Review: Brilliant!  Creative!  This is why I read...
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 10 1, 2013
Let's start at the end, because in one word I can sum up the entire book, especially the ending, BRILLIANT! The Shepherd by Travis Luedke was like nanny-camming its characters! From the dialogue that was completely uncensored male teen, to the cliques, to the games girls will play, I felt like I was reliving high school drama! Okay, I didn't know a Nadia, who, I will say was a uniquely fresh character, but my inner teen was picking up on that "high school" smell, the emotions, the Who's Who attitude and the skaters vs jock thing until my skin was almost vibrating!Mike has had visions, of course he doesn't go around talking about it, his life is depressing enough with having to deal with a depressed, unemployed, alcoholic father, who was pretty much emotionally absent. Enter Nadia, a young girl who Mike nearly runs over with his car. She is mysterious, quirky, and there is something about her that connects with Mike. What he feels for Nadia is big brother-like, but is this strange girl looking for more? Who is she? Where did she come from? Why does she act like she has known Mike before? Does she mistake him for someone else? Too many strange and awful things are happening and somehow Mike is part of it all, but Nadia is the key.From the fumbling romance Mike finds to his sense of responsibility towards Nadia, Travis Luedke keeps the tale going at breakneck speed, with page after page of new twists and revelation. Through it all, each character had a necessary role to play, cameo appearance or not, that added to the realism, allowing the fantasy to weave its way in, captivating me to the end!The Shepherd is one of those books that called for a breather at the end so I could return the control of my brain to reality!