Saturday, June 12, 2010

Book review: Deceptions: A Haunting Emma Novel by Lee Nichols

Deceptions: A Haunting Emma Novel by Lee Nichols (Published by Bloomsbury, June 8, 2010)

When seventeen-year-old Emma Vale’s parents go on a business trip, she hopes for a fun couple of weeks without parental supervision. But the reality turns out to be much different. Weird things begin to happen, and then Emma’s parents disappear. She has nowhere else to go, until Bennett, her older brother’s friend, arrives, claiming to be her guardian. He takes Emma to live in his family’s home in Massachusetts, which is a creepy old museum, and enrolls Emma in Thatcher, an exclusive private school.

Adjusting to a new home and a new school while worrying about her parents turn out not to be Emma’s biggest problems, as creepy and violent visions from her childhood return. She learns that she is a ghostkeeper, and has the ability to see and communicate with ghosts. There is also a mystery to solve, as someone has been murdering ghostkeepers.

Deceptions, the first book in the Haunting Emma series, is a fun and spooky paranormal read. Lee Nichols successfully combines normal teenage life with a creepy supernatural mystery. Emma’s first person narration is very entertaining, she is a very smart and funny character. The story has a Gothic feel and is a nice change from all the vampire and werewolf books out there. All these factors combine to make this a book that stands out among all the young adult paranormal fiction out there, I had been tired of the genre lately because of all the sameness but this is definitely a unique story that is well worth a read. My one complaint is the cliffhanger ending since now I can’t wait for the next book!

Disclosure: Review copy provided by publisher.

1 comment:

Christina T said...

I loved this one too. It really surprised me. I agree with you about the cliffhanger ending. I hope we don't have to wait very long for the next book.

 
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