Griffin's Fire by Darby Karchut SWBA Runner up: Young Adult

From the Sharp Writ Book Awards judges:

• Karchut has done it again!  No sophomore slump here: the second book in her Elements/ Griffin series is a quick read and well done.  Good characters and a good plot facing a different problem from the first book.  There's a mystery that's not fully explained, but it's explained well enough.  I can't wait until the 3rd installment in the series.
• This is a light reading book of paranormal romance and coming of age. I think it might appeal to young teens. 
• I didn't love it as much as the first one (I guess because the concept wasn't new), but I still think the story was developed well, with some interesting turns and new information. The writing style started to bug me a little bit so I just had to keep reminding myself that it was written for young teens. I agree with the other judges that it's a good read and I look forward to book 3.   
• Once I started reading, I couldn't put it down.  This is a great sequel to Griffin Rising.