"Ronan Truelove barely survived his first encounter with his father and the Bend Sinister. Now, he's determined to become one of the Blood Guard, a sword-wielding secret society sworn to protect thirty-six pure souls crucial to the world's survival. Eager to prove he's got what it takes, Ronan is sent on his first mission with his friends Greta and Sammy to visit a weird-sounding school and take a series of tests called the Glass Gauntlet. Paper and...

Ronan and his friends have underestimated the Bend Sinster thinking they must collect as many Pure Souls as possible, when all they really need is one. And that one soul they've targeted? Ronan Truelove's best friend: scrappy smart aleck Greta Sustermann. She has no idea that she is one of the thirty-six Pure Souls crucial to the safety of the world, but Ronan's father has figured it out--and he's leading the Bend Sinister straight to Greta. If they...