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paradoxically's review
3.0
The book starts off a bit slow (ignoring the prologue, which is basically a glimpse of the future), with Jacki having just moved to a little village with her mother. She feels a bit out of place, she never wanted to move from Dublin, but she isn't irritating about it and does try to fit in with her new surroundings, which made me give a few ticks to my mental Like column. It also helped that she and her mother are close, and you can feel that in the interactions they have with one another.
Jacki (of course) meets a cute boy (unfortunately taken), meets another cute boy (gay, friendly, her new best friend in this village), and starts having strange dreams and odd headaches she can't make heads or tails of. Turns out she's (somewhat) communicating with the spirit of a murdered girl.
The book was rather decent, though a few things struck me as unrealistic. Or, at the very least, very convenient for Jacki. When she visits a doctor because of the headaches, the doctor doesn't prescribe some pills or whatnot, instead, the doctor refers Jacki to a Healer. This is because the doctor believes there's something supernatural going on. ...Yeah. I wasn't very convinced either. Then there's her crush on Nick, who has a girlfriend, but said girlfriend is somewhat the stereotypical ultra pretty shallow somewhat mean girl. Who's a bad girlfriend to boot. Sigh.
I wanted to know more about Nick other than he's cute. There was nothing there. There's no real development for him, and I'm just left feeling rather cold when Jacki talks about how hot he is or how obsessive she's getting about this crush of hers. I have no idea why she likes him so much, other than for his looks--in fact, I'm convinced that's the only reason as to why she likes him.
The ending is rather abrupt and (to me, anyway) was rather predictable. Everything sort of fell together too easily, and I wanted the mystery to be a bit more.... hm. In depth, I suppose. It's an all right book though. Not terrible, but not great. There's more potential--it could have been a lot better. It's not all bad, though. The writing is easy to read, and the dialogue and description were balanced rather well. Pacing could use some work, especially in the beginning (too slow) and the end (too abrupt). Overall, 2-3 stars, rounding up to 3.
Jacki (of course) meets a cute boy (unfortunately taken), meets another cute boy (gay, friendly, her new best friend in this village), and starts having strange dreams and odd headaches she can't make heads or tails of. Turns out she's (somewhat) communicating with the spirit of a murdered girl.
The book was rather decent, though a few things struck me as unrealistic. Or, at the very least, very convenient for Jacki. When she visits a doctor because of the headaches, the doctor doesn't prescribe some pills or whatnot, instead, the doctor refers Jacki to a Healer. This is because the doctor believes there's something supernatural going on. ...Yeah. I wasn't very convinced either. Then there's her crush on Nick, who has a girlfriend, but said girlfriend is somewhat the stereotypical ultra pretty shallow somewhat mean girl. Who's a bad girlfriend to boot. Sigh.
I wanted to know more about Nick other than he's cute. There was nothing there. There's no real development for him, and I'm just left feeling rather cold when Jacki talks about how hot he is or how obsessive she's getting about this crush of hers. I have no idea why she likes him so much, other than for his looks--in fact, I'm convinced that's the only reason as to why she likes him.
The ending is rather abrupt and (to me, anyway) was rather predictable. Everything sort of fell together too easily, and I wanted the mystery to be a bit more.... hm. In depth, I suppose. It's an all right book though. Not terrible, but not great. There's more potential--it could have been a lot better. It's not all bad, though. The writing is easy to read, and the dialogue and description were balanced rather well. Pacing could use some work, especially in the beginning (too slow) and the end (too abrupt). Overall, 2-3 stars, rounding up to 3.
kimonoh's review
4.0
I the beginning it was really slow, and it took a while to get to know all the necessary characters, but once you did the story unfolded so well. The ending was a bit short though, it all happened so fast and then it was over, and I wasn't quite fond of the really super young age, although that doesn't affect the quality of the book itself.
taramc's review
4.5
I am not a big fan of the paranormal but this book was amazing! I wish i could just give it to everyone to read. It keeps you turning pages; wanting, needing more. It definetly has changed the type of books i read to much more crime based.
lisadr's review
5.0
I read this book in a day and I really enjoyed it. Laura's writing is very conversational and really hooks you into the story. The characters are very believable and I loved spending time with Jacki and her new friends. The only problem I had was that the ending came too quickly I could have happily stayed in Avarna for much longer. Laura Jane Cassidy is a name to watch out for in Teen fiction and this debut is a triumph. I can't wait to read the next installment.
emilypaull's review
4.0
Couldn't put it down! Some of the prose tends to be a little purple, especially with regards to Nick, but I sat down in the afternoon and starting reading, and the next thing i knew, it was bedtime. I think that LJ's characters and her plot were so excellent that it made up for some of the more awkward turns of phrase, and the expertise that she needs in that area will come with time and practice. The author should be insanely proud of herself, she got me reading supernatural crime fiction, a genre i would not otherwise go near with a long pole! Can't wait for 18 kisses.
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