Stempunk meets urban fairie meets dystopia in this fist novel by adult author Caitlin Kittredge. IRON THORN (Listening Library 2011) has been my traveling companion for a week or so, a perfect companion given the rather dreary weather of late. Somehow overcast skies and cooler temps are a perfect backdrop for this story of a young woman named Aoife Grayson, the sole female engineering student at her school. Aoife's family, though, lives under a dark cloud: at 16 (and her 16th birthday is just weeks away), they go mad, a hereditary condition. Aoife has seen her mother's descent into madness and now her brother seems to have disappeared leaving behind only a rambling note about where he is and what Aoife must do to save him and save herself. Aoife and her classmate Cal travel through the underground, away from the city powered by a single engine, to her father's estate in the countryside. They are aided by Dean, a rather mysterious person they meet along the perilous path. Many secrets will be revealed in this first novel in a planned series. Readers who love steampunk, feisty females, ghouls and other dark creatures are sure to love this audiobook (all 16 hours of it)/ <163>