Trance by KL Denman

 It's the cover on today's read which caught my attention...and it's another short young adult read. First off, that cover is eye-catching and immediately makes me wonder what this book is about. There's just depth to it, and that's nice to see, too. As to the length, I am all for long, good novels. I love them. But sometimes, short and sweet is enjoyable as well. Plus, this is another in Ocra's collection of reads meant for young adult readers, who aren't quite as fluid readers as others. I have enjoyed the reads in this collection so far and assume that this one won't be any different.

That said, let's dive in and take a peek.

TRANCE

by KL Denman

Orca Surroundings

YA Magical Realism

128 pages

COMING...

AUGUST 19th!!!

Kira is best friends with Brigid, a girl who has the strange ability to take someone's hand and visit the past lives of their ancestors.

When an accident kills Laney while Brigid was giving her a “reading,” Brigid becomes trapped in the past. Doctors think Brigid is in a coma but Kira knows she must find a way to save her. She discovers that the only way to pull Brigid out of the trance is to connect her to one of Laney’s blood relatives. The only problem? Laney was adopted. With the help of Laney’s family friend, Kira must track down the truth about Laney’s birth family before it’s too late.

This short novel is a high-interest, low-reading level book for teen readers who are building reading skills, want a quick read or say they don’t like to read!

GOODREADS     /      PUBLISHER

MY TIDBITS

Emotions run high as a girl's life hangs on the line and no one seems willing to help a best friend save her.

Laney's best friend, Brigid, has the ability to let her soul travel to the past and talk to the ancestors of people she's touching. She's long since embraced this ability, and Laney does her best to protect her while she uses these sessions to help others. During one such moment, disaster strikes, and the person Brigid is touching dies, leaving Brigid's soul stuck in the past and her body in a coma. The only way to save her is the touch of a blood relative of the person she was helping, but the person was seeking assistance because they wanted to discover, who their parents truly were due to an adoption. Add that Brigid's mother is a religious fanatic, who can't know of her daughter's powers or she'll consider her a demon, and the clock is ticking. Especially since Brigid's mother is dead set on euthanasia. 

The book begins in a very grabbing way. Not only does the author make the abilities of Brigid, the friendship between the girls, and the danger of the situation clear immediately, the tension and desperation hit already a few pages in. That Laney can't fail in her attempt to save her friend's life is obvious and makes it so easy to root for. Plus, there's all sorts of drama and directions going on in the background, which she needs to discover and weave through. Brigid's mother barely appears in the novel, but the horrid ripples the woman causes feed palpable desperation. Teens will have no problem relating to this lack of control and power they have over parents, and the problem stubbornness can cause. 

This is more of an emotional read than suspense, and the paranormal aspect, while interesting, happens as an undertone, since it has to do with her friend and not her. There's also a little romance direction, which works fine but wasn't necessary to the story...outside of the fact that romance is always heart-warming. Everything rounds off nicely and the story gives some food for thought in important and difficult themes, such as religious fanaticism, parent-child relations, and euthanasia. The plot does keep things rolling, and there are plenty of surprises. Everything works out a bit too simple to solve the issue, but not enough to ruin the story.

It's an interesting read, which addresses several important issues and adds enough tension to keep things interesting the entire way through.

And here she is...

K.L. Denman is an author of middle-grade, YA and adult fiction. Many of her titles have been nominated for literary awards, including Me, Myself and Ike, which was a finalist for the Governor General’s Literary Award. She began her writing career as a contributor to her school newspaper but didn’t take it up seriously until many years later when she found her true passion in writing fiction. She is the author of Orca Currents titles Mirror Image and Agent Angus. She lives in Delta, British Columbia.