Review: Manifest

Jul •  20 •  2010

I received this book for free from FTC: Exchange for honest opinion, Netgalley, Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Review: ManifestManifest by Artist Arthur
Published by Harlequin Teen on August 1st 2010
Genres: Young Adult -Fantasy
Source: FTC: Exchange for honest opinion, Netgalley, Publisher
Goodreads
five-stars

When fifteen-year-old Krystal Bentley moves to Lincoln, Connecticut, her mom's hometown, she assumes her biggest drama will be adjusting to the burbs after living in New York City.

But Lincoln is nothing like Krystal imagined. The weirdness begins when Ricky Watson starts confiding in her. He's cute, funny, a good listener—and everything she'd ever want—except that he was killed nearly a year ago. Krystal's ghost-whispering talents soon lead other "freaks" to her door—Sasha, a rich girl who can literally disappear, and Jake, who moves objects with his mind. All three share a distinctive birthmark in the shape of an M and, fittingly, call themselves the Mystyx. They set out to learn what really happened to Ricky, only to realize that they aren't the only ones with mysterious powers. But if Krystal succeeds in finding out the truth about Ricky's death, will she lose him for good?

Let me just say, what a ride!. The plot was something totally out of the ordinary and I devoured it. Krystal is your not so average girl with many problems. With her parents recently divorced and her mother newly re-married, moving to a new town making new friends was not was Krystal wanted. She was angry at the world, always walking around with a bad attitude.

Right after her 15th birthday, Krystal begins to hear a dead person voice. She constantly ignores him hoping that he will go away. It doesn’t. Instead it builds, it manifests until she can no longer hear him but see him as well. Ricky needs her help. He was murdered and can not move on until he finds peace. Krystal also discovers a new set a friends that have the same birthmark as her. They find her trying to talk to her but she thinks that they are crazy. Ricky finally convinces her to go to them, and then she discovers that she isn’t the only who can do stuff. She meets Sasha and Jake. Both with the same mark. Both with powers.

Together these three call themselves the Misfits, figuring what they are and why they are like this. Some relics from Jake’s family history help figure out something, but they are still left with many questions. On top of all that, Krystal is dealing with new boy drama, a dark shadow that comes after her, and some pervert who is taking pictures of girls and posting them on the web. They also turned out dead.

Can these three Misfits figure out who the stalking pervert is in time to prevent another death? Will the shadow get them?

 This book was intense. It was an absolutely amazing read. I loved how the story dealt with the divorce of Krystal parent’s. I myself coming from divorce parents, it is hard on children. When Krystal’s mother refused to tell her the reason for the divorce, she got upset and angry with her blaming her mother. It was causing a strain in her relationship with her mother and her new stepfather. They were always fighting. It wasn’t until Krystal’s father revealed the reason that she finally understood.

The book also touched the racial issue. I understand that stuff still happens and it should be addressed. Its not right to be rude just because of color, race, or religion. I also loved how these three Misfits of all different back rounds, were able to get along and work together to help Ricky out. All three of them made a great team solving the murder, preventing one, and helping save another student.

Artist Arthur did a magnificent job writing this. It was such a great story I couldn’t out it down. And the end, to find out who the pervert was, had me gasping! It was something I had not seen in a while. Artist did a great job grasping the teen speak. I loved how real the characters seemed dealing with real life issues. This was simple easy to read, easy to relate to She also did a great job pulling together all the mystery and suspense This is her YA debut novel. I think she did a superb job writing this story with the twist of paranormal was just the right touch. Be sure to pick this book up
Happy Reading!

 

five-stars

3 Comments

  1. Coley
    Jul 20, 2010

    Good review! This seems like a very good read indeed. 🙂

  2. Sarah
    Jul 20, 2010

    This sounds very exciting and intense. Thanks for the review! 🙂

  3. Aleksandra
    Jul 21, 2010

    After reading your review, all I can say is wow! It sounds like my kind of book, so I’ll add it on my list 🙂