Review: Prophecy Girl is one of the best YA books I’ve read in a long while
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 02 16, 2013
Prophecy Girl is one of the best YA books I’ve read in a long while and had me completely gripped as we join Samantha Winthrop on her move to a Lacuna Valley and discover some shocking secrets. Samantha is 16yrs old and has never stayed in one place too long because her mother keeps moving the whole family for either ‘work’ or ‘health’ reasons and that is how they end up in Lacuna Valley. Things seem to go well for Sam, the new town is friendly and she finds she fits in well, making friends easily and even catching the eye of a certain dark haired hottie… that is until she finds him asking his brother questions about her sister Violet and what she may be capable of, but then he starts asking her questions about herself & her family which Sam finds rather strange. Why is he so interested whether one of her family has prophetic dreams? Why does he want to know about Violet’s ‘power of prayer’? How does he know so much about her life? He’s hiding something from her and since he’s keeping quiet, so is she and whatever the answer, Sam decides she doesn’t want to know, she has enough to deal with from her Mother and his interest in her is weird. That is until she stumbles across some information that rocks her world and she only has one person to turn to, one person who can answer her questions and help her….. Nick. What she is about to discover is that Lacuna Valley isn’t everything it appears to be, there are secrets at play, not everyone is who they seem to be and that danger is coming in the most unlikeliest form… appearances can be deceiving and the people we love aren’t always looking out for our best interests.I thought this book was just great! Seriously.. it has something different that I just can’t put my finger on but I know that it was special and filled with secrets, mystery & intrigue. Although it was definitely paranormal there was still a ‘realness’ about it and the book was not just about the paranormal element but also a pretty harsh real life issue too which certainly added to the appeal. The characters were likable, easy to relate to and well written – Sam especially, you can really empathise with her situation and her frame of mind. Her world is changing in so many ways and she’s not just trying to deal with it for her, she has responsibilities, far greater than she ever imagined and everything seems to be on her shoulders. I think there is a lot to her that we have yet to discover but look forward to her progression. Her sister Violet is another intriguing character and seeing as she is only 9yrs old in this and has a lot of power for one so young, I’m curious about her progression too. Obviously there is a love element and it tells you in the synopsis that she may be destined to marry him, I love these kind of fated relationships but I like to see them still go through bumpy patches, I like when they try to deny their feelings and question what fate ‘supposedly’ has in store for them, it makes it sweeter when they actually give in to their destiny and Sam is definitely thinking along those lines and I was very pleased that it wasn’t insta-love but it was still plain to see they were meant for each other.The storyline was gripping and most definitely a page turner and I found myself - late at night - a victim of the ‘one more chapter’ syndrome. As I mentioned, it was full of secrets, mystery and intrigue and the paranormal element was really interesting, sure - we have all read of dreamers with prophetic visions & people who can make things happen through will alone but I haven’t met the strangers - that you will meet in this - before and I’m always interested in new discoveries and am left very curious about their story. I can’t really go into a great detail about the plot because it would spoil the book but know that this is an awesome start to a new series that deals with not just paranormal but also ‘real’ issues that will lure you in, keep your interest and leave you wanting so much more. 4.5*s