Maggie Quinn is a high school senior who spends her time taking photos for the yearbook and writing stories for the school’s newspaper. She is completely content with staying under the radar in order to avoid coming into contact with the Jocks and the Jessicas (the girls that seem to run the school). Everything is working out just fine until she snaps some incriminating pictures of the Jocks bullying one of the bigger geeks of the school. Soon, after her creative photo rescue, Maggie starts having disturbing dreams. She has ignored her dreams for a long time and has tried to forget the fact that she has psychic abilities. But with someone or something picking off the Jocks and the Jessicas one-by-one, she is going to have to start tapping into her mojo. With the help of her Grandmother and a new friend named Justin, Maggie starts to put her powers to work to solve the mystery.Maggie Quinn is a delightful main character. She is quick witted, sarcastic, and cynical and her one-liners will have you rolling. Check out a couple of entries back for my “Say It Again” Saturday post where I listed a few of my favorite lines from PROM DATES FROM HELL. You’ll want to pick up the sequel as soon as you finish. Also, there is a Buffy the Vampire Slayer connection - The Prom where Buffy saves the prom from the devil dogs has a similar feel. ( )

This story has a slow start, but I did enjoy it once I got into it around page 100. I hope the next one has a bit faster pace. ( )

High school senior and aspiring journalist Maggie Quinn just wants to survive the last few weeks of high school without getting sucked into the prom madness. However, there’s more on her plate to worry about when strange and horrible things begin to happen to her grade’s “elite crowd,” lovingly called the Jocks and the Jessicas by Maggie. These boys and girls suffer accidents or lose what is most important to them, and Maggie, with the help of her friends, reluctantly admits that something sinister and distinctly hellish might just be happening, and it might take a trip to the prom for her to come get to the bottom of it.

Oh, Rosemary, how do I love thy writing? Let me count the ways. Maggie is my kind of protagonist: smart, snappy, and always ready with a quip, even at the most inappropriate moments. Here is a girl who’s not afraid to bust out SAT words in her narrative, even as she’s demeaning her admittedly stereotypical but never uninteresting lower-intelligence classmates, or trying to kick evil’s butt. She’s a no-nonsense, smart-alecky girl thrown into a situation that’s quickly turning unbelievable and distinctly UN-funny, and yet Maggie keeps her cool—and her snarky comments—consistently throughout.

Because of Clement-Moore’s fantastic writing style, even characters such as Maggie’s two possible love interests—Brian Baywatch, the rebel Jock with the lifeguard looks, and Justin, a student of the occult at the nearby university—don’t dissolve into stereotypical shining white knights (even if that is their character type). I would like to see more dimensions in Maggie’s parents and her grandmother in future books in this series, but that is a minor complaint. The strength of Maggie’s character is the thing that carries this book by far.

If you’re looking for a paranormal read that puts a smart twist on a familiar setting, look no further than Rosemary Clement-Moore’s Maggie Quinn: Girl vs Evil series. I can’t wait to read the next books! ( )

Heppermann, C M (May-June 2007). Rosemary Clement-Moore: Prom Dates from Hell.(Young adult review)(Book review). The Horn Book Magazine, 83, 3. p.279(2).

Rodriguez, E. (March 2007). Clement-Moore, Rosemary. Prom Dates from Hell.(Young adult review)(Brief article)(Book review). School Library Journal, 53, 3. p.206(1).

Surprisingly fun to read. First book in a long time that I really wanted to get back to after putting it down, and even considered sneaking it into the office.

I very much enjoyed the heroine, and the fact that she reads like a girl and not a guy with boobs, as she slowly comes around to accepting her talents. I appreciated the handing of her friends, her enemies, and how sometimes people can be both. Especially as those that seek to harm Maggie and those who seek to aid her must deal with unintended consequences. And in this story those things that seem like a good idea at the time can really turn around and bite you in the butt later on. Really. ( )