Faye can't believe her father made her come out to this horrible school. It's practically an institution, and she isn't crazy. At least, she doesn't think so? With the visions of drowning getting worse, she isn't really sure anymore.Now she's stuck here at Holbrook Academy. They should just call it "Academy for Deliquents and Crazies" as far as she's concerned. Maybe she belongs here, but she knows that nothing this Dr. Mordoch does is going to help. Faye isn't like the others. She wants it to all be in her head, but when she looks into people's eyes she can see right into their secrets.
Her first night in the Academy, she sneaks out the window. The room is stifling like a cage. The drugs they gave her to sleep are pulling at her brain, making everything fuzzy. She manages to make her way down to the courtyard (avoiding security) and goes exploring. The closer she gets to the Compass Rose on the cliff, the more it seems like there is music playing. It gets louder, sounding somehow familiar. Are those people in the distance...dancing? Seven people around a bonfire?
Faye awakes on the edge of the roof...not good. The other "students" are arriving, and she makes her way back to her room. There is a scuffle, and she is caught. Not before, however, she makes her way back to the spot in the woods, and discovers six statues. Six, not seven.
After it becomes apparent that this school is a barely concealed prison, the group she's assigned to becomes a sort of family. Their bond is strengthened with their secret. Each morning they wake with red clay covering their hands, with no recollection of how it got there. The mystery deepens when they sneak out one night to explore the Compass Rose once again. What they find there disturbs them deeply. It brings Faye and Kel closer together in a way that she never believed possible, but it also threatens to tear them apart. It brings a darkness that threatens everyone. The secret of the island, and the key to the Harbinger is a twist you won't believe. As the mystery unfolds, each piece falls into place at just the right moment.
I'm one of those people who guesses the ending way before it happens, and this had me going for a while. It had plenty of foreshadowing, but it was a very satisfying read. Equal parts mythology and mystery, this is a great first effort for Etienne.
"I closed my eyes and kissed him back. But I was falling too fast. I couldn't stop. Images swarmed past me. Dizziness tried to pull me under and suddenly the world went dark. I tried to pull away from Kel's grip, but he wasn't there anymore. It was like what'd happened with Dr. Mordoch. Blurry shadows morphed until they finally solidified into a scene in front of me.I was running. Dodging past branches and tree trucks. Up ahead, a girl fled through the dark forest.I can't lose her.The thought wasn't mine. I knew it was Kel's, the same way I'd known his smell and his taste. His thrill of adrenaline surged into me," (Etienne pg. 174, 2012).
If you liked this, check out:
Etienne, Sara W. (2012). Harbinger. New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons.
No comments:
Post a Comment