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Reviews and random thoughts on children's and teen fiction.
1. Reviews: Giving Up the Ghost and The Secrets Within by Phoebe Rivers

Giving Up the Ghost. by Phoebe Rivers. February 5, 2013. Simon Spotlight. 160 pages. ISBN: 9781442466180

The Secrets Within. by Phoebe Rivers. April 16, 2013. Simon Spotlight. 160 pages. ISBN: 9781442468504

The Saranormal series follows twelve-year-old Sara Collins on a journey of discovery as she begins to develop supernatural powers. Guided by her great-grandmother, Lady Azura, who possesses powers of her own, Sara slowly learns how to identify, harness, and control her various abilities. In book six, Giving up the Ghost, Sara begins to read minds while a negative force seems to descend upon her household. In book seven, The Secrets Within, Sara finds that she can read the memories associated with an object, which helps her to know things about the object’s significance to the people who have owned it.

I have only read two books in this series, but it’s not hard to tell from those that each story follows a certain formula. In every book, it seems, Sara discovers a new power, tries to figure it out on her own, uses the power to either help or hinder a personal relationship and ultimately calls on Lady Azura for help figuring things out. This repetition from book to book isn’t a problem, as I think it provides the comfort readers often appreciate about series books, but I did find myself wondering a few things.

If I’d read the earlier books, would I know why Sara is developing powers? In the books I read, it seems as though she takes the fact that she has these abilities somewhat for granted, and it bothered me that I didn’t know the greater context of her situation. If such a context isn’t provided at all in the series, I’m not sure what the motivation is to keep reading. Personally, I would like a bit more suspense surrounding the overall meaning of Sara’s powers. I know I would be freaked out if I were seeing dead people and hearing my best friend’s thoughts!

I also wondered a lot about Sara’s personality aside from her supernatural side. I feel like I know her powers better than I know her. It might be easier for the reader to step into her shoes if Sara seems like just an average middle schooler, but I think I would prefer a more well-rounded character with a more defined personality.

Saranormal is a solid series to recommend to girls who like magic and ghost stories, but who also enjoy reading about real girls in real-life situations, not in imaginary kingdoms. It is a nice read-alike for Scholastic’s Poison Apple books, and might even appeal more strongly to readers because it is a continuous series following one main character. Girls who have liked the Worst Witch series as younger chapter book readers will easily grow into this one as they approach middle school. Another title that also deals with similar issues as the specific books I reference in this review is Seeing Cinderella, wherein a pair of glasses give a middle schooler the ability to read her friends’ thoughts. 

I received review copies of Giving Up the Ghost and The Secrets Within from the publisher. 

For more about this series, visit Goodreads and Worldcat

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