Review: Life Reader by: K.M. Shea
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 08 28, 2013
Raven Wishmore is a fifteen-year-old reader. Readers can make illusions when they read passages from books aloud, along with a few other magical talents. Yet Raven's not an ordinary reader...she's a life reader, which means she can actually create real-life from reading along, not illusions. This is why Raven no longer reads aloud. She doesn't want anyone to know what she can do or be labeled a freak. When her family is attacked, they go undercover as the McCellen family. Raven's now Rachel, a ditzy preppy girl who is a new reader at the Saint Cloud Library. Raven's dad is a member of Kingdom Quest's spy service and they're after a group of deadly magic abusers. Raven's been tasked with finding a magical cauldron hidden at the Library. So she needs to act her cover and charm the other readers while she searches, but she doesn't have all the pieces. As the search heats up, she may be called on to show more of her true self than she ever imagined...`Life Reader' is an imaginative and fun story with mystery, magic, and mayhem. Raven is a teenage girl who is mature for her age, especially because she has to hide a forbidden power. She's now in a situation she never thought she'd be at her age...undercover working for the Kingdom Quest Council like her dad. Raven takes to the job she's given as best as possible while navigating the politics of a new high school and the Saint Cloud Library. I really liked Raven and the Montamos twins, Asher and Aron, most of all because they were able to connect very well to each other and to the reader. While the story starts off with a bang, the characters really bring the plot along well during some of the `slower' spots. `Life Reader' is an attention-grabber due to a very intriguing twist. Any reader who wishes the world/characters they read about would come alive will enjoy this book.