Number 22, downtown bound — Vancouver

Asian female, with pink eye shadow, modern and hip in skinny jeans.

The Magician, Michael Scott (Delacorte Press)

Page 353:

“Oh, this is impossible,” she muttered. She was reluctant to use her powers, since it would reveal her location to the sphinx, but she had no other choice. Cupping her right hand, she allowed her aura to gather in her palm, where it puddled like mercury. She rested her hand lightly, almost gently, on the stone, then turned her hand over and allowed the raw power to pour from her palm and seep into the granite. The stone turned soft and soapy and then melted like candle wax. Thick globs of liquid rock fell away and disappeared into the darkness below.

In the absence of a new Harry Potter, “The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel” series by Michael Scott is clearly capturing the summer reading crowd in Vancouver. Having read this one myself, I concur with the School Library Journal’s remark that it is “a riveting fantasy.” The series features twins with special powers, magic, the myth of immortality, and the plot pace of a Dan Brown novel.