An unhurried but engrossing start for a potentially riveting paranormal series.
A teenage outcast’s new friends help her discover her supernatural abilities and shocking origin in Craven’s debut YA urban fantasy.
Most people stay away from 15-year-old Allie Carmichael, as they have an apparent aversion to her touch, which renders her nearly friendless. Her parents’ jobs keep the family moving from place to place, but Allie feels that their latest move to Cleveland might not be so bad when she meets Aidan McBrien. He’s not the least bit intimidated by her, and their mutual attraction is instantaneous. It’s odd, though, that, like Allie, Aidan and all of his pals are adopted. Allie, who’s accustomed to being a pariah, suddenly has friends, including Aidan’s older sister Sasha, and later, a new boyfriend, Vince. When a fireworks accident turns into a raging fire, Allie, Aidan, and their friend Kayla miraculously survive. Aidan’s family feels that they have no choice but to explain some things to Allie on her 16th birthday. It turns out that it’s the time of her Awakening, a painful rite of passage for Immortals during which she begins to exhibit other extraordinary, supernatural abilities. Many in her circle of friends have endured their own Awakenings. Before she can fully register this information, she’s undergoing weapons and martial arts training and honing other skills, such as clairvoyance. She’s reluctant to fight anyone, but she may soon have to battle the members of the Coalition, which is run by mortals but armed with Immortal allies. The bulk of the novel follows Allie as her mentors train her, and she can see their memories; one trainer, Emma, for example, may have witnessed the Coalition’s genesis back in 16th-century Paris. Allie’s concurrent high school life, however, is unfortunately dropped from the plot. Her romance with mere mortal Vince generates searing melodrama between the couple and Aidan, who wants more than Allie’s friendship. The narrative defines various powers more clearly as it goes along: Aidan has healing capabilities, for example, and Allie can, among other things, absorb solar energy. The best power, however, is one that Allie and Aidan share, which later proves to be a hilarious distraction when Allie goes on a date. The buildup regarding the oft-discussed Coalition has a superb payoff when the baddies finally make an appearance, resulting in a bloody, intense confrontation. The story leaves plenty unresolved, of course, paving the way for sequels.
An unhurried but engrossing start for a potentially riveting paranormal series.Pub Date: April 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-9909819-1-6
Page Count: 438
Publisher: Midnight Hour Studio
Review Posted Online: April 20, 2016
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A swift fable about navigating the perils of middle school.
A bossy middle school fashionista feels threatened by the new girl in Saii’s YA novel.
Vanessa Pocker and her friends Chelsea, Adrienne and Katie are the richest of the rich in their Santa Monica, Calif., middle school, and they comprise the Sassy Divas. Vanessa leads the pack and dictates whom the divas are allowed to talk to, what they’re allowed to wear and how they conduct themselves in public. Vanessa is so domineering that it’s a miracle she has any friends at all. Had Saii endowed her with an ounce of kindness, the loyalty of her minions might be more understandable. Vanessa’s militant nature finally alienates Katie, the diva who is too much of a bookworm, according to Vanessa. Katie befriends Flo, who’s on the Sassy Diva “do not speak to” list (Flo had once refused to hold Vanessa’s purse). Excommunicated from the Sassy Divas, Katie befriends the new girl at the school, Quinn. This infuriates Vanessa, and she declares war. A power play ensues among the adversarial lip-glossed sets, with Vanessa, Chelsea and Adrienne on one side and Katie, Quinn and Flo on the other. Vanessa turns to guy friend Ryan, who offers the only voice of reason when he admonishes her for obsessing over trivialities, such as revenge and makeovers, when there are starving children in the world. He seems to be nothing more than Vanessa’s sounding board, and it’s unclear what he gets out of the relationship. At least Vanessa buys clothes and makeup for her divas, on occasion. Mired in trendy youngster lingo, Saii’s tale accurately depicts girls’ power plays and the alienation that can result from simply owning jeans without a designer label. Fashion, gossip, popularity and shopping define these characters, and any threat of competition is cause for war. Vanessa’s parents rarely make appearances, except for a poignant scene when Vanessa’s mother engages her daughter in a heart-to-heart about her selfish behavior. It’s a relief to finally hear the mother speak and lead the story to an ending marked with humor and depth. Saii’s literary chops are inconsistently displayed and improve toward the conclusion. Although the average middle school girl may not wear Jimmy Choos or form private elitist groups, young readers might find themselves curious about these affluent trendsetters. At least Vanessa learns her lesson, which raises the novel a notch above teenybopper fluff.
A swift fable about navigating the perils of middle school.Pub Date: March 1, 2013
ISBN: 9781937675080
Page Count: 155
Publisher: Lekha Publishers
Review Posted Online: March 4, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
An intriguing, if not always emotionally engaging, story of a serious teen problem.
Somers’ debut young-adult novel follows a teenage boy from sickness to tenuous health as he battles an eating disorder and the problems that helped create it.
Nathan is a typical teen with typical problems, including an unhappy family life and romantic disappointment, but he’s got an unhealthy “solution” for dealing with them: starving and purging himself. His descent into bulimia and anorexia occurs quite quickly; it starts with Nathan taking short bike rides to get away from his domineering father and alcoholic mother, and soon he’s inducing vomiting; not long afterward, he’s admitted to an eating-disorder program, at which point the book seems to find its center. Nathan is the only boy in his unit, a fact that his status-obsessed parents find it hard to understand; in fact, as the book makes clear, boys make up 10 percent of those who suffer from eating disorders. Somers’ novel never falls into “after-school special” territory, but it has a clear message. Nathan is depicted as a smart, cynical teenager, but his trials are sometimes more informative than heart-wrenching. The short chapters, complete with bad teenage poetry, keep the story moving, and Nathan’s dad, mom and nurse all get at least one chance to tell their side of the story. But although these multiple points of view are interesting, they may distract readers from Nathan’s personal trials. Also, the novel sometimes gets bogged down in eating-disorder program protocol; for example, a plan to interrupt Nathan’s family therapy takes two pages of emails, rather than a line or two of dialogue.
An intriguing, if not always emotionally engaging, story of a serious teen problem.Pub Date: Nov. 12, 2012
ISBN: 978-0988367203
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Rundy Hill Press LLC
Review Posted Online: April 30, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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