15-year-old Julie Richardson is about to learn that being the daughter of a witch isn't all it's cracked up to be. When she and her best friend, Marcus, witness an elderly lady jettisoned out the front door of her home, it's pretty obvious to Julie there's a supernatural connection.
In fact, there's a whisper of menace behind increasing levels of poltergeist activity all over town. After a large-scale paranormal assault on Julie's high school, her mother falls victim to the spell Endless Night. Now it's a race against time to find out who is responsible or Julie won't just lose her mother's soul, she'll lose her mother's life.
I knew that I was going to enjoy Poltergeeks, I just knew it. From the second that I saw that colorful and uber awesome cover and read the description (and noticed the lack of a love triangle and the hints at LOTS of action) I knew that i was going to really enjoy this book, and I did.
This book has it's flaws and whilst I didn't absolutely ADORE this book, I really did enjoy it and am very impressed with Cummings. The pacing and the storyline blew me away - the beginning of this book seriously grabs you and you can't put it down until the last page, there were no slower bits and the action just keeps coming, there is also a bit of a mystery which will keep readers on their toes. I had kind of guessed who the 'bad guy' was by the end, but I was still gripped. The climax of this book was awesome as well, the action at the end had me on the edge of my seat, it was so exciting!
Julie and Marcus are fantastic characters. Julie is a sarcastic and honest narrator and Marcus is a fantastic loyal friend, the two of them make an amazing investigative team and they seemed so real. I also really liked the romance between these two, it was slow, awkward and real, just as it should be between fifteen year olds - it also took a back seat to the main story, which I love in books like this.
I did feel like at times the story came across as very cliche and corny, as though Cummings was trying a little too hard to be original and stand out.... I also would have liked a little more character and world development, as I didn't feel like we got to know Julie's Mother enough, and we didn't quite learn enough about the magic or Betty or the other magical character. i'm not sure if there will be a sequel, but if there was I'd hope to see a little development on that.
Overall, Poltergeeks was a fun read that stands out in todays YA market. I'd definitely recommend it to younger readers due to the fun narrative and the action packed plot.
Overall Rating: B
Book released October 4th by Strange Chemistry
Book received from the publisher in exchange for an honest review
Reviews for other books by this author:
Wow! Congrats on all the books. Did I miss the memo on Splintered? Everyone this week has gotten it this week. I am so in love with the cover. Yay you got Team Human. Phew I was worried you hadn't gotten it. Oh Doomed is so on my to-reads list along with the other 5 books. Happy Reading and enjoy all your books. 8)
ReplyDeleteSean Cummings will be signing copies of his latest book 'Poltergeeks' at Waterstones Bluewater on Sunday 7th October from 12.00pm! Please come along if you're free!
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