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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Voices - Friend or Foe, July 27, 2010
This review is from: Manifest (Kimani Tru) (Paperback)
In Manifest: A Mystyx Novel by Artist Arthur, we are introduced to an unhappy 15 year-old, Krystal Bentley, who is the narrator of the story. Many things are happening in Krystal's life that she has no control over; moving to a small town in Connecticut so unlike her hometown of New York City, starting a new school where she does not seem to fit in, her parent's divorce and her mother's quick remarriage to a man who is out to make her life as miserable as possible. Krystal just does not know how much more she can take, especially now that she is hearing the voices again and the one person she relies on the most, her father, is no longer returning her phone calls. So, just what is she going to do, now that the voice has materialized into a cute boy, only she can see and hear, asking for her help?
Mystyx is a Young Adult paranormal series, and Manifest is the first book in the series. With such a crowded field of paranormal novels, I wondered how this series was going to distinguish itself from this jam-packed genre. I enjoyed the uniqueness of the plot and storyline, and how it combined the supernatural with Mother Nature and mythology. Krystal and the reader will be introduced to additional Mystyx members, each who has a unique power. I was glad to see the diversity of the characters, so this book will have an appeal across a broad audience. The author really captured the voice and action of a teenager. While the story started out a little slow, the pace picked up and moved along quickly resolving the issue at hand, but piquing my interest for the next story. This was a wonderful coming-of-age story where Krystal learns some grown-up lessons about life and to embrace who she is.
I recommend this book to teenagers and adults who like coming-of-age and paranormal stories. Because of the variety of teenage characters and issues, Manifest would be a good book to begin the dialogue with teenagers on the understanding and differences among people, and to learn how to accept themselves.
This book was provided by the publisher for review purposes.
Reviewed by Beverly
APOOO BookClub
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Teen Ghost Whisperer Meets Others with Superpowers, July 27, 2010
This review is from: Manifest (Kimani Tru) (Paperback)
Reason for Reading: The sounds of a Paranormal YA Ghost Whisperer with an added twist plot was enough to make me want to read it.
This is a book that I enjoyed more the further I got into it. I find that while I'm reading I often rate a book as I go along. This was a two at the beginning, a solid three by the middle and pushing a four and a half by the end so to sum it all off I've gone with an overall four. Krystal can see dead people, hear them, have conversations with them and now they are asking her for help. Ricky Watson, a very cute boy, for a ghost, wants Krystal to find out who killed him and he won't stop pestering her until she agrees to help him. Two other kids at school are trying to corner Krystal into meeting them somewhere secret when they find out Krystal has the mysterious 'M' birthmark that both of them also have. This may all be very exciting to some but not Krystal as she is in the middle of glooming over her parents divorce, her mother's moving her from NYC to hicktown Connecticut and her subsequent marriage to Gerald who seems to hate Krystal almost as much as she hates him.
When I first started reading I really did not like the character of Krystal. She was full of angst, self-importance, rude to her mother and everyone else for that matter, whiny and basically a grating narrative voice to have to read. Krystal's attitude remains the same for a good part of the book but fortunately the plot was exciting enough to keep me reading. There is a mystery to solve and the three teens set out to solve who killed Ricky; popular belief is that the crew he hung with had something to do with it but Ricky wants their names cleared and the real killer found. The story becomes more involved when Krystal meets another ghost in the boiler room, a crying girl who has had her head bashed in and thinks there may be a connection to Ricky's death.
The plot was a fun read and I ended up reading the book in an afternoon. Little bits of information are leaked as the book progresses though I knew who the culprit was early on. This plot line is closed by the end of the book. In amongst the solving of the mystery, is a plot line where the teens found out about their birthmarks and powers, this, again, is an intriguing story arc and one that will continue through the series. They learn enough in this volume but there are many more questions to ask and so much more to know. The dynamics of the group of three who are from very different backgrounds is also explored and grows.
Krystal's home life is an ongoing issue through the book and it just plain annoyed me. I'm not cold-hearted. I appreciate the drama of the situation, but it is one of those things where if everybody had just told the truth at the beginning there would not have been all this hatred and misery for so long. Toward the end there is some kind of resolution, and Krystal seems to lose her angst and bad attitude but we'll have to wait until book two to find out for sure. Because Krystal aside I really liked all the other characters, especially Sasha and I'm quite excited to find out what the next ghost will want Krystal to help with.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A decent new series, September 9, 2010
This review is from: Manifest (Kimani Tru) (Paperback)
If you're one of the people who are wondering where all of the black heroines are in the YA supernatural genre, then you'll be glad to know that Arthur gives you just that. You'll be even more glad to know that she has managed to write an interesting tale full of strange powers as well as ominous threats as well. Arthur has a very real talent for not only penning a good phrase, but also making us care about her characters' feelings. Krystal's anguish over her parents' divorce as well as being uprooted to a new area is one of the strongest themes of the book.
However where the story falls short is in character definition. While readers are sure to identify with her characters in at least some regard, many will long for a little more information & background on not only her main characters, but to her secondary characters as well. Since this is an ongoing series, hopefully this will change over time but some readers will still wish for a little more to start off with.
Overall this is a decent tale that is sure to entertain & while it doesn't stand out as much as series such as "SoulScreamers", it is one that I would recommend for any fan of YA UF.
(ARC provided by NetGalley)
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