Book Review: Ghost Huntress, Book 1: The Awakening by Marley Gibson

GHOST HUNTRESS, BOOK 1: THE AWAKENING by MARLEY GIBSON


ABOUT THE BOOK:

The first in a trilogy. Get out your tape recorders, crystals, and extra batteries— you're about to go where our world meets the spirit world.

Psychic Kids, Paranormal State, Haunting Evidence—these and countless other television shows are making believers out of millions of people: Ghosts exist, and they're living right beside us. For centuries, individuals have been trying to prove the existence of ghosts. But without hard evidence, it's been difficult to make the case. But now as science and technology have progressed, ghost hunters have been able to use scientific means, along with more traditional psychic tools, to make their case. Photographs, video recordings, and sound recordings are all producing some amazing results.

In this new series, Ghost Huntress, meet Kendall Moorehead, a seemingly typical teen. When her family moves from Chicago to the small historical town of Radisson, Georgia, her psychic abilities awaken. She's hearing, feeling, and seeing things that seem unbelievable at first, but with the help of the town psychic, Kendall is able to come to terms with her newly emerging gift. So, together with her new BFF, Celia, Kendall forms a ghost hunting team. They've got all the latest technology. They've got Kendall for their psychic. Now they're going to clean up Radisson of its less savory spirits.

The story is fiction. The science is real. Welcome to a new reality.

MY REVIEW:

Most teenagers worry about making friends and fitting in when they have to move. But what do you do when your new town is haunted, and on top of it all, you seem to have become some sort of homing beacon for every restless spirit in the area?

Kendall Moorehead was just a typical teenage-girl-next-door when her family moved out of the hustle and bustle of Chicago and into the quiet, sleepy town of historic Radisson, Georgia. Ever since then Kendall's had the annoying problem of not being able to sleep. But when she begins experiencing the pain of those around her and hearing strange voices, she becomes really panicked. It's not until a chance encounter with local psychic Loreen Woods that Kendall is really able to come to grips with what is really happening to her. She’s not schizophrenic (like her ultra religious mom thinks she might be). She's just psychic!

Ghost Huntress, Book 1: The Awakening was a fun, fast paced beginning to a spooky trilogy. Kendall was a likeable and believable teenager who just happened to be struggling with a unique gift. Kendall’s diverse ghost hunting team added an interesting dynamic to the book and I enjoyed their well drawn characters. One of my favorites was the recently popularity impaired Taylor Tilkins, a beautiful, talented photographer with a nervous tendency to blurt out French expressions. Celia Nichols, the walking encyclopedia of knowledge with an impressive ability to relate any situation to a Shakespearean quote, was my other favorite character. There has been some criticism about Gibson’s use of product naming in the book, and while I agree that it could possibly date the book too much down the road, I also think it will greatly appeal to Gibson's current teen audience. However, older readers may become turned off by the constant product labeling and some editing down might’ve helped the book connect with a much wider audience.

It was obvious when reading Ghost Huntress that Marley Gibson had done thorough research on ghost hunting equipment and techniques. I appreciated how she described in detail the basic types of equipment, but didn’t lose the reader with too much technical jargon. Another interesting aspect of the book was the incorporation of personal and spiritual protection methods for ghost hunters. I never realized there was so much religion intertwined with ghost hunting. My favorite scenes were the ones when the ghosts actually appeared and I found myself very drawn into the story. The following is one of my favorite quotes. It's from when Kendall and her team went into a cemetery unprepared for what was to follow-

I block out Taylor's photographing and just concentrate on my surroundings. It's so dismal and ... full of lives cut short, of heartache and heartbreak and physical suffering. Of course it is a cemetery, so one would assume these things are in the atmosphere. But the sensations literally encompass me, garroting me with their persistent fingers. Opening my eyes slowly, I see them. All around me. Scattered about the cemetery.

Holy Freakin’ crap," I can only whisper. (Page 190)

BOTTOM LINE: Grounded in science, Ghost Huntress is an entertaining, spooky offering in what promises to be an exciting new ghost hunting series. Make sure to read the great excerpt at the end of the book for Ghost Huntress, Book 2: The Guidance due out in September. It’s a great teaser and got me really excited to read the sequel!



Paperback: 338 pages
Publisher: Graphia Books (May 4th 2009)
ISBN-13: 9780547150932
ISBN-10: 0547150938
Buy at: Amazon, Borders, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million, etc
Marley Gibson's Official Website
Visit Marley Gibson on Myspace and Facebook

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Marley Gibson grew up in a southern town very much like her fictional Radisson. She never saw any ghosts growing up—that she knows of—although she has been on a few ghost hunts recently with the famed New England Ghost Project and has gotten some verrrrrry interesting pictures. Marley is a member of the New England Romance Writers of America (RWA) and the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. She is the creator and founder of Chick Lit Writers RWA. She lives in the Boston area with her best friend, personal webmaster, and hubby, Mike.