ARC Review: Harbinger by Sara Wilson Etienne

Source:  Publisher

Publisher:  G.P. Putnam's Sons
Release Date:  February 02, 2012
Format:  Paperback
Pages:320

 

Girl, Interrupted meets Beautiful Creatures in this fast-paced thriller

When sixteen-year-old Faye arrives at Holbrook Academy, she doesn't expect to find herself exactly where she needs to be. After years of strange waking visions and nightmares, her only comfort the bones of dead animals, Faye is afraid she's going crazy. Fast.

But her first night at Holbrook, she feels strangely connected to the school and the island it sits on, like she's come home. She's even made her first real friends, but odd things keep happening to them. Every morning they wake on the floors of their dorm rooms with their hands stained red.

Faye knows she's the reason, but what does it all mean? The handsome Kel tries to help her unravel the mystery, but Faye is certain she can't trust him; in fact, he may be trying to kill her - and the rest of the world too.

Rich, compelling writing will keep the pages turning in this riveting and tautly told psychological thriller.

*** 

This book seriously surprised me. I don’t know how to describe it. It’s really suspenseful, creepy, and fascinating. I’ve never read a book with this kind of plot—it is unique. The first few chapters weren’t that great; I got confused and I didn’t know what to expect for the rest of the book. But after a while it picked up and I rushed through it. I’m lost for words to express my feeling for this book; it’s a good thing because there aren’t a lot of  books out there that left me baffled—but Harbinger sure did.

Faye’s parent’s thought they were doing the right thing when they send Faye to Holbrook Academy; they want her to get better. Faye has been struggling with visions and nightmares for a long time, and when she arrives at the Academy, she thought she didn’t belong there. Trying to find a way out of the academy, she discovered things she didn’t know about herself; things that will affect the future.

Faye is a unique character. She’s very strong, and … let me tell you, she’s like a beast. You’ll know what I mean when you read this book. Yet, I really like her. She’s been neglected by her parents, and I felt for her. I also liked the other characters. However, I didn’t really care a lot about Kel, and his relationship with Faye. That’s the only thing I didn’t like about this book. The romance in the book didn’t impress me.

Overall, I really liked this book. This novel delivered far much more than I had anticipated. Harbinger has a definite creepy (in a good way) factor.  I think that is one quality I love about this book. It definitely surpasses many of the other fantasy/supernatural fiction books in YA genre. It’s well-written, and well researched. Sara Wilson Etienne (I love her last name by the way) did an amazing job with this book. Everyone, especially fantasy/supernatural fan, should check this book out. (And I love the cover of this book; it’s gorgeous, isn’t it?)

Rating: 3.5/5