The Medium [Hardcover]

Noelle Sickels (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Set before and during WWII, this compelling paranormal love story from Sickels (Walking West; The Shopkeeper's Wife) will remind many of Jacqueline Winspear's Maisie Dobbs series (Messenger of Truth, etc.), with its deft historical detail and timeless characters. Helen Schneider, a 13-year-old school girl, discovers she has remarkable powers as a medium after she has a vision of a New Jersey neighbor caught in a fire. As Helen matures, her ability to communicate with the dead and see the future sets her at odds with her fiancé, Billy Mackey, and eventually arouses the interest of the U.S. military. Helen must decide whether to use her psychic gift to do what she thinks is right or to bow to the opposition of skeptics like Billy. Paranormal fans seeking a realistic change from the vampires and werewolves that dominate this popular subgenre will be well rewarded.
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Review

A compelling paranormal love story with deft historical detail and timeless characters. -- Publisher's Weekly, October 2007

A highly enjoyable, meticulously researched coming-of-age tale with an intriguing twist. -- Barbara Samuel, BookPage.com, December 2007

Contains enough mystery, suspense, romance, and paranormal premonitions to keep the reader breathtakingly waiting to turn the next page. -- Viviane Crystal, Crystal Reviews, October 2007

No matter what beliefs one holds about the afterlife, Helen's story and America's are realistically done and sure to fascinate. -- Jane Bowers, Romance Reviews Today, December 2007

The story's conceit (what if psychics weren't charlatans?) is intriguing. Sickels captures the era in all its innocence and paranoia. -- Roger Ito, Los Angeles Magazine, December 2007

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 427 pages
• Publisher: Five Star (December 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1594146187
• ISBN-13: 978-1594146183
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.9 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,012,688 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Quiet, poetic writing serves this captivating story well, February 15, 2008

By 

A Reader (NY, NY) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Medium (Hardcover)

I started and finished this book in two days because I couldn't put it down. The author's poetic prose softens this fast-paced story and all of its joys and heartbreaks.

I became really attached to the characters - endearing in their complexities and imperfections. The author avoids melodrama by her subtle and soft way with words, yet I found myself moved by the people and events in this story and taking stock of my life as I read this book. The Medium is also rich with historical context right down to the details of everday life in New Jersey during WWII.

I loved this novel and I appreciate it for its quiet beauty, deep character development, and historical accuracy. It is a well-researched and superbly crafted page-turner of a novel. I have no doubt that its main character, Helen, will be on my mind for weeks to come!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is a strange but exhilarating paranormal historical thriller, December 17, 2007

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Medium (Hardcover)

Helen Schneider has a gift that frightened her when it first surfaced. She can envision disasters. Although her parents feared for her and preferred their child not be a freak, her grandmother nurtured her and taught Helen to learn to use her skill to benefit people. She does, but years later still resents being different and in her way worries about failing.

When an Angel first visited Helen to help her adjust and cope, she rejected the heavenly being out of anger of being different. However, the angel kept trying to help her until Helen accepted her gift as divine since she became a medium channeling thoughts between the dead and their living loved ones. When WWII broke out, Helen uses her ability to help soldiers and civilian who know first hand the horrors of war although each time she does this she feels as if part of her has been ripped out even as the American government begins to think she is a Nazi agent..

This is a strange but exhilarating paranormal historical thriller starring a fascinating lead character who as THE MEDIUM holds the story line together. Although she hates her talent as she just wants to be normal, readers will admire her as she tries to help victims of the war. In fact Helen's accounts are so accurate she is considered a spy placing her in further trouble. Noelle Sickels provides a strong unique twentieth century tale that readers will fully appreciate her talent.

Harriet Klausner

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Medium, February 22, 2008

By 

Jon Carlsten (Atlanta GA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Medium (Hardcover)

Having grown up in a similar Northern NJ "bedroom community" as the author, my personal experiences were pleasantly re-awakened by "The Medium". Other than the intriguing theme of spiritual awareness, I was most impressed by major pre-war 1930's & wartime 1940's events were woven into her novel. With the exception of the fear & trepidation felt by contemporary German-Americans, she effectively conveyed the feelings of average citizens to these events. Public suspicion of German-Americans during WWII & WWI is an experience that few writers have directly addressed. Only one example comes to mind: The summary execution of a captured German soldier from Oregon on D-Day in "Saving Private Ryan". Ms. Sickels treatment of Helen Schneider & her family expresses the universal agony experienced by all those affected by conflict on whatever side they may find themselves. I look forward to reading "Walking West" & future works by this very creative & fearless author.