high school students. The contents are of particular interest to young adolescents and their teachers.

S--Recommended for senior high school students.