I usually strike out with supernatural and paranormal books. Especially of the YA variety. Maybe it's because they're all trying to be the same thing and lack a lot of originality. Maybe it's because it's such a creative genre in and of itself that the books just don't live up to the creativity expected. Or, maybe it's because I'm just a hater. Whatever the reason, I usually end up giving the lowest ratings to supernatural/paranormal YA books. This novel, however, is different.
I actually really enjoyed this one. And now I'm going to use a completely original phrase that has never been uttered in ANY book review before: It hooked me from the very first page. No, really, though. The prologue was so creepy. I actually read it online and after that, I absolutely knew that I had to read this book. It was probably one of the scariest openings I've read, and it seriously sent shivers down my spine. After that boom of a beginning, the story does not let up. There wasn't any down time in this book for me. I read it straight through and only put it down when I had to go to the bathroom or eat or, you know, go to work and school. But, oh I how wished I could just crawl back into the book the moment I got the chance. Funny anecdote: I was almost finished and was getting to a really, really good part when I looked at the clock and saw that my class started in ten minutes so I had to get out of my car and run to the classroom. It was useless, though, because I couldn't concentrate on anything and was counting the minutes until I could get out of there and finish the 20 pages I had left to read. God, it was torture.
The main strength of the book is the plot, the story, the concept. And, I'll mush those three things together because in the book, they are all kind of the same thing. The concept that you read about in summaries is one that you get when you read the book--it doesn't disappoint. So, if you read a synopsis and think it's worth reading, then you should really just pick up the book because it delivers what you want. The plot was wonderfully crafted. I think you can tell that Kelley Armstrong is a seasoned pro at this kind of thing because she absorbed me so completely in the story that I never got a chance to think, "I wonder when we're getting to the good part," like I do with so many other books. It wasn't even that it was action-packed...it was just that the author made sure that every scene was interesting and not just filler. Like I said, I didn't find myself bored at any part of this book so you know that she did a good job.
Obviously, this isn't some great masterpiece. I'm not going to say the writing was amazing and beautiful and so original. Because, well, it wasn't. But, honestly, that's not what this book is aiming for anyway. This book is all about the story being told and makes the writing a means to get to the story instead of making it an obstacle getting in the way of the story. And I really respect an author who realizes what she has to do to her writing in order to achieve the affect that she wants. I wasn't sitting there thinking, "Man, that metaphor was really horrible," or, "If only she used more literary devices." She made her writing small and discreet so that you could enjoy the show. And, for that, she's a great writer and an expert at what she does.
The characters? I really liked them as well. I was SO GLAD that they weren't insanely gorgeous or absurdly unrealistic. Chloe, the main character, could've been any girl in school. I actually really liked that the author put normal kids (well, some) in there and not OMG-the-most-popular-in-school types. Also, I'm incredibly glad that she put a kid with acne in her story. With all the teen books that I've read, I have yet to encounter a main character that is dealing with skin problems. Which is weird because 90% of all teenagers deal with acne in high school. It should be brought up more in YA lit. It's a trivial thing, I guess, but it takes trivial things like that to make a character more relatable to the reader.
You may have noticed that I didn't actually tell you what this book is about. Well, that's because I am really scared of spoiling you since this book IS all about the plotline. So, I guess I'll just tell you the it's about a girl who can see ghosts. If you wanna know more before you jump into this book, I'd suggest goodreads...that has good summaries and they usually don't spoil you much.
All in all, I'm definitely going out to get the second in this trilogy as soon as I can. And that's not JUST because it leaves off on an insane cliffhanger but I'm genuinely curious as to where the author takes the story from here. Okay, maybe those two are kinda the same thing. Whatever.
I give it a: 4/5 stars.
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