27 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Fantastic Beginning, June 7, 2010
This review is from: Powerless: The Synthesis (Kindle Edition)
Recently, I've had the pleasure of reading Jason Letts' Synthesis, Book One in the Powerless Series.
For me, a truly great Young Adult novel holds an appeal to all ages, not just the young adult audience that it caters too. Maybe this is unrealistic, but I believe that a successful novel in this genre transports a reader to their own childhood, so that they can experience the novel through the eyes of their younger self along with the characters.
Synthesis, Book One of the Powerless series does this beautifully.
Sheltered and isolated with only her mother and father, fifteen year old Mira suddenly discovers that there is a world outside of her mist protected cottage filled with people and places that she could never have imagined existed. She is given the opportunity to join this world, to explore and discover all that she had never known. Of course, there is a catch. While she is gifted with intelligence and an uncanny knack with machinery and all manner of inventions she lacks the one thing that every other person on her world receives from the universe at birth: a power. She is, in fact powerless, thrust into a world filled with amazing and often dangerous gifts. Even more challenging, she must now make her way through a school where the students are encouraged to use their powers to shape the hierarchy of the class which will eventually be sent out to battle in the ongoing war between the Light and the Dark.
There are so many things that impressed me about this story. The imagery is lush and expands along with Mira's perception of her world. The characters are flawed, endearing, infuriating at times and very human. They too become more vivid as Mira learns to understand the complex behaviors of her peers. There is tremendous emotional growth as the group of young people move through their last year of schooling. I was impressed at Letts' ability to move you through the story in a way that was very reminiscent to me of Lloyd Alexander, one of my all time favorite YA authors.
Perhaps the most intriguing aspect of this story is it's gender neutral premise. Gender truly does not factor into the success or failure of these young people. They rely on their powers, their wit and their understanding of each other to battle and maneuver their way to the top of the class. Even so, Letts still manages to highlight the awkward, and often touching moments that each gender experiences during the process of becoming an adult.
I would highly recommend this book to any person who enjoys a tale well told. The wit, the foibles, the very real danger and the charming awkwardness of the young are all mixed together quite elegantly to create a story that will easily appeal to readers of all ages, from the very young to the young at heart. Powerless will carry you along through each poignant discovery, as the shocking twists and turns keep you turning the pages. If you are anything like me, you'll be waiting impatiently for the second installment in the Powerless series.
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22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Powerful Read, June 4, 2010
This review is from: Powerless: The Synthesis (Kindle Edition)
Take your typical fantasy novel -- where the hero discovers she has mystical powers and must save the world -- and turn it on its head.
With "Powerless" the author has created compelling characters and a fascinating setting with a twist: the main character is the only person without a special power! In a world where every person has an extra ability of some sort, Mira is exceptional in that she has none.
I could not stop reading this book. The story pulled me in and kept me riveted right through to the end. Jason Letts does a fantastic job of introducing new mysteries and challenges while keeping the characters and their interactions believable. I particularly enjoyed how the story began with Mira's entire world limited to her parents' house and the surrounding yard. Then throughout the story the camera pulls back to reveal more and more of the world and its intricacies.
I'm waiting impatiently for book two! If you're looking for something different, or if you're just looking for a great story with interesting characters I highly recommend this book.
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18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A fantastic, innocent book, July 6, 2010
This review is from: Powerless: The Synthesis (Kindle Edition)
First off, let me say that I dislike the term, "Young Adult Fiction". This particular tag labels a work as childish, only for children or "young adults" (duh!). I recently read an article that said if Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird" were to be published for the first time today, it would most likely be labeled as such. This is sad, because I have a feeling there are many YA books out there that are fantastic reads, and yet adults may pass them by, thinking the material to be beneath them.
Jason Letts' "Powerless Book I: The Synthesis" is one of those books.
The story is simple and yet brilliant. On an earth much like our own, the whole of the populace has been granted super powers (for lack of a better word) since birth. All, that is, except our heroine, a precocious sixteen-year-old named Mira.
Mira has been kept isolated by her loving parents for all her life, surrounding their house by a wall of impenetrable mist to keep their vulnerable baby safe. Life goes on as usual for this family until, one night, a face appears to Mira through the clouds. This sparks her curiosity about the outside world, and leaves her parents with little choice than to unveil the reality of existence to their daughter.
From there, the storyline follows a fairly predictable trail. Mira goes to school, meets her classmates, makes friends (and possibly enemies), and generally experiences the growing pains that would accompany a person who's lived their entire life locked away from the rest of humanity. However, when I say "predictable", I don't mean "bad".
The wonder of this novel isn't the storyline, but the feel of the characters. These are teenagers we're talking about here, and though they are as selfish, vain, and insufferable, as teenagers usually are, there is also a layer of righteousness in each of them. We can see it, just beneath their surface, even if those acting out the deeds on the page cannot. It was truly inspiring to see, and I felt myself being thrown back into my own late teen years, wishing that in my own trials and tribulations I could've made the same bright and insightful choices that the characters here do.
The novel's setting is magical, though in a subdued sort of way. There are many times where the reader will shift from a realm of high fantasy, what with the village square and the sealed fortress, where everyone walks (or flies, or teleports, or whatever else) to where they have to be through lush forests, to modern-day realism, where there is a knowledge of batteries and mechanics. This is not a stretch. Think about living in a world where everyone can do such wonderful things with their bodies. There would most likely not have been an industrial revolution, as there are folks who could perform certain tasks (a la shaping metal with the slightest touch or lift heavy objects from a distance with nothing but flick of the wrist) with relative ease. This doesn't mean that science is dead; no, on the contrary, science exists, and it is very much the same, but it is pushed to the background because, with all these wondrous gifts, it is relatively unnecessary.
This is an innocent book and, as I said, simple. And it is also the first of a series. Like some of the other great works dealing with children (from Harry Potter to Buffy the Vampire Slayer), we should understand that as the volumes build and the characters grow older, the product will become darker and more adult. This is why the early books - or episodes - of these particular series should be cherished. Though they grew and reached exciting and satisfactory endings, there is still, when one looks back, a sort of melancholy that emerges. We understand that we've known these characters since they were naïve and impressionable, and it hurts just a little to see their innocence diminish through their troubles and the sorrow of reaching adulthood. We should always remember that innocence, that clarity of youth, because without it, we become nothing but hollow shells.
"Powerless Book I: The Synthesis" captures all of this, and more, and promises that there will be even grander adventures right around the corner.
In short, I adored this little novel. It is well worth the read, and I am truly excited for the upcoming volumes to be released. I give it 4.5 out of 5 stars - the docked half-point existing only because I thought the ending a bit hokey. Not bad, just hokey.
But it's fantastic, anyway. I invite all to check it out.
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