Runelight

This is the sequel to Joanne Harris' first fantasy book with a teen protagonist, Runemarks.  I liked the first one so much that I bought a used copy of this one. It helps tremendously to have read the first book before reading this one, but Harris does offer some catch up notes in her Forward, where she says, "there are just a few things you should be aware of before you begin...We're in a place called Inland, a part of one of the Nine Worlds existing in the branches of Yggdrasil, the World Tree. The Worlds have ended several times...The forces of Order and Chaos keep these Worlds in precarious balance...Gods and demons...exist here in bewildering numbers..." It's been 500 years since the Worlds ended in Ragnarok. In Runemarks, we meet Maddy, a 14-year old misfit from the village of Malbry. Turns out, she is actually the daughter of Thor. When Maddy is sent to the Underworlds on a mission for Odin, events are set in motion that cause The World to end again. The surviving gods "are obliged to take on the Aspect of the nearest appropriate living host--in this case, two humans, a goblin and a pot-bellied pig." It's 3 years later that we take up the story in this book. 

Turns out Maddy has a twin sister who was raised under the Order in the city of World's End. Neither of them know that the other one exists, and, at the beginning of the book, Maggie does not know that she is Thor's daughter and Odin's granddaughter or that she is born with god/demon blood and therefore some potent untapped powers. But the Whisperer has found her and, in the body of Maddy's old enemy Adam Scattergood (who has renamed himself Adam Goodwin), the Whisperer seeks to turn Maddy into its agent to destroy the other gods, rebuild and become the sole inhabitant of Asgard. The Seer has predicted another battle that will end Worlds and rebuild Asgard, but a lot of key pieces need to fall into place and almost none of them do. It's a big book and a sprawling story. If you love legends and fantasy, this will engage you. Fantasy Book Review says that this is a somewhat lighter tale with more character development than its predecessor.