Another Faust

One night, in cities all across Europe, five children vanish — only to appear, years later, at an exclusive New York party with a strange and elegant governess. Rumor and mystery follow the Faust teenagers to the city’s most prestigious high school, where they soar to suspicious heights with the help of their benefactor’s extraordinary "gifts." But as the students claw their way up — reading minds, erasing scenes, stopping time, stealing power, seducing with artificial beauty — they start to suffer the side effects of their own addictions. And as they make further deals with the devil, they uncover secrets more shocking than their most unforgivable sins.

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Nathan says 4.5 stars...
So, the title of this book alone is worth tons of cool points. It you can't guess, this book is fraught with references to Faustian legend. I mean, the name of their school is Marlowe. I was a little taken aback with this at first. From the cover and description I thought it would be uber-creepy and serious, and it was. Then it turned into a high-school drama style story, and I was left scratching my head, and then it takes a sudden turn towards the dark and twisty once again, and I mean really twisty. The ability to both goad and intrigue readers was the book's high point. It is a suspenseful novel, that truly rethinks the nature of a Faustian deal. The characters were very well imagined, but they felt a little flat. Some of this is essential to the narrative, but I would've liked to see a bit more depth. The plot was another strong point, besides just being suspenseful, it has some heft behind it, and works on the reader in subtle ways. Overall, this is a work that puts a twist on something classic, and it succeeds brilliantly.