Ascendant

Ascendant by Diana Peterfreund, HarperTeen 2010

     After she has accepted her role as a Hunter, Astrid Llewelyn continues to live in Rome and hunt unicorns. Fully trained and enjoying life when her boyfriend decides to leave Rome and go back to school in New York, and when Cornelia's Unicorn powers suddenly and slowly fade away.
     Cornelia decides to return to England and hopes to figure why her power is fading. Astrid goes with her, but they are side-tracked in Paris when Astrid comes up against a corporation trying to figure out the magic of unicorns. The corporation gives Astrid the chance to apply her talents to finding the Remedy--a cure for any illness. Her ex-boyfriend is staying with the company and creates tension between Astrid and Giovanni, her current boyfriend.
   When the bond Astrid forms with the unicorn herd on company land begins to prevent her from killing the unicorns Astrid becomes concerned with the mission placed before her. The comfort of working with a pharmaceutical company and the isolation from her friends and family changes Astrid into someone she doesn't recognize.
     When an encounter with a rogue unicorn nearly kills Astrid, her world turns upside down. The unicorns become more than just her life's work. How will Astrid handle her life depending on the magic of the unicorns?
      The transition from reluctant hunter to diligent caretaker is characterized by a significant change in Astrid's personal outlook. Ideas of chastity and the personal right of choice are addressed with the mythology of unicorns. High school readers and those who enjoy Young Adult fiction will enjoy Ascendant.