Official Review: Gifted by J.A. George
Posted: 08 Jul 2015, 22:03
[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Gifted" by J.A. George.]
3 out of 4 stars
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J. A. George’s Gifted is very similar to most YA fantasy novels I’ve read, with a few cosmetic differences. Avery Gray, the protagonist, is a university student in England rather than a high school student (in America, England, or anywhere else a YA fantasy novel may be set), but other than that, it’s very similar to other novels of this genre. Avery is discontented with her studies and often bored in class, has a few friends who tend to fall to the side once the plot actually gets going, and has a special destiny that sets her apart from everyone else she’s ever known. Following the tropes of YA fantasy is hardly a bad thing, even if it seems like it would lead to a cliché, and I’d give this book 3 out of 4 stars.
The other thing that sets it apart from other YA fantasy novels is how the fantasy plot begins. Avery does meet a mysterious person, but rather than this person being her love interest, it is an old woman who has been stabbed near a bookstore. When Avery tries to help, she finds that the woman’s blood is glittering, and shortly after the woman dies, her blood vanishes as though it had never been there. Avery finds herself drawn back to the bookstore, where she meets Theo, who introduces her to the powers she now holds and to the world of Hayven.
Despite the rather dark beginning, the tone of the novel quickly lightens. Avery’s worries become more about controlling her newfound ability to hear other people’s thoughts than about the dead woman and her mysterious warning, and even her attempts to control her power become secondary to her growing attraction to Theo and her explorations of Hayven, a place only those with certain powers can reach. This, too, is a familiar trope in YA fantasy: the nearly perfect other world with a dark threat that could bring it down. At times it feels almost too perfect, and the threat feels too distant to be believable.
This is the main problem I had with Gifted. It felt as though it was trying to be two different books. On the one hand, there is the threat to Hayven mentioned by the old woman, which could lead to an intense coming-of-age story for a directionless young woman. While there are plenty of those already, there’s nothing wrong with another, especially if it’s done well. The other storyline, about Avery having friends in Hayven and agonizing over her attraction to Theo, could be a much lighter novel, one that would be fun to read but without the stakes of the more intense one. Either one of these would make a good book, but trying to fit both plots into the same novel makes everything feel a bit busy, and at times I wondered when one plotline would finish up so we could get to the other.
This is far from a bad novel, and I quite enjoyed reading it. I’d recommend it for those teens who prefer lighter stories and like the romantic end of the YA fantasy spectrum.
******
Gifted
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
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3 out of 4 stars
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J. A. George’s Gifted is very similar to most YA fantasy novels I’ve read, with a few cosmetic differences. Avery Gray, the protagonist, is a university student in England rather than a high school student (in America, England, or anywhere else a YA fantasy novel may be set), but other than that, it’s very similar to other novels of this genre. Avery is discontented with her studies and often bored in class, has a few friends who tend to fall to the side once the plot actually gets going, and has a special destiny that sets her apart from everyone else she’s ever known. Following the tropes of YA fantasy is hardly a bad thing, even if it seems like it would lead to a cliché, and I’d give this book 3 out of 4 stars.
The other thing that sets it apart from other YA fantasy novels is how the fantasy plot begins. Avery does meet a mysterious person, but rather than this person being her love interest, it is an old woman who has been stabbed near a bookstore. When Avery tries to help, she finds that the woman’s blood is glittering, and shortly after the woman dies, her blood vanishes as though it had never been there. Avery finds herself drawn back to the bookstore, where she meets Theo, who introduces her to the powers she now holds and to the world of Hayven.
Despite the rather dark beginning, the tone of the novel quickly lightens. Avery’s worries become more about controlling her newfound ability to hear other people’s thoughts than about the dead woman and her mysterious warning, and even her attempts to control her power become secondary to her growing attraction to Theo and her explorations of Hayven, a place only those with certain powers can reach. This, too, is a familiar trope in YA fantasy: the nearly perfect other world with a dark threat that could bring it down. At times it feels almost too perfect, and the threat feels too distant to be believable.
This is the main problem I had with Gifted. It felt as though it was trying to be two different books. On the one hand, there is the threat to Hayven mentioned by the old woman, which could lead to an intense coming-of-age story for a directionless young woman. While there are plenty of those already, there’s nothing wrong with another, especially if it’s done well. The other storyline, about Avery having friends in Hayven and agonizing over her attraction to Theo, could be a much lighter novel, one that would be fun to read but without the stakes of the more intense one. Either one of these would make a good book, but trying to fit both plots into the same novel makes everything feel a bit busy, and at times I wondered when one plotline would finish up so we could get to the other.
This is far from a bad novel, and I quite enjoyed reading it. I’d recommend it for those teens who prefer lighter stories and like the romantic end of the YA fantasy spectrum.
******
Gifted
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
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