Review: An Enjoyable Beginning
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 01 26, 2013
Life is filled with reality. When things become too complicated, I escape into books. For me, ironically, a good book is based on a believable reality.The Athena Effect opens with a strong beginning. A young man and woman are running from something or someone. The reader senses Jenny and David's urgency to escape, their need to protect their growing family.Time passes, and we're introduced to Jenny and David's daughter, Caledonia. She's grown up in the mountains with no real outside contact, no electricity, no digital connection to the world in any way. Such an upbringing has made her strong and capable in this unconventional setting.When Caledonia's parents are killed in an accident, she is sent to live with an aunt she's never heard of. The aunt's boyfriend lives with her. He's out of work but, other than being irritated at Cal's appearance, seems harmless. Cal knows how he feels because she can see animals' and people's auras. Emotions show in color, and she's learned to distinguish each color's meaning.Cal starts school. So many teenagers in one place, exhibiting so many strong emotions, make it difficult for Cal. She gets headaches and doesn't understand their many references to things from their everyday lives. Cal works at making herself invisible in a crowd in order to avoid conflict. Her home life takes its toll when Aunt Angie's boyfriend garners an unhealthy interest in Cal.As Cal faces each of these difficult situations, her friendship with a young man named Calvin grows stronger. Their backgrounds are as different as night and day, but they find a common strength that helps them forge an unbreakable bond. The same danger that threatened Cal's parents returns for her, and Calvin refuses to let anything keep them apart.I enjoyed The Athena Effect. The mad scientist angle struck me as a bit clichéd and unbelievable, but everything else worked. Caledonia is a strong character, with just the right amount of fragility and bravado to be realistic. The relationship between Cal and Cal (yep, same nicknames) develops over time and displays the same joys, frustrations and insecurities all relationships experience.Ms Anderson injected the right amount plausibility into nearly every aspect of The Athena Effect. I look forward to reading more of her work.*Author Provided Copy