Customer Reviews

It Begins (The Unseen, Part 1)

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I'm not going to bother writing an in-depth review because I know that not many people will read this review. This book isn't exactly a hot seller.

But if you are into supernatural tales, I would highly recommend this series. The books are not long and they have a writing style that is aimed to appeal to a younger audience, yet the story is also quite dark and has undertones and subtext that older teens and adults could appreciate.

The books are fastpaced, interesting, and actually creepy. I read lots of adult horror novels and books but I still found this book series fascinating. The story pulled me in and I read each book in a matter of two or three days, and that was only because I forced myself to put the book down - every chapter ends with something that makes you want to keep reading.

While reading these books, I am able to perfectly imagine everything that happens as though I'm actually seeing it. The characters are interesting and you care about what happens to them, which makes you feel more into the story when something bad may happen to them. And the stories are able to be creepy because you don't really know what's happening, you don't know who the villain is. The atmosphere is just very well constructed.

So basically, I'd HIGHLY recommend this if you're looking for a fast read and you like suspense/horror. If you have negative feelings about the story based on other reviews here and the plot, then don't read it. If you think it's gonna be bad, it probably will be. But I bought it without knowing a THING about it and now this series is one of my favorites. I enjoyed this more than any Stephen King novel, but hey, maybe that's just me.

I really liked this as a book...it's hard to find anything to read in between Buffy books and a few scattered titles...but according to the back cover, this isn't just a short trilogy - several books are planned for a series. It's original and captivating. Lucy has lost her mother and gone to live with an uncaring aunt and step-cousin in an all new area when she witnesses the death of a girl she can't save. As things get supernatural, she accepts help from a mysterious student who she develops a rare connection with. BUT, the end to the first book comes violently and abruptly with more loss all around, and it doesn't seem there are any characters left to make any further books anything other than Lucy, crazy and walking around alone and talking to herself. Which doesn't sound too interesting.

This book was definitely not what I expected. Usually, you will find me reading some tragic love novel or something about vampires for young adults, so when I saw that this was a 'horror' story, I was a bit intrigued. Excited to read something different, I jumped into this story with an open mind, and I was not disappointed. Sure, the dialogue is a little jumbled at times and it seems that every other word is italicized, but the story line was really interesting and I just couldn't put it down! My favorite thing of all is that it had a really gripping cliffhanger. I give this 4 stars because it held my interest throughout the whole story,and it really did send chills through me at times. I'm leaving out the fifth star only because there aren't any WOW moments, but I'm sure the next book will. I have already ordered the second, third, and final book to the series and I can't wait to read them! (:

I have always hated reading.. but i found this book at a local book fair for about 89 cents and it changed my whole view in Literature. Richie is an amazing author, The night that i had gotten this book i decieded to read a few pages, and what started as a few pages turned into chapters. Finally at about 2 am i put the book down. I felt like i couldn't move i could'nt turn my light off. i had gotten so sucked into richie's work that i felt like her main character Lucy, i felt like anything could happen. i loved this book so much and i dont know why but it seemed like more then just a book to me. If you dont read this book you are missing out on one of the best books.

Don't be fooled by the cover. This book and the others that follow it are awesome. I love this series. I bought the Unseen Series from Amazon UK, because they were released in Europe first. It was worth it to pay more to have it shipped from the UK, because I wasn't disappointed. I love Richie Tankersley Cusick's work (like The Locker for example) and this series has to be some of her best work. There is heart pounding suspense from beginning to end. I almost didn't want to finish the first one, because I had to wait for the sequel to be released. I just received book four and I hope there will be a book five. A must read for any Cusick fan.

Logic? Where?, December 28, 2005
A Kid's Review
This book seems like it was written by a 13-year-old emo kid. All it was was angst and pain. Pain is mentioned at least every page.

Additionally, why would a grave be open without people filling it? Why wasn't the girl in the grave in a coffin of some sort?

Read something else. For your own sanity.
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NONONONONONONO how old are you???? sorry but how do you not get it??

pain is mentioned alot.. but not in every page.. and it is mentioned soo much because lucy is in pain her mom just DIED umm do you think this book is supposed to be happy??? umm i thought not.

