My Soul to Take
(Soul Screamers, #1)
By: Rachel Vincent
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Published: Aug. 1, 2009
Genre: YA Fantasy
Rating:
She doesn’t see dead people. She senses when someone near her is about to die. And when that happens, a force beyond her control compels her to scream bloody murder. Literally.
Kaylee just wants to enjoy having caught the attention of the hottest guy in school. But a normal date is hard to come by when Nash seems to know more about her need to scream than she does. And when classmates start dropping dead for no apparent reason, only Kaylee knows who’ll be next.
I was a fan of Rachel’s Shifter series and was interested to read her YA series. I wasn’t overly sure what to expect other than the fact that Kaylee can sense when people are about to die. However, the story was more than that, more mythology than supernatural.
It isn’t revealed what’s really going on with Kaylee until about a quarter through the book after Kaylee predicts a teenage girls death. Until that point, Kaylee is certain she’s crazy. After all, the last time she sensed anothers impending doom, she fell off her rocker and started screaming bloody murder. Her aunt and uncle had her sedated in the hospital after that until she could regain control. So when she starts seeing death again, she tries to hide it for as long as she can. However, Nash knows what’s going on with Kaylee and it’s not that she’s crazy. Pretty soon, Kaylie finds herself in a whole new world.
I could have done without the “romance” in this one. Nash literally comes out of nowhere. I don’t know if it’s ever fully hashed out on why Mr. Popular randomly drops his life to chase after Kaylee, a girl who he showed no interest in previously. The fact that they went from strangers to dating in the blink of an eye after spending years co-existing around each other, just seemed odd. I wish the author spent a little more time building their relationship instead of just throwing it into the mix and moving on with the story.
The mythology of this was fun though. I’ve never read a story that dealt with this particular folklore. I don’t want to say anything about it and give away what happens with Kaylee but I like that the author thought outside the box and brought a whole new world for YA paranormal books. Plus, there are reapers in this one with all the death taking place, and I find reapers to be a fascinating character in books.
However, I had quite a bit of problems with this book too. There were a lot of things that didn’t make sense. Like Kaylee’s father abandoning her to her uncle and aunt while he took off to Ireland to live his life. All because her mother died when she was a baby and he couldn’t deal being around her. Then later when he comes back, he gives a “better” explanation as to why he left, but even still, it was really weak. You have the issue with the aunt that seems to be brushed over like no big deal. Then the innocent girl’s death with no remorse from Kaylee and Nash for their involvement. There were just a lot of things that didn’t work for me.
It’s a little early to judge the series but the author definitely has left some things open. I don’t think we know fully what Kaylee’s heritage means for her, her family, or her relationship with Nash. I have a feeling Kaylee has more powers up her sleeve than she’s unaware of. I will have to grab the sequel and see if anything happens.
“I didn’t know if I could stop her with one blow. But I could whack the crap out of her.”
That would be a heck of a power, knowing when someone was going to die. I’ve told myself I knew my father was going to die when he did, but I think it was more a way of helping me to deal with the situation.
On to ‘lighter’ things. Great quote. Reminds me of a couple people I know. :O) Happy New Year!
It’s a shame the romance is kind of unnecessary here and just is there because a book usually has some romance. But the premise sounds cool and I like how this isn’t the typical ‘she sees dead people’ kind of effect on the story. You’ve got me intrigued!