Review: Great YA Story
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 08 2, 2013
I just love Cindi Madsen's books and I was really excited to read her latest release, Cipher. Cipher is the story of Summer Davis, a teenage girl who can see people's deaths before they happen. Summer started having her "visions" when she was just a young teen.  She tried to brush them off, but when one of them struck too close to home, it pretty much threw her for a loop and into a deep depression. Summer finds out that she is a Cipher, someone whose job it is to help people who are going to die reconcile and make peace with loved ones before they pass on, which is a job Summer really doesn't want. Nevertheless, she takes on her first assignment, Ashlyn, which proves to be a bigger challenge than she anticipated.Before finding out she was a Cipher, Summer was very popular, had the jock football star boyfriend, hung with the popular crowd, etc.  When she tries to get to know Ashlyn, she finds herself associating with the not so popular crowd, a group who her friends call the rejects. When Summer breaks up with her boyfriend, she soon finds that the girl she is supposed to be helping, and her group of misfit friends, wind up helping her more, making her feel more welcome and accepted than she has ever felt with her popular friends. Meanwhile, she begins to see her best friend Troy, who is a total hottie that gets along with everyone, in a whole new light.  Feelings she had for him that had been pushed back into the friend zone begin to resurface, but she isn't sure if Troy feels the same way.In Cipher, Summer discovers what it means not only to help others, but what true friendship is all about, the importance of relationship, and even finds love and romance along the way.  I loved Summer's character and enjoyed watching her grow and come to terms with her past, her present, and her future.  I loved Troy and enjoyed watching the romance between them develop.  I really hope these two can stick it out together as the series progresses.  Cindi Madsen did a wonderful job in this paranormal story of depicting issues and situations that real teenagers have to face and deal with, while adding a little magic and excitement to the mix. Cipher is an enchanting story, the characters are well written and fun to get to know, the romance was sweet, and the magical/paranormal aspect was fresh and from a different perspective than I've seen before, which made the story even more enjoyable.  If you enjoy YA paranormal romance, then Cipher is a really fun book that you might want to check out.