Prospero's Children

It's rare that I decide not to finish reading a sci fi novel. But I decided not to finish Prospero's Children.

First of all, I think the book was mislabeled. Even though it's clearly a fantasy, this book should have been in the young adult section. The protagonists are 16 and 12 years old, suggesting that the book was aimed at readers of the same age. Jan Siegel does a wonderful job of creating an environment, setting a scene and even a mood with elaborately descriptive text.
But her characters fall flat.

Fern, the main character is a typical 16 year old who suddenly finds herself able to do magic without any training. She finds herself in the middle of a tug-of-war between much older powers all searching for the key to ancient magic. Of course, Fern finds it first. Then it's stolen and she has to get it back. This is the point where I quit reading. Fern's motivation was poorly developed and I didn't care if she got it back or not. Ragginbone, who takes on the role of Fern's mentor, has less passion than a rock. Alimond, the first villain, in spite of being hundreds of years old, is careless and spiteful; no challenge even for a 16 year old. Azmordis, the second villain, is more subtle and calculating, but he's dull and without motivation.

Overall, the book was boring and was becoming a chore to read. I quit about 1/2 way through.