Loki's Wolves by K. L. Armstrong and M. A. Marr (review)

Even though he's grown up with stories of his ancestor Thor, thirteen-year-old Matt never thought he'd be chosen to take the long-dead god of thunder's place in the final battle of Ragnarök. Yet suddenly the Seer has named him Champion, a role that comes with the destiny to die while saving the world. Meanwhile, Fen's been raised with the curse of knowing his family descends from the trickster god, Loki, and is thereby doomed to an outsider's existence, always on the wrong side of the law. He's always kept his cousin Laurie in the dark about their ancestry, but now Ragnarök is coming, Laurie is showing signs of the family's magical legacy, and his family is demanding that Fen help destroy Matt and throw the final battle in favor of chaos. Fen reluctantly joins forces with Matt instead, and soon the Fen, Matt, and Laurie are making their way across the Black Hills of South Dakota on a quest to find other god-descendants to help them battle a giant serpent and prevent the end of mankind. This smart, fast-paced, action-packed novel (by thinly disguised authorial heavy hitters Melissa Marr and Kelley Armstrong) offers readers a solid adventure story that still manages not to skimp on character. Shifting narration gives each character a chance to tell their story and allows the various protagonists to emerge as more complex than simply the burdened child of privilege or the angry, abandoned rebel. While the boys are largely the focus of the story, Laurie often manages to steal the show as an independent-minded fighter with her own gifts who refuses to be coddled, protected, or pushed aside. An excellent what-to-read-next for Percy Jackson fans, this novel will also please young readers of Marvel's Thor and myth-lovers already familiar with Norse lore, and its readers will eagerly await the planned sequels. Full-page monochromatic illustrations have a cartoon sensibility suitable to the zippy action.