STRUCK

Doomsday cults play tug-of-war over a teenage girl who loves getting struck by lightning in Bosworth's debut.

After lightning hits a fault line and causes a terrible earthquake in Los Angeles, survivors seek hope. Many turn to a charismatic fundamentalist who predicted the earthquake and promises salvation from end times to his followers. Others, like Mia Price, strive for a return to normalcy—even though a girl who's struck by lightning countless times is anything but normal. While trying to keep her family fed and her mother, badly traumatized by the earthquake, in one piece, Mia attracts attention from both the fundamentalist sect and a secret society that opposes them. In the span of one day, recruiters from both parties approach her, one wearing white and one black to help readers tell just how opposed they are. Prophecies and visions all point to Mia as the key to the upcoming end of the world (in three days, warns Prophet), as surviving even a single lightning strike can grant a person supernatural abilities. But mysterious, handsome Jeremy warns her from choosing either side and offers a very sudden relationship. While the solid structure relies too heavily on formula, resulting in predictability, the pacing moves the narrative along quickly, suiting the time-sensitive plot.

A creative premise and developed setting with a fast, fun and easy ride of a plot.