A review by meganmreads
Gift by Andrea J. Buchanan
3.0
I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
This book looked incredibly interesting and different, which is why I requested to review it. The story is mainly about Daisy, a high school sophomore that has a secret power. To Daisy, being able to make electronics go haywire seems more of an inconvenience than a power. Fortunately, she is able to control her abilities to some degree and tries to fit in at her school. When a teacher asks Daisy to look for Vivi, Daisy finds her on the brink of death. Vivi and Daisy become fast friends as she tries to explain what happened. Vivi has a soulmate and he’s not alive. Patrick is a ghost.
This turn of events brings Daisy’s best friend Danielle, Daisy, and Vivi together as they try and figure out what is happening. They are having strange dreams and only Vivi seems to be able to communicate with Patrick. Daisy ends up meeting a dreamy senior named Kevin when she was supposed to meet up with Vivi for lunch. She finds out he’s a TA for her favorite teacher and asks him for help with her situation in the guise of writing a story.
The plot combines dreams, ghosts, Daisy’s electrical power, and the past for an interesting adventure for the four teenagers. Daisy and Kevin find out that have a connection, as well, which added the element of romance to the book. I found the plot to be unique, though somewhat predictable after a certain point. While there were surprises thrown my way, I felt as if I figured out the main mystery before Kevin did.
The characters were well developed, but I couldn’t connect with any of them. I felt as if there was something missing. The best developed character was Danielle, but I couldn’t stand her. There were avenues explored in this book that didn’t work with me because they didn’t end up really connecting to the plot or they were only explored vaguely.
While the plot was strong, I felt like there were elements that didn’t quite fit in and wondered why they were even there to begin with if they weren’t going to connect in some way. For instance, the three girls and Kevin use their favorite teacher’s classroom as a place to get together during lunch to discuss their strange events. They were afraid that he would eavesdrop and occasionally, he would make a comment that made it seem like he was listening, but nothing ever happened after the plot got rolling to suggest he ever was listening. I guess I expected him to have some sort of role as the plot developed and nothing happened. Also, Daisy’s father is not in the picture and she discovers that her mom may be hiding something. Once she found out what her mom was hiding, I figured that secret would also connect to the plot, but it only served to steer Daisy in the wrong direction and nothing about her father was ever spoken of again.
Because the plot was so unique and combined many various elements, I guess I just expected something more. I finished reading with slight disappointment and wished there was just more to it. It was a great read and certainly something different and I would still recommend it, but it left me wanting more the entire time I was reading.
This book looked incredibly interesting and different, which is why I requested to review it. The story is mainly about Daisy, a high school sophomore that has a secret power. To Daisy, being able to make electronics go haywire seems more of an inconvenience than a power. Fortunately, she is able to control her abilities to some degree and tries to fit in at her school. When a teacher asks Daisy to look for Vivi, Daisy finds her on the brink of death. Vivi and Daisy become fast friends as she tries to explain what happened. Vivi has a soulmate and he’s not alive. Patrick is a ghost.
This turn of events brings Daisy’s best friend Danielle, Daisy, and Vivi together as they try and figure out what is happening. They are having strange dreams and only Vivi seems to be able to communicate with Patrick. Daisy ends up meeting a dreamy senior named Kevin when she was supposed to meet up with Vivi for lunch. She finds out he’s a TA for her favorite teacher and asks him for help with her situation in the guise of writing a story.
The plot combines dreams, ghosts, Daisy’s electrical power, and the past for an interesting adventure for the four teenagers. Daisy and Kevin find out that have a connection, as well, which added the element of romance to the book. I found the plot to be unique, though somewhat predictable after a certain point. While there were surprises thrown my way, I felt as if I figured out the main mystery before Kevin did.
The characters were well developed, but I couldn’t connect with any of them. I felt as if there was something missing. The best developed character was Danielle, but I couldn’t stand her. There were avenues explored in this book that didn’t work with me because they didn’t end up really connecting to the plot or they were only explored vaguely.
While the plot was strong, I felt like there were elements that didn’t quite fit in and wondered why they were even there to begin with if they weren’t going to connect in some way. For instance, the three girls and Kevin use their favorite teacher’s classroom as a place to get together during lunch to discuss their strange events. They were afraid that he would eavesdrop and occasionally, he would make a comment that made it seem like he was listening, but nothing ever happened after the plot got rolling to suggest he ever was listening. I guess I expected him to have some sort of role as the plot developed and nothing happened. Also, Daisy’s father is not in the picture and she discovers that her mom may be hiding something. Once she found out what her mom was hiding, I figured that secret would also connect to the plot, but it only served to steer Daisy in the wrong direction and nothing about her father was ever spoken of again.
Because the plot was so unique and combined many various elements, I guess I just expected something more. I finished reading with slight disappointment and wished there was just more to it. It was a great read and certainly something different and I would still recommend it, but it left me wanting more the entire time I was reading.