Author: Shannon Delaney
Genre: Young Adult
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Publication Date: 22nd June 2010
ISBN: 9780312609146
Stand alone or series: 13 to Life #1
Pages: 308 pages
Book Received from: Bought
First Lines: Rio stiffened beneath my touch, striking a glossy hoof against the floor.
Synopsis:
Everything about Jessie Gillmansen’s life changed when her mother died. Now even her hometown of Junction is changing. Mysterious dark things are happening. All Jessie wants is to avoid more change. But showing a hot new guy around Junction High, she’s about to discover a whole new type of change. Pietr Rusakova is more than good looks and a fascinating accent—he’s a guy with a dangerous secret. And his very existence is sure to bring big trouble to Jessie’s small town. It seems change is the one thing Jessie can’t avoid.
Everything about Jessie Gillmansen’s life changed when her mother died. Now even her hometown of Junction is changing. Mysterious dark things are happening. All Jessie wants is to avoid more change. But showing a hot new guy around Junction High, she’s about to discover a whole new type of change. Pietr Rusakova is more than good looks and a fascinating accent—he’s a guy with a dangerous secret. And his very existence is sure to bring big trouble to Jessie’s small town. It seems change is the one thing Jessie can’t avoid.
My Thoughts:
I know, I know. It has taken me quite a while to get to this one but I've finally read this and I'm itching to read more from Shannon Delaney.
I wasn't sure what to expect from this but. I knew it had some paranormal aspect but the synopsis really doesn't give you much in the way of "what" specifically.
Jessie, the main character tells her story in first person. I will state this now, I loved this book but Jessie wasn't the brightest spark in the book especially considering she was fairly smart! This is the one of two things that bugged me out this book. It takes three quarters of the book before we actually find out what the heck is Pietr's big dark secret when in fact I picked it from the very beginning. That being said, I really enjoyed reading the Shannon Delany's style of writing and her descriptions.
The second thing that bothered me was how "selfless" Jessie was towards one of her best friends. Considering the situation I certainly wouldn't be doing half the things she did.
I really enjoyed Pietr as the love interest. He definitely caught my attention the moment he stepped onto the page and I hope to be picking the next book up very soon to see what happens with Pietr and Jessie.
Except for the few things that bugged me this was a pretty good read! I just hope that book two steps up in the way of the obvious being there but the character doesn't see it.
