Genre:
Urban Fantasy/YA/Coming of Age/World Mythology
Description:
“A
little magic has always run in sixteen-year-old McKayla McCleery's
family—at least that’s what she’s been told. McKayla’s
eccentric Aunt Avril travels the world as a clairvoyant for the FBI,
and her mother can make amazing delicacies out of the most basic of
ingredients. But McKayla doesn't think for a second that the magic is
real—it’s just good storytelling. Besides, McKayla doesn’t need
magic. She recently moved to beautiful Star Valley, Wyoming, and
already she has an amazing best friend, a solo in her upcoming ballet
recital, and the gorgeous guy in her physics class keeps looking her
way.
When
an unexpected fascination with Irish dance leads McKayla to seek
instruction from the mute, crippled, janitor at her high school, she
learns that her family is not the only one with unexplained
abilities.
After
Aunt Avril comes to Star Valley in pursuit of a supernatural killer,
people begin disappearing, and the lives of those McKayla holds most
dear are threatened. When the janitor reveals that an ancient curse,
known as a geis, has awakened powers that defy explanation, McKayla
is forced to come to terms with what is real and what is fantasy.”
Author:
“Christy
Dorrity lives in the mountains with her husband, five children, and a
cocker spaniel. She grew up on a trout ranch in Star Valley, Wyoming
and is the author of The Geis series for young adults and The
Book Blogger's Cookbooks.
Christy is a champion Irish dancer and when she's not reading or
writing, she's probably trying out a new recipe in the kitchen.”
Learn
more about Ms. Dorrity and her books on her website and check out her
facebook page.
Appraisal:
This
book exceeded my expectations. This is not just another coming of age
story. Ms. Dorrity has woven Celtic myth into this whole family's
history with an ancient curse they never had a clue about. The
author's passion for Irish dance shines through in the emotion of her
words. I was totally swept away into the dance, the history, and the
characters of this book.
The
story is mainly told through McKayla's eyes interspersed with third
person, the transitions are smooth and well placed. The story threads
were woven together with thoughtful consideration to the overall
plot. The stories are heart wrenching and fascinating. I was blown
away when I learned this was Ms. Dorrity's debut novel. I thought the
story started off strong but I found myself a little overwhelmed with
all the details and was afraid I wouldn't be able to keep up. It
turned out I didn't have the problem I anticipated thanks to Ms.
Dorrity's adept writing style. At about a third of the way in the
story takes off and I had trouble putting the book down to sleep. The
story comes to a satisfying ending with a nice twist to draw you into
the next book. This is going to be an enchanting series.
FYI:
Added
for Reprise Review:
Awakening
was a nominee in the Fantasy category for B&P 2014 Readers'
Choice Awards. Original review ran February 15, 2014
Format/Typo
Issues:
I
found no significant issues.
Rating:
***** Five Stars
Reviewed
by: ?wazithinkin
Approximate
word count: 85-90,000
words
No comments:
Post a Comment