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Monday, November 14, 2011

"Shattered Dreams" by Ellie James

Release Date: December 6th, 2011
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Format: eGalley
Age Group: Young Adult

Sixteen-year-old Trinity Monsour wants nothing more than to live a normal life. But that isn’t as easy as it seems. Trinity is different. She is special. She sees visions, and for those she’s seen, it’s already too late.
Trinity arrives on her aunt’s doorstep in New Orleans with virtually no knowledge of her mysterious heritage. She begins settling into life at a new school and even starts making friends. But all too quickly her dreams accelerate; twisted, terrifying visions of a girl locked in a dark room. And when the head cheerleader, Jessica, goes missing, Trinity knows she has no choice but to step forward with what she’s seen.
But people believe that Trinity has information about Jessica’s disappearance not because of a dream, but because she is involved. She is kind-of dating Jessica’s ex-boyfriend, Chase, and Jessica did pull a nasty prank on Trinity. Revenge seems like the likeliest scenario.
Nothing prepares Trinity for the dark odyssey that ensues while searching for Jessica, including the surprising romance she finds with Chase, or the shocking truths she learns, not just about the girl who has gone missing, but the past that has been hidden from her.

I really liked the premise of this book and that it was set in post Katrina New Orleans. At the start of the book we get dropped right into the middle of an already occuring story. A bunch of kids are going to trespass in an old, abandoned house that may or may not be haunted. We are able to gather that our main character, Trinity, has come to hang out with these kids she hopes might become friends. Some of the parts in the first few chapters were really confusing and I had to go back and make sure I hadn't moved ahead an extra page. It jumps around a little bit and leaves you wondering exactly where you are supposed to be. Despite this I kept on, because I was enjoying the writing and I was curious to see what was really going on.

I really like stories that are about someone who can see visions, whether they are straight up psychic or the vision is something more paranormal, so that aspect definitely kept my interest. I've always wanted to harness my own psychic ability, but I don't appear to actually have any. This book has all the elements of YA. Mean girls, cute boys, romance, secrets and mysterious goings on. I liked the main character in this one. She moved from being homeschooled in Colorado to the very different world of high school in New Orleans. Even though she could have floundered and there were times when she needed others help, Trinity really held her own. I'd recommend giving this one a go. It's got great writing, good characters and is a great start to a series.

3 comments:

  1. This sounds interesting. I had not heard of it before, but it's definitely going on my wishlist!

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  2. Very spiffy review, SarBear! I added this book to my wishlist a couple of months ago because it sounded like my kind of book. I'm glad to see that you liked it! You have made me want to read it even more now. =)

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  3. I haven't heard of this book but I loved your review so I'll have to keep my eyes peeled for it in December. :)

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