Rebel Belle by Rachel Hawkins (review)

Harper Price has her life and almost everyone in it under control: she’s president of student government, head of every committee and service organization, and just about to be named Homecoming Queen when she finds herself locked in a bathroom with a janitor who is inexplicably bleeding out from a sword wound. Before dying, he pulls her in for a strange embrace, and then she’s transformed into somebody who’s wielding a four-inch pink pump to penetrate the carotid artery of a sarcastic, scimitar-wielding history teacher. A bit stunned, she goes into research mode, only to discover that she has become a superhero without a decent origin story or a wise mentor. She eventually finds not only those but also a protective task; however, the one she is destined to guard, David, is the one boy she hasn’t been able to get under control. David, a school reporter who has never written an article about Harper without using the word “egregious,” is an Oracle, and his aunt, who has been coaching Harper for cotillion, is a Mage; between the three of them, they have to figure out how to protect David from the future he can dimly foresee. Harper is as quippy as you please, with a sass born of a sharp intellect and an easy assurance that if one just follows the time-tested rules of Southern tradition and decorum, all will be well; after all, she herself bears witness to the effectiveness of proper footwear. The twist at the end is as surprising as it is delicious, hinting at further tests of aggressive politeness as she, David, and her set of belles and beaux set out to save—or perhaps doom—the world. Fans of Michele Jaffe will not want to miss this.