Book excerpt: A magical fantasy adventure about the high cost of loving, from the award-winning author of My Teacher Is an Alien and The Unicorn Chronicles. Juliet Dove is a girl who doesn't like to be noticed. But though she may be shy, she has a wickedly sharp wit. Whenever someone does take notice of her, she tears into the person with a savagery that’s earned her the nickname “Killer.” Juliet ends up leaving Mr. Elives’s magic shop with Helen of Troy's amulet—that is, a virtual man magnet. Juliet doesn’t know what she’s got, but the boys in her class do—they start to notice her . . . Soon every boy in town is swooning for her. Yet, much as she’d like to lose all the unwanted attention, she can’t: The amulet won't come off! “Although humorous, the story has surprising depth, with musings on honor, power, strength, courage, and, above all, love.” —School Library Journal “A rare book . . . . Funny [and] absorbing.” —Miami Herald