SERIES: Visions, book 1
PUBLISHER: SimonPulse
PUBLICATION DATE: January 8, 2013
ISBN: 9781442403918
PAGES: 233
SOURCE: purchased ebook
GENRE: paranormal
SETTING: present-day Chicago
GIVE IT TO: MS, HS
SUMMARY: 16-year old Jules sees a vision everywhere–on billboards, TV screens, computers, windows. The vision seems to be something that is going to happen soon, a snowplow crash and explosion at a popular local restaurant. Nine body bags lie in the snow around the scene, including one containing the body of the boy she’s secretly loved since middle school.
REVIEW: Lisa McMann can seriously do no wrong. I have read several of her books–Cryer’s Cross, the entire The Wake Trilogy, and now Crash–and I have loved every last one of them. Crash is full of everything a great YA paranormal mystery needs: a sympathetic heroine, an interesting backstory, and a fun mystery. As with all of McMann’s books, it’s exciting without being overlong or dull at any moment.
I love that Crash has a Romeo & Juliet feel. You have two families, both in the Italian restaurant business, who had a falling out years ago and are now constantly feuding. The teens in the families, Jules and Sawyer, were friends as children but have been forbidden to see each other for many years. Jules has loved Sawyer since forever, and Sawyer has no clue how she feels about him.
I love Jules’ relationship with her siblings Trey and Rowan. Any story featuring tightly-knit siblings gets an A in my book.
A nice surprise ending sets up the second book, Bang, which I totally plan to read.
THE BOTTOM LINE: Yet another hit from Lisa McMann. It’s short and action-packed, and the characters are easy to care about.
STATUS IN MY LIBRARY: On order. This will be very easy to booktalk with my students.
READALIKES: Anyone But You (Askew/Helmes); Numbers Trilogy (Ward)
RATING BREAKDOWN:
- Overall: 4/5
- Creativity: 4/5
- Characters: 5/5
- Engrossing: 5/5
- Writing: 5/5
- Appeal to teens: 5/5
- Appropriate length to tell the story: 5/5
CONTENT:
- Language: moderate–does include some F-bombs and sh**
- Sexuality: mild–kissing; parents think teen is pregnant;
- Violence: mild–the crash scene and body bags are described many times, but it’s not very graphic
- Drugs/Alcohol: none