Earthbound

They do say better late than never right? I read this as soon as it came out but I'm just now reviewing it. Sorry, for that because it's a great novel, the start of a new supernatural/paranormal series that I really loved! First there is a unique sort of romance. Well, there is a triangle of sorts but, not really. You can tell where Tavia's interests lie. As always, the book blurb is totally misleading. I'll clear it up.Tavia has been the only survivor of a plane crash. In order to avoid publicity, her aunt and uncle keep that secret and she is not allowed to contact her friends at home. She is in New Hampshire, home is Michigan. Benson, her crush, is something that has developed just over the last few months as she's been visiting the library. He helps her with her studies as she is basically homeschooling herself. So it's not like she's liked him since the fourth grade or anything, in fact, it has only been a month since she finally came clean about who she actually was and that she realized she was falling for Benson. But now, there is this strange boy that disappears right in front of her, who dresses in period costume and feels like he's someone she should know, someone she misses. And she's not sure if she should tell anyone about him or keep him to herself. There, I should have written the blurb.Tavia, is a unique character. She is orphaned, broken-both physically and emotionally, damaged. All of a sudden she starts seeing this boy in period costume and these silver symbols on buildings. Is she being stalked? Is she just seeing things? Or, from the strain of everything, is she losing her mind? Tavia (rhymes with cave not mauve thank you author for working that into the book) is cautious in not jumping to conclusions. She has a therapist that she talks to, but everything in her urges caution with this boy. She was headed to an art school interview with her parents when the plane crashed and so she hasn't been able to even doodle since then. Everything she loves has been ripped from her in that plane crash. Everything familiar has been taken from her. Even her hair from the brain surgery they did and a little act of frustration on her part is foreign to her. She looks in the mirror and doesn't know who she is anymore. But this is not a young woman that feels sorry for herself. She wonders why she survived. How she survived. But she doesn't feel sorry for herself. She walks to the library despite her limp. She does her schoolwork at the library. That's where she met Benson, he's a library intern. She walks to physical therapy. She goes to therapy. She endures bloody and graphic nightmares. All without complaint. She really tries to feel connected and grateful to Reese and Jay the only relatives she has left. And then this weird boy comes into her life and everything she's known since the accident begins to unravel. And still, Tavia plays it smart. Except for one major mistake. And it makes all the difference.To say that Tavia is a well developed character is understated. From every limp to every doodle to every thought, you understand every thing about her. Benson, as somewhere between a main character and a secondary character is a little murky. You don't know if you can trust that he's on Tavia's side as it becomes clear that there are sides. And then there are Reese, Jay and Elizabeth, Tavia's therapist. They all seem to want her to get better, have her best interests at heart, but there is a question again about their loyalty.There is non-stop action after a certain point and it's hard to keep up. The supernatural element is one that is unique. The boy that Tavia is drawn to is explained believably and what might be construed as a love triangle goes away. The ending is a brutal battle between Tavia and her foes and it isn't completely clear who survives and who doesn't, except, well, Tavia or there wouldn't be a series. But that isn't the end. There is one more chapter that sets up the next book. No cliffhangers, (Thank You) but great potential for the next in the series. I cannot wait for the next book!!There is a great romance in this, history, action, mystery and a fabulously unique supernatural element I haven't seen in my previous reading in YA. The writing is to the point with enough detail for you to picture where you are and what's going on and the characters' state of mind, but leaves you room to fill in the blanks.

I bought this book because I love Aprilynne Pike and after reading it, I still love her! She didnt disappoint me at all.I have to admit, I got confused with some of the story and maybe even a little bored at one point, but then it all took shape and I was sad the story had ended! Now Im excited for book two but I have to wait until next summer!Ive read hundreds of books and this one was so original with the story line it was like taking a breath of fresh air.This is a series I recommend you read, you wont be disappointed.

This book was absolutely perfect, it keeps you flipping trough the pages and leaves you in anticipation for the second book. I really loved the characters in these books and watching them develop in their own personal ways. The breaking and binding of bonds, and the struggle of the world on Tave's shoulders. The book was very well written and I can promise that you'll be impressed.

Okay...I had a difficult time rating this book, and kept going between 3 and 4 stars. I decided to round up because I do want to read the next one, and there were just a couple things that I didn't really like about this new novel by Aprilynne Pike.So to start, the overall story was interesting and new. I thought the paranormal/supernatural element was unique and very creative on Ms. Pike's part. I was left guessing about the type of supernatural the characters were until everything was revealed. I had some thoughts about where this book was going, but it is entirely new, which is something I liked. The other thing that I really enjoyed about this novel was that it was a giant mystery. I've always enjoyed books where the characters have to put the clues together, and basically are going on a kind of "treasure hunt" to reveal the final mystery. The story keeps you on your toes, with some action sequences throughout the novel, but I'll get to why this was also a problem later in my review. I found this to be a marked improvement over the last Aprilynne Pike book, Life After Theft, and this was more on par with how I remembered her writing in her Wings series. While I definitely didn't like this novel as much as I liked Wings, I still think this is an interesting premise to a start of a series.This leads me to the things I didn't like about the book (or just kind of felt eh about). This is a major set up book. I mean the story doesn't really even start till the end. And as soon as it really gets good, the next thing you know, the story's over and you want the next one (which is slated for Summer 2014). It's not terrible in ways of set up books... in fact, it's quite good. However, I felt there was a lot of times the book dragged, and scenes could have been cut out.Another thing I didn't like was the love triangle. I know I shouldn't compare books, but since the books are by the same author, I think it's okay in this situation. In Wings, the love triangle was thrilling and I loved/hated it. The love triangle here is just blah. I wasn't anything special or anything to become excited about. While I understand the insta-love with Quinn (and it'll be okay for you too after reading why there's that insta-love later in the story), I still wasn't totally sold on it. Also, there's kind of an insta-love with Benson. It literally goes from zero to sixty in the course of a sentence or two, and I just couldn't buy it. It just all seemed very forced to me, and I couldn't get into it. However, I will give major credit to Ms. Pike...I have no idea who Tavia is going to end up with in the end. Usually, there's a pretty clear winner from the very beginning of a series, but that's not really the case in this novel. In this way, I'm interested in seeing where the love triangle goes. I just hope it gets better in the following books.Finally, I didn't like the reveal of everything. This is more of a personal preference, but I don't like when all of the information is dumped on the reader over the course of a scene/chapter. I like when the information is slowly revealed throughout the novel, and then by the end, everything makes sense. You (and the characters) have a better sense of where the story will go and what exactly is going on in the world you were introduced to during the novel. With this novel, everything is just dumped on the reader, and since this is a new concept/world, I got a little confused. After re-reading a couple sentences, I understood everything better. However, I wish that the information could have been relayed over the course of the novel, or even just over a couple of chapters that were spread out. There was just too much at once.Overall, this is a promising start to a new series. While it won't be as good as the Wings series, I have high hopes for it. Aprilynne Pike knows how to write a great, thrilling story. I'm looking forward to learning more about the world and how it develops in the next book. I would recommend reading it, but I think the next book will be the ultimate test of how good this series will be. Happy reading!3.5 stars

WOW - I got sucked into this immediately. I haven't finished it yet but I'm hoping it's a series or that there is a least a sequel.

Totally cool... exciting, radical! Recommended for ages 13 to 15...I mean it's romantic, adventurous, upbeat....I can't wait to read the rest!!

good series, liked it a lot, good read and its enjoyable and nice. highly would suggest that you read these books

I loved this book and look forward to the next in the series. It had many twists and turns I didn't expect.