Supernatural forces of all kinds collide in this overcrowded offering from Showalter (Blacklisted), who chronicles the adventures of two unlikely couples. Aden Stone, 16, has been in and out of mental institutions and group homes all his life, thanks to the four disembodied souls inside his head. Each grants him a separate power-"Julian... woke the dead, and Elijah could predict the death of anyone who passed him"-but their constant presence makes it hard for Aden to blend in. Mary Ann Gray has the ability to negate powers, granting Aden internal peace for the first time. Shortly after they become friends, Aden falls for a vampire princess while Mary Ann romances a werewolf. Their newfound relationships are promptly tested when witches, faeries, demons and more come to town in search of an unexpected source of power. Toss in some shambling undead, ghosts with unresolved issues and a vampiric struggle for dominance, and all that's missing is the (haunted) kitchen sink. However, strong characterization, believable romantic interplay and a fast-paced plot do a lot to redeem this story, as does an underlying sense of mystery. Ages 14-up. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

There's nothing ordinary about Aden. He is an orphan, lives on a ranch for troubled boys, and is a schizo. This last description, however, can be blamed on the four souls he has living inside his head: Elijah, who can see the future; Eve, who can travel into the past; Caleb, who can possess another's body; and Julian, the corpse whisperer. What starts as just another day battling zombies instantly changes when Aden meets Mary Ann, a girl with the mysterious power to quiet his inner voices. Aden joins Mary Ann's school to be near her, but instead he falls for a teleporting vampire princess guarded by a very handsome werewolf. And that's just the beginning before this complicated supernatural romance is over, ghosts, demons, witches, goblins, and fairies will get in on the action, too. Burdened with untangling this knot, lines like Without Riley, Mary Ann blocks Aden's abilities sometimes come off more like D&D rules than plot development. But with pages that turn this easily, fans of the genre won't be complaining.--Kraus, Daniel Copyright 2009 Booklist

Gr 8 Up-Aden Stone is not your typical 16-year-old. Since birth he has had four souls trapped within him that possess special powers: the ability to time travel, raise the dead, possess a body, and predict the future. As a result, he has spent his whole life in and out of mental institutions diagnosed as a violent schizophrenic. Now able to control the voices in his head, Aden has moved to Crossroads, OK, to live in a halfway house for delinquent boys. His goal in life is to find a means to free these souls and at last be at peace. When he meets Mary Ann Gray, she miraculously acts as a neutralizer, and for the first time in his life, he truly feels normal. The two become fast friends, establishing a sibling-type bond. Little do they realize that when they first met, their connection sent a power surge throughout the world drawing every paranormal creature from fairies to vampires to Crossroads on a quest for power. To complicate matters, Aden becomes romantically involved with a vampire princess and Mary Ann with her werewolf bodyguard. Together the teens must figure out a way to protect themselves, and all of humanity. This fast-paced, action-driven plot has many unexpected twists and turns. Well written, with a unique story line and strong characters, Intertwined is fresh and original at a time when there is an overload of paranormal romances on the market.-Donna Rosenblum, Floral Park Memorial High School, NY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Everyone thinks Aden Stone is a violent schizophrenic, but he doesn't hear voices: He's an unwilling host to four time-traveling, dead-raising, future-predicting and body-snatching souls. If one of them accidentally summons a zombie, he decapitates it with silver daggers stashed in his boots, behavior that has landed him in a halfway house in tiny Crossroads, Okla. When Aden meets Mary Ann, who neutralizes his powers and quiets the voices of the resident souls, the two form an intense, platonic bond. Unfortunately, the combination of their abilities summons every magical being in the worldgoblins, fairies, ghosts, witches, werewolves and vampiresto find and exploit Aden's power. Aden and Mary Ann meet and fall for two of the more benevolent visitorsVictoria, a soulful vampire princess, and Riley, her devoted werewolf bodyguardand the four teens band together to save humanity from an all-out supernatural war over Aden. The hard-driving action and sexy but (mostly) chaste romance is occasionally bogged down in the exposition and world-building typical of initial series titles, but hooked readers will clamor for more. (Paranormal romance. YA) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.