Rileigh is a regular teenager, a skater girl who wants nothing more than to relax over the summer, hang out with her best friend Quentin, and maybe catch the eye of new guy Whitley. That lasts right up until the last day of school, when she and Quentin are attacked in a mall parker lot, and Rileigh single handedly fights off three muggers. Now there's a voice in her head, a warm silk through her body, and a fighting ability she never had. Just as Whitley is finally showing interest, Rileigh keeps getting attacked, and a strange boy named Kim shows up claiming to understand what's happening to her. She'll do anything to go back to normal. But how's an ordinary teenage girl supposed to know who to trust when she can't even trust her own body?
What We Think
Reviewed by Living Destiny
Number of Pages: 375
I can't justify my reading of this book. I saw it in the bookstore, and there's really no reason I should've picked it up. It's got an atrocious cover and it sounded stupid. And I bought it anyway. I am ashamed and it's all my fault. But if you buy a book you have to read it, right? So I read it. I'm just really sad about it. Here we go.
The plot was just eh. A girl whose past life was a samurai. I'm pretty sure it's been done. Or maybe it was just written so poorly I felt like it had. So the girl is a samurai, and her samurai self keeps popping out to save the day, and the girl decides she's being possessed and freaks out and basically spends the whole book looking for ways to exorcise herself out of herself. Because that makes sense.
The characters were awful. I don't think I liked any of them. Rileigh, the main character, was so whiny and superficial and obnoxious I wanted to cry. She tried so hard to be normal, but also to stand out. Please stop contradicting yourself. She refuses to listen to anyone, and honestly, she's just stupid. Really stupid. Her best friend Quentin is gay. Of course. I think it's becoming a requisite of young adult novels. Every new book published must contain at least one gay best friend. Getting old real fast. He wasn't that funny, or actually that helpful. He was always there for Rileigh, so that's a point in his favor. Kim was creepy. Also, Kim as a boy name? Couldn't have picked something that sounded a little more masculine? But he was creepy, and he didn't really understand societal rules. Like people won't believe everything you say when they first meet you, even if you are supposedly attractive. They won't believe you the second, or even third time, if you're saying something outlandish like you're actually a samurai and so are they. The three other samurai are almost bearable. Braden, Drew, and Michelle. They're ok. Braden and Drew are kind of the epitome of the word "bro", and Michelle is a little overbearing. They've got a weird relationship, and there are some hints of incest in a strange, past life samurais way. It's complicated. Oh, and I forgot about the mom and Dr. Wendell. Stupid. That's all. The mom is really stupid. She's only there to give Rileigh a back story and a reason to have issues. Dr. Wendell is a plot device, nothing more. Useless.
Here's something I've noticed about the author, Cole Gibsen. She tries too hard. She adds in weird plot twists that are unnecessary and don't make sense. She adds in convoluted bits that don't advance the story. It's a valiant attempt to be edgy and entertaining, but it falls flat. She writes mediocre dialogue that is witty and snappy, but not realistic sounding. At least that's sort of ok, and she should have stuck with it instead of adding in too many false leads and cliches worth of a dime store mystery novel. A mysterious intruder, a ransacked room - and I'm sure the word ransacked was used - it's all overdone.
The ending was actually not bad. Confusing, and wicked bizarre, but not bad. Exciting, dramatic, suspenseful, and not too predictable. The very end was a bit frustrating, but typical of Rileigh's character. At least Gibsen stuck with the characterization she started with. But of course it's a series. It could stand alone, it really could. But it won't, and there are more to come. That will probably be just as mediocre. I'm so thrilled.
Real Teen Rating~ C-: Read it if you're bored
I can't justify my reading of this book. I saw it in the bookstore, and there's really no reason I should've picked it up. It's got an atrocious cover and it sounded stupid. And I bought it anyway. I am ashamed and it's all my fault. But if you buy a book you have to read it, right? So I read it. I'm just really sad about it. Here we go.
The plot was just eh. A girl whose past life was a samurai. I'm pretty sure it's been done. Or maybe it was just written so poorly I felt like it had. So the girl is a samurai, and her samurai self keeps popping out to save the day, and the girl decides she's being possessed and freaks out and basically spends the whole book looking for ways to exorcise herself out of herself. Because that makes sense.
The characters were awful. I don't think I liked any of them. Rileigh, the main character, was so whiny and superficial and obnoxious I wanted to cry. She tried so hard to be normal, but also to stand out. Please stop contradicting yourself. She refuses to listen to anyone, and honestly, she's just stupid. Really stupid. Her best friend Quentin is gay. Of course. I think it's becoming a requisite of young adult novels. Every new book published must contain at least one gay best friend. Getting old real fast. He wasn't that funny, or actually that helpful. He was always there for Rileigh, so that's a point in his favor. Kim was creepy. Also, Kim as a boy name? Couldn't have picked something that sounded a little more masculine? But he was creepy, and he didn't really understand societal rules. Like people won't believe everything you say when they first meet you, even if you are supposedly attractive. They won't believe you the second, or even third time, if you're saying something outlandish like you're actually a samurai and so are they. The three other samurai are almost bearable. Braden, Drew, and Michelle. They're ok. Braden and Drew are kind of the epitome of the word "bro", and Michelle is a little overbearing. They've got a weird relationship, and there are some hints of incest in a strange, past life samurais way. It's complicated. Oh, and I forgot about the mom and Dr. Wendell. Stupid. That's all. The mom is really stupid. She's only there to give Rileigh a back story and a reason to have issues. Dr. Wendell is a plot device, nothing more. Useless.
Here's something I've noticed about the author, Cole Gibsen. She tries too hard. She adds in weird plot twists that are unnecessary and don't make sense. She adds in convoluted bits that don't advance the story. It's a valiant attempt to be edgy and entertaining, but it falls flat. She writes mediocre dialogue that is witty and snappy, but not realistic sounding. At least that's sort of ok, and she should have stuck with it instead of adding in too many false leads and cliches worth of a dime store mystery novel. A mysterious intruder, a ransacked room - and I'm sure the word ransacked was used - it's all overdone.
The ending was actually not bad. Confusing, and wicked bizarre, but not bad. Exciting, dramatic, suspenseful, and not too predictable. The very end was a bit frustrating, but typical of Rileigh's character. At least Gibsen stuck with the characterization she started with. But of course it's a series. It could stand alone, it really could. But it won't, and there are more to come. That will probably be just as mediocre. I'm so thrilled.
Real Teen Rating~ C-: Read it if you're bored
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