Genre: Young Adult Paranormal
Rating: 3.5/5
A thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.
I enjoyed the pacing of The Reader. It moves fast because a huge majority is exposition in the guise of dialogue. The main character, Ann, has lost her memory, but the people who find her enlighten her that she is a Reader, someone who can read the minds of other people, just not other readers. They hope she might be The Lost One, a Reader who actually can read the minds of readers and will find her soul-mate among four who are destined.
While the dialogue makes the story go very quickly, like I said, exposition in its guise. Everything about the world and the way this paranormal Reader power works, their history–everything is told through dialogue by one of the characters to Ann. We hardly get her internal thoughts and there is very little in traditional exposition in detailing setting, but it’s still easy enough to paint a picture of the facility and the characters in my head. Or maybe I’m just making them look how I want them to? 🙂
The ease of reading is enough to have me interested in book two, but so is the cover of book two. The covers themselves are rather aesthetically pleasing as well.
As the reader (not the character, but you who reads the book) gets acquainted with the world through the first half of the book, the second half is more action-filled, but still chock full of explanations through the use of dialogue. There are a number of scenes and ideas that could have been expanded upon. Originally being a stand-alone piece, there are too many questions and a lackluster climax left with the reader. But since there is actually a sequel, perhaps these ideas will be explored further. The end was a bit predictable because of Ann’s visions, and even slightly off-putting because it happened so quickly, a place that could have been approached in a different way or extended.
All in all, an enjoyable, quick read that has me interested in future installments, a book I’d recommend to teens.
Teresa Crider, Review Writer 