Tell Me What You See [Hardcover]

Zoran Drvenkar (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 9 and up | Grade Level: 4 and up

Teen gothic horror from a new German author--sure to send chills down your spine!

Berlin, Christmas, the dead of night: 16-year-old Alissa and her best friend, Evelin, are making their annual secret pilgrimage to the grave of Alissa's father when Alissa falls through thick snow to land in an underground crypt. There she finds a child's casket...with a strange black plant growing up through its lid. Opening the coffin, she severs the dark growth from its roots--and discovers they are embedded in the heart of the dead child.

From that moment forward, Alissa's life descends into nightmarish turmoil.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 8 Up–Ever since Alissas father died, she and her friend Evelin have made a midnight pilgrimage to his grave every Christmas. But this year Berlin is covered in snow, and while searching for the grave, Alissa falls into a crypt where she finds a childs coffin with a strange plant growing from it. Seduced by the plant, Alissa eats it and finds that it has given her powers. She can see strange people who transform into ravens, are invisible to everyone else, and who appear to comfort the dying. She also develops the ability to call back the dead, although she does not immediately realize what she is doing. Evelin watches in horror as Alissa seeks to figure things out and avoid her ex-boyfriend, who has become frighteningly obsessive. This is an odd, often confusing story in which much is left unexplained. The people Alissa sees are almost like angels, but they are cold and uncompromising; the plant was the dead boys undeveloped gift, but why his unfulfilled potential takes over Alissa or causes her to develop these abilities is unclear. Still, the ambience is undeniable, and the elements behind the supernatural mystery, such as Alissas relationships with her mother and stepfather, are evocative and ring true. Readers seeking a truly unusual horror story may find some satisfaction, despite the flaws, but most will prefer Charles de Lints The Blue Girl (Viking, 2004), which covers similar territory more effectively.–Karyn N. Silverman, Elizabeth Irwin High School, New York City
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About the Author

ZORAN DRVENKAR lives in Berlin, Germany. He has written many books for teens; Tell Me What You See is the first to be published in English. --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: The Chicken House; Tra edition (November 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 043972452X
• ISBN-13: 978-0439724524
• Product Dimensions: 1 x 5.5 x 8.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,531,289 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Strangely intense and beautiful, but almost too odd, February 9, 2006

By 

Kimberly Pauley "YA Author" (Grayslake, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Tell Me What You See (Hardcover)

This is an odd but strangely compelling book. If you think about the plot too hard, things fall apart and make no sense; you must, MUST, kick in your suspension of disbelief and just allow yourself to be carried along by the story. Don't question things too much, just let it be. Because the ride is worth it.

Every Christmas, sixteen-year-old Alissa makes a pilgrimage to the local cemetery with her friend Evelin to visit the grave of her father. They go at midnight every year, but this year, things are interrupted when Alissa accidentally falls into a crypt. While there, she stumbles across the casket of a small boy who has a strange plant growing right out of his chest. She can't explain it, but she is compelled to take the plant and later winds up eating it, still in the dead of night.

She is visited by two strange characters (Elia and Aren) looking for something, which she deduces (correctly) to be the plant. They are amazed that Alissa can see them and disappear quickly without offering her any help, leaving Alissa alone and confused by the strange things that start to happen around her.

Best friend Evelin does her best to help, even fending off Alissa's ex-boyfriend-turned-stalker Simon. But Alissa seems to just slip farther and farther away from the real world. She can see people (like Aren and Elia) that turn into ravens and seem to comfort the dead and dying. She can bring back the dead, even though she doesn't at first realize that this is what her new "power" is.

Everything comes to a head when she finally tracks the raven-people to one of their hideouts and demands help. They aren't forthcoming, but Alissa does learn from the meeting and when things immediately fall apart thereafter due to a violent visit from the maddened Simon, things really take an unexpected (and somewhat dissatisfying - at least for the reader) turn.

As I mentioned in the beginning, this is a book with a haunting beauty, but one that you have to silence any naysayers in your head to truly appreciate. Recommended for readers aged 12 and up, especially those looking for something a little different in the horror department (since it really isn't horror...it just defies description).

--Kimberly Pauley, YA Books Goddess @ yabookscentral.com

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Tell Me What You See - a review, December 3, 2005

By 

Sweet y0 "akindcat" (in your house bwahahaha!) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Tell Me What You See (Hardcover)

I thought this book would end better than it did. It kind of followed the same path as 'The Lovely Bones' when I was reading it. Good start, excellent middle, and kind of a letdown in the end. All in all, it was a pretty good book, though. Kind of made me wish there was a sequel. Decide for yourself.