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Seventeen-year-old Maggie has had a rough year. First, her mother abandoned her and her dad, saying that she felt tied down by them. Then, days after that event, her boyfriend of three years broke up with her, saying since he was going off to college the next year, they might as well break up and get used to the idea of being apart. She’s had to go to work to help make ends meet, and her father has been essentially a zombie. She’s graduating, but Maggie doesn’t have much to look forward to except more of the same, since her mom took off with all their money, including her college fund.
But then she meets a cute new guy, and when they touch, something strange and wonderful happens: she feels an instant connection with him and literally is physically changed. Maggie learns very quickly from Caleb that he’s not just an ordinary human. Naturally. And they have just “imprinted,” become one another’s “significants,” which means they’re soul mates. The circumstances surrounding their imprinting are unusual and attract a lot of attention in Caleb’s family and small community of “Aces,” and Maggie is drawn into the group. Of course, there are those who are not happy about the situation between Maggie and Caleb and do what they can to stop their “ascensions,” at which time they’ll each receive a special magical ability.
This book should be quite popular with the Twilight crowd, the fans who love supernatural abilities and fated love that is intense and passionate. It has potential, with a fairly interesting story, but I found the writing, especially for the first part of the book, to be sophomoric, and in need of a good book editor (not to mention a decent copy editor — the number of errors was astronomical and distracting). I also felt it just relied too much on all the usual plot gimmicks that are popular right now to get readers’ attention. That said, many people may very well like it.
Rated: Moderate. Much of the book actually is quite mild, with just occasional mild language, and a little violence, but there are a number of passionate kissing scenes and then, toward the end, more talk about sex, but in a positive way, because the characters plan to wait until marriage to have it. But they do think about it and the intensity of their desires pretty much all the time, so the themes are a bit mature for younger readers.
Thank you. I try to always check the books my daughter reads, which are far and few between, and I know she feels she’s older than she is so when she finds a book she thinks she’ll like it’s great. This rating is comforting that it is appropriate for her!