GATEWAY TO ARISHA

In Rose’s YA supernatural novel, siblings attend a mysterious school in a bid to find their missing parents.

When Genesis Deadlock was 7 years old, her parents were abducted in the middle of the night. She and her younger brother, River, would have also been taken, but one of the kidnappers hid their presence from his superior. After their parents’ disappearance, the siblings were raised by their grandparents until their grandmother died, when their Uncle Ferris took over their care. Determined to find out what happened to her parents, Genesis, now 14, follows one of her only clues, the word “Arisha,” which she heard one of the abductors say the night of the incident. This leads her to the prestigious and mysterious Arisha school. Upon gaining admittance to the school, Genesis and River undergo a process all new attendees experience called “awakening,” which unlocks supernatural powers (called valtas) hidden in their cells. After the awakening, Genesis gains the ability to shape-shift after she ingests the DNA of another living creature; River has the valta of energy, which allows him to control gravity. These are two of 14 valtas, which also include powers involving water, fire, vegetation, earth, wind, ice, shadow, light, electricity, iron, and psychic abilities. (The first half of the book is filled with exposition detailing such mystical matters.) The author uses an unusual narrative approach that is often distracting—she frames the story as a true one that she heard from her family and uses this conceit to interject first- and second-person narration into the story at various points. (Often, this comes with a repetitive phrase like “dear reader” or “I tell you.”) The adolescent characters do not speak like most teenagers; one character coins the nickname “Shapeshifty” for Genesis, and another refers to their group as “super cool.” Despite these minor flaws, Rose has created a unique world with intriguing mysteries and conspiracies that is lightly infused with Christian values; it’s perfect for YA readers looking for fantasy stories without swearing or suggestive content.

An engaging fantasy series starter with compelling worldbuilding hampered by some distracting narration.