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A review by heather4994
Earthbound by Aprilynne Pike
5.0
First thoughts- Holy cow! That was a lot to take in! But it was awesome! I am so glad this is a series!
They do say better late than never right? I read this as soon as it came out but I'm just now reviewing it. Sorry, for that because it's a great novel, the start of a new supernatural/paranormal series that I really loved! First there is a unique sort of romance. Well, there is a triangle of sorts but, not really. You can tell where Tavia's interests lie. As always, the book blurb is totally misleading. I'll clear it up.
Tavia has been the only survivor of a plane crash. In order to avoid publicity, her aunt and uncle keep that secret and she is not allowed to contact her friends at home. She is in New Hampshire, home is Michigan. Benson, her crush, is something that has developed just over the last few months as she's been visiting the library. He helps her with her studies as she is basically homeschooling herself. So it's not like she's liked him since the fourth grade or anything, in fact, it has only been a month since she finally came clean about who she actually was and that she realized she was falling for Benson. But now, there is this strange boy that disappears right in front of her, who dresses in period costume and feels like he's someone she should know, someone she misses. And she's not sure if she should tell anyone about him or keep him to herself. There, I should have written the blurb.
Tavia, is a unique character. She is orphaned, broken-both physically and emotionally, damaged. All of a sudden she starts seeing this boy in period costume and these silver symbols on buildings. Is she being stalked? Is she just seeing things? Or, from the strain of everything, is she losing her mind? Tavia (rhymes with cave not mauve thank you author for working that into the book) is cautious in not jumping to conclusions. She has a therapist that she talks to, but everything in her urges caution with this boy. She was headed to an art school interview with her parents when the plane crashed and so she hasn't been able to even doodle since then. Everything she loves has been ripped from her in that plane crash. Everything familiar has been taken from her. Even her hair from the brain surgery they did and a little act of frustration on her part is foreign to her. She looks in the mirror and doesn't know who she is anymore. But this is not a young woman that feels sorry for herself. She wonders why she survived. How she survived. But she doesn't feel sorry for herself. She walks to the library despite her limp. She does her schoolwork at the library. That's where she met Benson, he's a library intern. She walks to physical therapy. She goes to therapy. She endures bloody and graphic nightmares. All without complaint. She really tries to feel connected and grateful to Reese and Jay the only relatives she has left. And then this weird boy comes into her life and everything she's known since the accident begins to unravel. And still, Tavia plays it smart. Except for one major mistake. And it makes all the difference.
To say that Tavia is a well developed character is understated. From every limp to every doodle to every thought, you understand every thing about her. Benson, as somewhere between a main character and a secondary character is a little murky. You don't know if you can trust that he's on Tavia's side as it becomes clear that there are sides. And then there are Reese, Jay and Elizabeth, Tavia's therapist. They all seem to want her to get better, have her best interests at heart, but there is a question again about their loyalty.
There is non-stop action after a certain point and it's hard to keep up. The supernatural element is one that is unique. The boy that Tavia is drawn to is explained believably and what might be construed as a love triangle goes away. The ending is a brutal battle between Tavia and her foes and it isn't completely clear who survives and who doesn't, except, well, Tavia or there wouldn't be a series. But that isn't the end. There is one more chapter that sets up the next book. No cliffhangers, (Thank You) but great potential for the next in the series. I cannot wait for the next book!!
There is a great romance in this, history, action, mystery and a fabulously unique supernatural element I haven't seen in my previous reading in YA. The writing is to the point with enough detail for you to picture where you are and what's going on and the characters' state of mind, but leaves you room to fill in the blanks.
They do say better late than never right? I read this as soon as it came out but I'm just now reviewing it. Sorry, for that because it's a great novel, the start of a new supernatural/paranormal series that I really loved! First there is a unique sort of romance. Well, there is a triangle of sorts but, not really. You can tell where Tavia's interests lie. As always, the book blurb is totally misleading. I'll clear it up.
Tavia has been the only survivor of a plane crash. In order to avoid publicity, her aunt and uncle keep that secret and she is not allowed to contact her friends at home. She is in New Hampshire, home is Michigan. Benson, her crush, is something that has developed just over the last few months as she's been visiting the library. He helps her with her studies as she is basically homeschooling herself. So it's not like she's liked him since the fourth grade or anything, in fact, it has only been a month since she finally came clean about who she actually was and that she realized she was falling for Benson. But now, there is this strange boy that disappears right in front of her, who dresses in period costume and feels like he's someone she should know, someone she misses. And she's not sure if she should tell anyone about him or keep him to herself. There, I should have written the blurb.
Tavia, is a unique character. She is orphaned, broken-both physically and emotionally, damaged. All of a sudden she starts seeing this boy in period costume and these silver symbols on buildings. Is she being stalked? Is she just seeing things? Or, from the strain of everything, is she losing her mind? Tavia (rhymes with cave not mauve thank you author for working that into the book) is cautious in not jumping to conclusions. She has a therapist that she talks to, but everything in her urges caution with this boy. She was headed to an art school interview with her parents when the plane crashed and so she hasn't been able to even doodle since then. Everything she loves has been ripped from her in that plane crash. Everything familiar has been taken from her. Even her hair from the brain surgery they did and a little act of frustration on her part is foreign to her. She looks in the mirror and doesn't know who she is anymore. But this is not a young woman that feels sorry for herself. She wonders why she survived. How she survived. But she doesn't feel sorry for herself. She walks to the library despite her limp. She does her schoolwork at the library. That's where she met Benson, he's a library intern. She walks to physical therapy. She goes to therapy. She endures bloody and graphic nightmares. All without complaint. She really tries to feel connected and grateful to Reese and Jay the only relatives she has left. And then this weird boy comes into her life and everything she's known since the accident begins to unravel. And still, Tavia plays it smart. Except for one major mistake. And it makes all the difference.
To say that Tavia is a well developed character is understated. From every limp to every doodle to every thought, you understand every thing about her. Benson, as somewhere between a main character and a secondary character is a little murky. You don't know if you can trust that he's on Tavia's side as it becomes clear that there are sides. And then there are Reese, Jay and Elizabeth, Tavia's therapist. They all seem to want her to get better, have her best interests at heart, but there is a question again about their loyalty.
There is non-stop action after a certain point and it's hard to keep up. The supernatural element is one that is unique. The boy that Tavia is drawn to is explained believably and what might be construed as a love triangle goes away. The ending is a brutal battle between Tavia and her foes and it isn't completely clear who survives and who doesn't, except, well, Tavia or there wouldn't be a series. But that isn't the end. There is one more chapter that sets up the next book. No cliffhangers, (Thank You) but great potential for the next in the series. I cannot wait for the next book!!
There is a great romance in this, history, action, mystery and a fabulously unique supernatural element I haven't seen in my previous reading in YA. The writing is to the point with enough detail for you to picture where you are and what's going on and the characters' state of mind, but leaves you room to fill in the blanks.