Wow, where to start… Let me begin by stating that after I finished reading this book, I spent HOURS trying to figure out how I felt about it. I’m happy to announce that the verdict is in: I hated it. Harsh, I know, but let me explain.
The story is of a woman, named Mariah, who’s attempted suicide has left her with a gift: She is able to locating abducted children psychically. She speaks to the children in their minds and has them describe where they are, Mariah then provides the information to the FBI and everyone goes home happy. Her powers are said to be a gift from God. The book is FULL to BURSTING with religious overtones, but as it turns out, it’s actually a sci-fi novel, a series, actually, one of three.
So, after the first chapter I became seriously annoyed with the publishing company for not categorizing this book as a christian fiction (yes, it’s a category) instead of whatever else genre they decided to put it under. This book seems like someone’s awful interpretation of the History Channel’s Ancient Aliens because as I stated earlier, aliens are involved with her powers, not God, but still, once this is discovered, the religious aspect still wasn’t dropped. It’s like the author decided to change genres in the middles of the book. I hope I’ve made this point clear; this book is having a mid-life (chapter) crisis. It needs to buy itself a Ferrari and get over it already.
The writing is, eeeeeeeeeh, alright? (<- yes, the question mark is intentional) I’m trying not to be to harsh, I feel like I’m beating a dead horse, but… it was bad. It was bad. There I said it, the. writing. was. bad. Phew! I fell better getting that off my chest. I suppose I should back up my opinion. I’ll use the main character as an example. Over and over again the author drives home the strong moral fiber of Mariah’s character. So that point is clear, very clear. What really makes the writing “not great” is that every character that meets Mariah is stunned by her beauty, she’s breathtaking, a vision of beauty, blah… but then there is only one mention of her physical appearance, and that is done only in passing. Frankly, it’s very Twilight-y.
What really gets me, what really chaps my britches, is that there is no plot resolution at then end. None, zilch, rien. Usually, a novel, even a series, will have resolutions for at least MOST of the plots. If there will be a second book, sometimes you will also have a twist or a new plot form at the end of the book, which this one had, and that just added to all of the other drama that was not resolved. efghiwfhoq; ODHadjhv (sorry, that was me slamming my head against the keyboard)
So, do I recommend this book. En Oh.
~Jessi
Written Musing 