Monday, March 24, 2014

Trying too hard...and missing

17-year-old Jillian Spectre is a Seer, though she’s only allowed to do romance readings right now because of her age and skill level. One day, as she’s doing a reading for a regular customer, Jillian sees the woman’s murder in her crystal ball. When she warns the woman, she sees the images change and the woman alive. Not only has Jillian seen something different, she’s managed to change the future. Now The Council is interested in her, and concerned that she may be manifesting a second power. While cool, this is unheard of, and when her father did it he turned evil. Speaking of which, Jillian’s father has returned to take over the world using cell phones. With her best friend Roxanne, and her crushes, Jake and Ryan, by her side Jillian sets out to stop her father’s evil plan. Hopefully, she won’t be killed or brainwashed in the process.


I really wanted to like this book. It had an interesting concept and some great characters. Unfortunately, the execution just wasn't there. At just over 200 pages, it seemed as if the author had a maximum word count that they couldn't go over but was determined to include EVERYTHING. There is enough content for at least two novels crammed into this one book, and key plot points are underdeveloped in favor of adding yet another piece to the plot. Additionally, the writing style is on a middle school level but the content is high school. Overall, this promising novel tried too hard and still missed its mark. 

Tatano, Nic. The Adventures of Jillian Spectre: Welcome to the Mystic Quarter. New York, HarperImpulse, 2014. 

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