"Esther is a middle child, in her own mind a pale reflection of siblings who are bright, shining stars. Her mother doesn't show the slightest bit of interest, no matter what Esther does. Still, she's sort of content to go back to school, do her best, hang out with her friends, and let others take care of things. When it all goes to pieces it happens stealthily, in ways that no one else seems to notice. Her best friends aren't AT school when she gets there. It's weird that they didn't tell her they wouldn't be coming back. Hurtful that they didn't reply to messages. But stuff like that happens. And it's bad luck that her new teacher makes Esther the butt of all kinds of jokes and makes her feel worse about herself. Mrs. Pollock is rumored to be an ogre -- and maybe she IS one. Could be. Then things go from "unfortunate" to outright dangerous. The mountains surrounding the school -- usually sparkling with glaciers and lakes, alive with Faeries, and sheltering a quaint town with really great bakeries, are now crowded with Shadow Mages, casting a noticeable pall, and clearly -- to Esther -- organizing for something very dark and threatening. As the people she might have depended on to help are either strangely absent or in hiding, it's left to ordinary, middle-child Esther ("just Esther") to act. But she'll have to burst out of the box of mediocrity she's been put in, and do something absolutely extraordinary"-- Provided by publisher.