Review: 5 Stars from a Picky Reader
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 02 20, 2012
I picked this title up after re-connecting with the author, who was my closest friend from grade school through and a few years after high school. I am ridiculously glad I did both.MJ Fletcher is and has always been a creative and colorful mind, and that shines through in this novel. The characters are very easy to imagine and relate to. The story is vivid and exciting, and takes you to places that challenge your imagination while making you believe they can actually exist.I am admittedly a book snob, and have a difficult time finding books that can walk the fine line between bright and interesting detail and what I feel is obnoxiously over-detailing imagery. This book does gymnastic-style backflips on that line. The picture painted by the author takes you strongly into the scene without overdoing every inconsequential detail of the time and place.My favorite part of this book is the way the lead character is written. Rather than feeling like you are reading about a character, you feel as if you are in Chloe's mind watching her life unfold. The secondary characters feel nerdy when they need to be, warm and charming when they need to be, and necessarily arrogant where applicable. I cannot help but make the comparison to the characters and detail in the Sookie Stackhouse Novels by Charlaine Harris.I am still not completely finished with the book, but felt the need to give my review and help others to gain interest. Still a few chapters left in book 1, and anxiously awaiting book 2.BUY THIS BOOK IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY.