Manifest by Artist ArthurI received an ARC of this book through We Love YA Tours.
Publication Date: 01 August 2010
Description
When fifteen-year-old Krystal Bentley moves to Lincoln, Connecticut, her mom's hometown, she assumes her biggest drama will be adjusting to the burbs after living in New York City.
But Lincoln is nothing like Krystal imagined. The weirdness begins when Ricky Watson starts confiding in her. He's cute, funny, a good listener—and everything she'd ever want—except that he was killed nearly a year ago. Krystal's ghost-whispering talents soon lead other "freaks" to her door—Sasha, a rich girl who can literally disappear, and Jake, who moves objects with his mind. All three share a distinctive birthmark in the shape of an M and, fittingly, call themselves the Mystyx. They set out to learn what really happened to Ricky, only to realize that they aren't the only ones with mysterious powers. But if Krystal succeeds in finding out the truth about Ricky's death, will she lose him for good?
My Review
Manifest, the debut novel of author, Artist Arthur, tells a unique paranormal teen story. I really liked the concept of this book, but I felt there could have been more character development for Krystal. She comes off as kind of spoiled, always complaining about her mom and step-father. I did feel that her personality became more positive by the end of the book, but that personally it was hard to relate to Krystal as a character.
On the other hand, this is the perfect young adult read. Arthur has managed to truly capture the voice of a teenager. While some of the vocabulary and sentence structure seemed more middle grade than young adult, I liked how authentic Krystal and her friends' characters came off.
I also liked how normal (besides the supernatural powers) Krystal and her friends' lives were. They went to school, had family issues, etc. Some paranormal teen novels are so focused on advancing the plot and creating conflict that everyday activities fall to the wayside. For me, having characters, "go through the motions" so to speak, of normal days despite what may be happening makes a story more realistic. Sometimes I'm reading a young adult book and wondering, why aren't these kids in school or when are they going to eat or they haven't slept in days. It may sound trivial, but it can make a huge difference in my reading enjoyment.
As a debut novel, Artist Arthur has written a good story. I have no doubt that she will improve as a writer and I look forward to seeing how she continues the Mystyx series.
My Rating: 3 stars
Picture and description courtesy of Goodreads.
Manifest Book Trailer
5 comments:
Great review! I especially agree with: "Sometimes I'm reading a young adult book and wondering, why aren't these kids in school or when are they going to eat or they haven't slept in days."
hmmmmm Great review! I started this one but had to give it a break... might go back to it later, we'll see =D
Wonderful review. Happy I stopped by. E-mail for a review,me at ednahyaauthor@aol.com
Thanks for your review. I don't think I enjoyed this one as much as you did. While I liked some parts with the paranormal aspects, I felt like the story didn't hold together as it could have. There were so many coincidences if you know what I mean.
I do agree with you about the going to school, etc though.
Great review! I cant wait to read this book!
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