Auracle [Hardcover]

Gina Rosati (Author)

Book Description

Release date: August 7, 2012

Trapped outside her body, Anna sees and hears but cannot touch the one she longs to hold.

 

Anna has a secret: she can astrally project out of her body. But when there's an accident and her classmate Taylor gets into Anna's body, what was an exhilarating gift threatens to become a terrifying reality. Anna and her best friend Rei form a plan to set things right, but they don't anticipate the feelings that are beginning to grow between them. Auracle by Gina Rosati is an exciting, sensual novel that explores the relationship between body and soul and the power of a single touch.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Seventeen-year-old Anna deals with her father’s alcoholism partly through her lifelong friendship with Rei, the boy next door, and partly through astral projection. Leaving her body, she has traveled around the world, into the cosmos, and to the nearby waterfall where Taylor, a predatory “party girl,” has lured Rei’s buddy Seth before she slips at the edge and crashes to her death. Anna returns to her body, only to find it occupied by Taylor, who (as Anna) accuses Seth of murder and tries to seduce Rei. Working to exorcise Taylor and reclaim her life, Anna realizes that her own feelings for Rei go way beyond friendship. Anna’s compelling first-person narrative creates a fine balance of elements: romance, family dynamics, paranormal activity, action, and suspense. Does it strain credibility when, in a crisis, Anna’s powers expand to include healing mortal wounds? Probably, but most readers will be too interested in finding out what happens next to stop for reflection. A captivating first novel. Grades 7-10. --Carolyn Phelan

Review

"A captivating first novel.”--Booklist

"Readers who like their mysteries supernaturally tinged and their romantic heroes sweet and protective will enjoy this debut novel."--BCCB

"...deeply engaging.”--Publishers Weekly

 

"Readers who enjoy more than a dash of the paranormal in their romance novels won’t be disappointed…”--Kirkus

 

“Rosati sticks to the rules she’s created, blending the supernatural and ordinary in unexpected, sometimes humorous, ways.” —Horn Book

“Teens who enjoy more complex plotlines and are tired of the usual fare should enjoy this new approach to paranormal fiction.” – School Library Journal

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Age Range: 12 and up
  
• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Roaring Brook Press; 1 edition (August 7, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1596437103
• ISBN-13: 978-1596437104
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #421,575 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Gina Rosati writes YA paranormal romance and lives in southern New Hampshire with her husband and two children. Find out more at www.ginarosati.com

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Fresh and Unique Paranormal YA Novel!! August 17, 2012

By Stephanie Ward

Format:Hardcover

'Auracle' is a refreshing young adult paranormal/fantasy novel that brings a fresh voice and interesting new topics to the genre. The book focuses on the main character, Anna, who has been able to astrally project for as long as she can remember. While outside of her body, she is able to visit places that most people can only fantasize about - watching a supernova in outer space or experiencing a volcano eruption up close. One day, while watching a meeting between two classmates, Anna witnesses an accident that leaves her classmate Taylor dead. When Anna tries to return to her body, she is horrified to find that Taylor's spirit has taken up residence and she is not willing to let go. Anna must find a way to force Taylor out of her body for good and to figure out a way to get herself back in.

This is one of the most unique books I've read in the YA paranormal genre. I haven't read many books that deal with ESP or other phenomenon, especially not one that focuses on astral projection. The idea is new and exciting, and it made the book a great page-turner for me. I liked the way the characters were portrayed - especially Anna. She was sarcastic and rude at times, but fiercely loyal to her friends. That made her very likeable to me and it was easy to root for her throughout her trials. I also liked the romance that slowly develops between Anna and Rei, her best friend and neighbor. It was sweet and portrayed an innocent first love in a realistic way.

Overall, I thought that the book was very well written with an addicting plot and a great flow that made it almost impossible to stop reading once I started. I found it very original and unique, which is hard to find in the YA genre these days. I highly recommend this book to fans of YA paranormal fiction and I will definitely be reading more of Gina's work in the future.

Disclosure: I received a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars One-Note Novel August 8, 2012

By anne-marie

Format:Hardcover

Anna has a unique ability to attune herself to the vibrations of the world and astrally project from her body. For as long as she can remember she's used this knack to travel, escape, and do things her everyday life can't afford. When tragedy strikes leaving Anna without a body, it not only opens her eyes to the things she's taken for granted but will also challenge the extent of her abilities.

Sadly the most exciting thing about Auracle was the cover. Gina Rosati's debut was ok, and by all means should have been a good read. Auracle has all the building blocks to support it, nice foundation, good ideas, solid story lines, but was kind of bland. The characters had interesting backgrounds but no dimension to them, they were flat, stereotypical, and offensive. For example the antagonist Taylor has everything and all the pressure to go with it so her solution is to be overly aggressive, overtly sexually provocative, and get pregnant. When that doesn't work, she tries ruin as many other lives as possible, simply because this smart beautiful girl can't find any other way to rebel against being forced to go to Yale to become a judge and lead her own path in life. I think the story and characters definitely needed more work, more fantasy, it was a little too grounded in reality and didn't push any limits or challenge the reader.

Auracle has all the elements for a standout but is more of an in-between read, not quite good, not horribly bad, just blah, which could be worse. I really had to work through this one, the story got a bit boring at times and the characters weren't very likable, their motivations bland, making it a one-note novel.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Standalone paranormal YA August 7, 2012

By Liviania VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

Gina Rosati's debut novel takes on a paranormal ability I haven't seen covered in YA books yet: astral projection. The ability will be familiar to anyone like me who is old enough to have watched Charmed. (Are there people reading this too young to have seen Charmed? Please say no, because I'm feeling old right now.)

Anna Rogan can leave her body and travel all around the world in the space of a history class. Her best friend Rei is the only one who knows about her ability. (Rei is short for Robert Reiki Ellis. Thus, Rei is a guy despite the girly nickname.) Not even their mutual friend Sean Murphy knows about Anna's power. Then Taylor Gleason and Sean have a rendezvous a the top of the waterfall and she falls, Sean unable to save her. Anna sees it all, observing in her astral form. But when she tries to return to her body, Taylor has taken over. And Taylor has one goal: put Sean in jail for her untimely death. Anna must find a way to get her body back and clear Sean's name. Unfortunately, Rei is the only person who can see her.

AURACLE gets bonus points for being standalone, not having a love triangle, and not being about vampires or werewolves. It loses points for having characters who constantly do stupid things. Sean, in particular, acts in the most incriminating way possible. Rei has the most sense, and they are just teenagers, but it's sometimes frustrating.

But while AURACLE contains unconventional aspects, Anna is, at heart, a conventional heroine. She knows about her astral projection in the beginning, but she's never learned how to use it more effectively. She's secretly in love with her best friend. Taylor, on the other hand, is more intriguing. She'd prefer to be a mother than go to Yale like her parents want. She's acting out, desperate to be liked, selfish, and sad. She's a female sexual predator, pursuing guys after they say no, but dismissed by Anna and most of her classmates as a slut. She died a teenager and wants desperately to live.

It takes almost the entirety of AURACLE for Anna to have any empathy for Taylor. Now, Taylor is definitely the villain, but she's a complex character. It's a bit disturbing that the heroine so easily writes her off. Perhaps I'm just turned off by how often Anna tosses the word slut around. The way Taylor treats Sean is wrong, and I'm cool with someone being called out for pursuing the unwilling. But slut isn't the right term for that.

I enjoyed AURACLE as a paranormal thriller. But I wish Rosati played more with moral ambiguity and risked Rei and Anna seeing Taylor's more likeable qualities earlier in the story. AURACLE's ending just feels like a return to status quo, not redemption.