IDK why the grave would be open.. oh yea maybe the bad guy dug it! would that be a possibilityy?? = P yeaaa

the reason the girl wasn;t in a coffin is because she was murderd.. do you really think that if you were a murderer and you killed someone that you would oh maybe put them in a coffin maybe add a tombstone and say a few prayers?? uhh ahaha sorry but noooo

Didd you really read this book or just skim through it??!!

i am sorry but i think this book was amazing and that it is wrong for you to post that because obviously you must've misunderstood the hole thing.

The Unseen is about a girl named Lucy who moved to Pine Ridge to live with her aunt and cousin because her mother recently died. Pained and shaken, Lucy does not think things for her could get any worse-but she is wrong. One night, when she wanders into Pine Ridge's graveyard to lose someone whom she thinks is following her, she stumbles upon an open grave....and her life takes a one way trip into a living nightmare. A power is passed onto her....a boy named Bryon offers to help her....something, someone unseen watching her....unexplained fear....Lucy's nightmare begins, all because she stumbles upon a dying girl in an open grave...

"If you want to live, you musn't tell anyone....not anyone....what you've seen here tonight." (quote from book)

I really liked this scary novel, and I would not mind reading it over and over again. Anyone who enjoys fast-paced action, horror, mystery, fiction, realistic details, and a unique ending, this is the book for you. I found it hard to put this book down because of the way the author described the feelings of dread, and not just of dread, but much more. After reading the first few pages, you're hooked!

The Unseen stands right beside some Stephen King novels. Both Richie Tankersley Cuisck and King have their own wonderful ways with fright. If you are a Stephen King fan, or any other horror author fan, you would seriously like this book.

This is only the first book of the series. Once you have read one, you must read them all.

Don't be fooled by the simplistic style, this book, while a straight forward and easy read will keep you on the edge of your chair the whole way through and it leaves you hanging every chapter. I don't recommend this book to people who like to take their time and think through books for themselves. This book is easy to understand and while it might make you think on an emotional level, it's not of "literary merit" or so the english teacher may say. But I highly enjoyed it. It's fast paced and fun.

In a nutshell, Lucy who has just lost her mother, is forced to leave her home, friends and everything she knows, to move in with her Aunt Irene (who her Mother could not stand and barely ever talked about) and her Step-Cousin Angela, even though neither of them really want her there and don't go out of their way to be hospitable. Then she meets Byron, a sexy boy that all the girls want but can't have, as he keeps to himself, but he has a dark secret only for Lucy. Read my full review here: http://shoes-n-more.blogspot.com/2012/01/book-reviews-second-grave-on-leftit.html

While I was searching the library for Afterlife by Claudia Gray (which totally hurt my feelings because they didn't have it), I came across this series of books. I was totally skeptical by the appearance but I'm getting a little desperate for a well-written novel without a vampire/werewolf/faery centered plot. Don't get me wrong, I completely love those characters but hey how many different versions can a girl take? I thought maybe I would find it in this novel. WRONG! To be perfectly honest, I don't think I found anything within this plot... whatever it was.
See, there's Lucy and of course we go down the same ole beaten path--her mother dies, she's never known her father, she's goes to live with her Aunt in the little town where everybody knows everybody, yada... yada....yada.... Oh yeah, and her cousin is spiteful hateful B****. So, in the beginning we have this really strange prologue with this weirdo guy talking about how some chick found out about him and despite the fact that he loved her, he had to kill her (I would like to point out that I never found the point where it was mentioned or shown in the rest of the novel where he loved her in any way), then we're thrust into this scene with Lucy walking and being followed then she's in an open grave with a girl who's dying and she touches her and gives her this weird gift.... Umm, yeah, ok! Then there's a bunch of random events that fail to raise any interest on my part (if hadn't been such a small book I wouldn't have been able to finish).
For me it was very staccato--meaning there was no flow. It was like an endless array of adjectives. The descriptions were seriously over exaggerated. I prefer more showing and less describing but that's just me. The character development wasn't too bad but there wasn't any one character that stood out to me or even interested me for that matter. I understand a lot of really bad things were happening to Lucy but she simply came across as severely paranoid and irritating. Then there was the ending that made no sense and left me no information or intrigue to continue with the series.