Synopsis for Whisper (from Goodreads):
I’d love a cup of coffee. I wish she knew how pretty she was. I wish I could drop this kid in the dryer sometimes. I just want her to be happy. I hope she didn’t find out what Ben said about her. I wish I knew how many calories were in a bite of muffin…
Joy is used to hearing Whispers. She’s used to walking down the street and instantly knowing people’s deepest, darkest desires. She uses this talent for good, to make people happy and give them what they want. But for her older sister, Jessica, the family gift is a curse, and she uses it to make people’s lives—especially Joy’s—miserable. Still, when Joy Hears a frightening whisper from Jessica’s own mind, she knows she has to save her sister, even if it means deserting her friends, stealing a car and running away with a boy she barely knows—a boy who may have a dark secret of his own.
Review:
I picked up this book because of my cover love for it. I had never heard of it before I saw it as a new addition to my library’s eBranch and once I read the synopsis it sounded interesting enough.
This book starts slow–I mean what we read in the last bit of the synopsis doesn’t even occur until after the halfway point in the book. The first half is spent establishing Joy’s everyday life with her friends and family. It was a little boring but I generally didn’t mind too much. It was interesting for me to read about Joy’s perspective on things because of her ability to hear people’s thoughts. Joy seemed fairly realistic to me in the sense that she thinks like any other teenage girl but isn’t overly dramatic about it.
This book is really about Joy finding herself more than anything. It focuses on her relationships with her sister, her parents and her friends–and not so much on her romantic interactions but they are there. I don’t know if I particularly like the messages that this book sends about your relationship with your parents but this book definitely focuses on family relationships.
The last 1/4 of the book is the most “exciting” because you get an actual plotline. But I felt like it happened too fast and then the ending just felt lackluster. Goodreads lists this book as the first part of a series but it was published nearly 4 years ago and the author doesn’t seem to have the intention of publishing a sequel. It’s probably a good thing because I’m not sure what else you could to plot-wise other than Joy learning more about her ability.
Conclusion:
A very slow read about familiar relationships more than anything. Don’t be deceived by the book synopsis because the really “exciting” plotline promised doesn’t happen until the last end of the book. But, if you want a short, clean teen read, you’ll like this one.
Rating: 2.5/5
Shorthand Stats:
Genre: Young Adult/Teen, Supernatural, Family, Romance
Recommended for: 14+
Heat Rating: cool
Point of View: First Person
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