Soulstruck

April 1, 2018
This coming-of-age tale set in Cape Cod includes a touch of mystery for an original take on loneliness, broken families, and teenage romance.Seventeen-year-old narrator Rachel Ferguson is trying to get struck by lightning. Her ethereal mother, Naomi, has led a lightning strike survivors' group for as long as she can remember, and Rachel has been perpetually confined to the sidelines. Bruised by a whirlwind romance with duplicitous new arrival Reed, Rachel seeks comfort in her best friends--Serena, one of the few African-Americans in their small town and the only major character of color, and trainee EMT Jay, who has Asperger's. A one-off encounter with high school jock Sawyer alienates Serena, who is on the cheerleading team with Sawyer's ex, even as Rachel's relationship with Jay takes a surprising turn. Meanwhile, ghosts from Naomi's past begin to circle, and Rachel's suspicions are aroused when she reads a box of love letters Naomi exchanged with her father, who died before she was born. The affecting sadness of the narrative voice is offset by frequent resorts to cliché, but themes of social isolation and identity are addressed with delicacy and poise, the dialogue sparkling with lightly dusted humor. The final great reveal feels anticlimactic, the early darkness and mystery slipping away too easily.While not following through on the promise of the opening chapters, this is an intriguing story and a creative take on the genre. (Fiction. 14-18)

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May 1, 2018

Gr 9 Up-Seventeen-year-old Rachel Ferguson, a white teen, thought she was over her fixation on getting struck by lightning, but after her heart is broken by the boy she hoped was her soul mate, Rachel begins to seek out storms again. When her mother was struck, Rachel's mom gained the ability to see soul mates and started a group for lighting-strike survivors. Rachel's best friend, Serena, one of the only African Americans in town, has bafflingly ditched her for the cheerleaders and her growing mutual attraction with her friend Jay, who is on the autism spectrum, has left her reeling. The only things the protagonist can focus on is moving her room to the garage before the next survivors' meeting and finding out what's in the mysterious box she discovered there. This realistic contemporary novel is a slice of teenage life that depicts struggles with friendship, attraction, parents, and the ability to communicate. The novel's pacing fluctuates at times with occasional bursts of background information that provide enlightenment and has an overall contemplative tone. Characters appear genuine and accurately represented with lifelike imperfections and unique personalities. The question of soul mates comes up repeatedly as a central theme, with the main character desperately wanting to know who hers is and her mother refusing to find out. VERDICT An entertaining quick read where YA romances are in demand.-Rebecca Greer, Hillsborough County Public Library Cooperative, FL

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July 2, 2018
Seventeen-year-old Rachel Ferguson and her mother, Naomi, were nomads before settling in the beach town of Wellfleet, Mass., when they inherited Rachel’s grandfather’s house. A few years later, Naomi has resumed her unusual work of running a lightning-strike survivors group—since she was struck, she has been able “to see anyone’s soul mate almost as simply as the rest of us could see someone’s eye color.” Naomi recognizes that this knowledge is as daunting as it is enlightening, and she blocks herself from seeing Rachel’s soul mate. Less interesting are Rachel’s relationships with Reed, a love interest who is withdrawn due to a past trauma; Serena, her best friend who has recently joined a new clique; and Jay, her other best friend and blooming romantic interest. When Rachel finds a secret box of letters from her late father, it ignites a search for her own identity. This second novel by Sinel (The Fix) can be constrained by expository dialogue and an overly internal narration that loses sight of its larger, inventive premise. Still, the book’s hint of the supernatural is successfully balanced by more down-to-earth insights into the complications of love and fate. Ages 12–up. Agent: Linda Epstein, Emerald City Literary.