27 April 2011

Review: Soul Quest

Soul Quest by Amy Maurer Jones
The Soul Quest Trilogy
Official Website
Description: Liv Glyn is torn between two worlds, Earth, her home and Arcadia, a world unknown to Liv. Never the less, duty calls for Liv and her companions of Spirit, Laith, Brayan and Meena, to take action. What ensues is a supernatural showdown at Forest Hills High, corpses mysteriously surface in the Hudson and a Valentine's Day Dance turns into a murder investigation. A quest for humanity begins. 


Review: Wow. Liv Glyn has a lot on her plate! It's her first day of high school, she only has one close friend, Jedd, that she wants to be more than friends with, she's running for vice president of the freshman class, and, oh yeah! she's an oracle of earth. 
Alright that was really corny but hopefully you understand what I'm getting at. 


I've been blessed with having a smart, in control, main character for the past two books I've read. Liv Glyn, your narrator and one of four main characters was very likable. I feel like she's that average girl that everyone could relate to, and that made me like her a lot. I could relate to her stress about being a freshman, and having to juggle so much things at once. (Well, not the human oracle part, but you get what I mean) I really thought her relationship with Gaea, who's the Oracle of Life. I felt like Gaea was kind of a grandmother to Liv and the scenes were Liv who just lay under her shade were adorable.


The other main characters, Laith, Meena, and Brayan, were also enjoyable to read about. They were all unique in their own ways. Laith, being the popular athlete; Meena, the history geek; and Brayan, the technology obsessed brain. My favorite of the four had to be Meena. When things got bad for the kids, Meena was the one who calmed them down, mostly because of her gift of being a planner, always sorting out their problems and being the voice of reason.


All of the kids went to the same school, but were in different cliques, obviously. I liked the way the author got them all together. By doing the freshman elections, the human oracles were able to rely and trust one another, and become acquainted. It was very natural, and not forced at all.


One of the things which I thought was soo cool was the fact that Amy put a dictionary of all the fancy lingo the characters used throughout the book. I didn't have to look at it a lot, since every was pretty self-explanatory, but for those books that go into different worlds and galaxies, maybe you wanna use this tip. It clarifies things a lot when there are series books, and the readers forget.


Here's a little tip to people reading the book: pay attention to the dates!! When I was first reading it, I was thinking, They're doing a second twin towers attempt? Yeah, it shoots back and forth between past and present. Speaking of 9/11, I feel Amy tied in the Daeva's and the terrorist attacks nicely. As said above, it wasn't forced. It was actually very creative.


Since it takes place in 2014, its so crazy to think about what those kids will think of 9/11. They were born in 2001, so they didn't go through it. It truly makes me feel that we are living in history, you know? Like yesturday's happenings could be in tomorrows textbooks. 


The book was great, a perfect set-up for the next book in the trilogy. Something else I liked was that the book starts with the characters already having their powers and their goals. I really can't wait for the next book to see what happens next ! :)


"I needed my best friend to know my feelings for him had not changed just because my world has.
'I'm still here, Jedd. I always have been.'"
-Soul Quest, Amy Jones

1 comment:

  1. Thanks so much for the wonderful review Lauren. It is always so gratifying to hear some one describe your book in their own words succinctly.
    I have added your review/link to my website.
    http://www.soulquesttrilogy.com

    Smiles,
    Amy

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