Roses & Violets

Kirstine steals a letter from her father's desk, accepting her into Roseholm Academy. Even though she's too old to be in high school, she desperately wants to go, but her parents are very conservative Christians and don't want her to. Victoria also gets a letter, but since her mother is an alumna who works as a wise woman, she has no problem. Chamomile's mother also attended the school, but Malou comes from a background of poverty and is distrustful of the others. Kirstine meets Jakob on the train to the school and thinks that he is also a student, but it turns out that he is a teacher. The school has a variety of tests that the students must take, and they are very odd. When all four girls pass, they find out that Roseholm is a school for magical arts, from blood magic to spirit magic, with some traditional Danish subjects thrown in. The girls are not supposed to consort with the boys from the school, since romance takes up too much energy, but this doesn't stop them from talking to Vitus and Benjamin, and jealousies are sometimes stirred. At a party on All Hallow's Eve, the girls have a seance after drinking a bit, and they find out about a girl named Trine who was killed back in 1989. Kirstine tries to coax information out of Jakob, and the girls do manage to find a little bit of information, which is crucial since Roseholm seems to be haunted in a particularly dangerous way. When another student, Anne, is attacked over Christmas, the investigation is continued, and comes to a climax during the spring dance in April. Will the classmates be able to solve the mystery before a tragedy occurs?

What I liked:
Roses & Violets is a murder mystery within a magical school; the characters are four girls from different backgrounds. Some know the school from their parents, while others know absolutely nothing. All have been invited to the school and go through tests to determine branches of magic. It had a very Harry Potter-type feel with the mysterious invites, the tests, and of course, it being a magic school. Once you get beyond that and one of the girls discovers a student was murdered, you are off on a murder mystery with some creepy vibes.
Final Verdict:
Roses & Violets have been translated from German and will soon be released in the US; I would not have known if I had not been told that. The story reads very well, and I was wrapped up in figuring out who has done as much as our four main characters. The chapters alternate between each voice and are very short, so you could easily read this in a few days. I am also glad to see that it is not over, and though we learn more about some of the boys, oh, I forgot to mention there were boys, we don't solve the murder in this first book. So I am eager for the second book to be translated and available.