Sweet Sixteen

I took a while getting around to "Sweet Sixteen" since it was a YA, but found it definitely worth the visit. Ciencin's witty prose has the Buffy vernacular down cold, and he knows how to write a story that hooks you from page one. Excellent set-up in Chapter 1, and it just gets better from there. His mastery of the familiar personalities shows he is a fellow fan, and the emphasis on new characters gives the book a freshness that is invigorating. I'm amazed to see that this is Ciencin's Buffy debut; let's hope he'll be persuaded to do more.

In "Sweet Sixteen" first-time Buffy author Scott Ciencin comes up with an interesting plot idea to revitalize several standard Buffy themes. Thus we are introduced to Arianna, a young girl who is chosen for a mystical purpose, albeit something other than vampire slaying, although exactly what is part of the novel's guessing game. However, the key twist here is that Arianna is one of Dawn's classmates, which brings to the forefront the deep desire of Buffy's sister to be a real Scoobie, the expanding world of the Buffy mythos, and the living hell that is school when you are a teenager. This is a book where there are more demons than vampires running about, but the true evil in "Sweet Sixteen" has a human face. Arianna's mother is such a horribly abusive parent that it seems reasonable to both the poor girl and the readers that her father would have to be an improvement. But this is the Buffy universe where the dictum that it is better to deal with the devil you know is pretty much gospel. One of the strengths of this book is the way Ciencin captures the horrible way young teenager girls treat each other. What Buffy and Willow had to endure with Cordelia and the Cordettes is nothing compared to what Dawn and Arianna have to put up with the Sweater Mafia at school. (Question: What grade is Dawn in? Arianna is the one who turns 16 in "Sweet Sixteen," which is the same age Buffy was at the beginning of Season 2, when she was a junior in High School. But I certainly have never gotten the feeling Dawn was that old at this point, i.e., late in Season 5.) My main complaint is that Ciencin engages is one of those convenient plot manipulations that drive me crazy, wherein Arianna discovers she has a particular power and then avoids using that particular power because if she did the story would be over. Ciencin puts off this eventuality until the key dramatic moment, but it is just too artificial for my tastes, especially after a couple of scenes where Arianna toys with the idea of using her power but backs off each time. However, Ciencin has an excellent feel for dialogue for these characters and exploring the idea that there are others out there besides the Slayer who have been called by the Powers that Be (or whoever is behind the Buffy universe) has long been overdue.

I thought that Sweet Sixteen was a great book to read. The Story was really creative and we got to see a different side to Buffy and Dawn in the book. I think that Buffy being a kind of mentor to Arianna was absolutely brillant and the whole story was great. The whole back story of the girl getting superpowers and buffy seeing herself in the gilr and wanting to help her kind of reminds me of why I like the Buffster. Two thumbs Up.

In Sunnydale demons are no surprise to Buffy. Not even when a bunch of them show up in line for cat food at the local Quick Stop. Buffy, as usual, to the rescue. Except that this time an unassuming looking middle school student loses her cool and unexpectedly rips a demon to shreds. But before Buffy can say "hello" the girl is gone and the mystery gets filed away. For our regular girl wonder realizes that someone has elected her target in the demonic equivalent of 'Survivor.' This time the show seems to be called 'Get That Slayer."The unexpected demon stomper is Arianna DuPrey, a fellow student at Dawn's school. Arianna, the child of a hypercritical mother, has spent most of her life avoiding attention. Now she finds herself in the possession of the kind of powers that she has previously only fantasized about and she is terrified. While she is trying to cope with this she attracts the attention, and then the friendship of Dawn, who has had her own struggles with being different. When Buffy discovers that Dawn's new friend is also the mystery girl from the Quick Stop there is a bit of a scramble before Arianna begins to accept that Buffy, Dawn, and the rest of the Scooby gang actually want to help her discover that has happened to her. For Arianna, who has always been a loner, this is a major, and sometimes difficult, adjustment.But Arianna's coming into her powers has awakened one more player. Sensing an opportunity for freedom and power another Aurek Kiritan arouses himself to seek re-entry into the human plane. Arianna's father, her mother's demon lover, returns to the human plane, intent on having his half-human young daughter assume the role of the Reaver, a creature of legend, intent on bearing destruction wherever she goes. For this he will give her three gifts and require her willing consent. Only one thing stands in his way - Buffy and her band of friends, who keep reminding Arianna of her human half. Into this relationship he must drive a wedge or face the destruction of his own dreams.The conflict in this book between Arianna's need to be special and Buffy's own need to be human sets up a relationship that will bring change to both. And the normally petulant and slightly impossible Dawn reveals her own in inner strength in the mirror of care and acceptance she holds up to both her sister and her friend. Arianna's confusion about whether her father is hero or horror, her inability to resolve her feelings for Dawn and Buffy, and her indecision about her own nature make this a particularly poignant book. As is often the case, Buffy books such as this one from Scott Ciencin have a lot to say about more important things than the slaying of vampires. This one does that particularly well, using fine writing and a memorable plot. Great reading.

when dawn comes home with a new friend, buffy is shocked. she hadseen this girl on patrol a few nights before. the girl has amazing speed and power like a slayer but obviously is not one.the scooby gang take the girl under their wing and try to findout the source of her ability. the more they dig, the more sinister the plot is. because on her sixteenth birthday she willcome into her destiny which also includes killing the slayer. this book is very intriguing and leaves you waiting to the endto find the outcome. highly recommend.