Author: Tara Bray Smith
512 pages
Poppy, 2009
I bought several Young Adult books when I was in North Carolina last week, hoping to pass them along to my niece after I read them. This book promised appeal to fans of the Twilight series, and it had an interesting cover, so I bought it. However, after reading it: 1) I don't think it should be classified as a Young Adult book; and 2) I can't recommend it. Which is sad, because there are many things the author does right. Her three main characters reflect diversity - I especially loved that she had a Native American character. The story itself is quite interesting (three teens realize they have "special gifts"). But it's obviously set up to be yet another trilogy or series, and Twilight it ain't.
There are way too many boring parts where nothing much is going on. The adults in the book don't seem to care about their children. There's way too much darkness for a YA book. The "F" bomb, and references to drugs and sex are common. There is even a bondage and rape scene that seems to go on forever. How this came to be classified as a YA book, I'm not sure.
I cannot believe I spent time reading this book. I must have been thinking that eventually it would get better. I guess this is what happens when you choose a book for its cover.
Rating: 2 stars.
If I'd read the reviews on Amazon.com, I wouldn't have bothered with this one.
