The Gifted by Deborah Andreasen, A Young Adult Fiction Book Review

The Gifted by Deborah Andreasen is a Young Adult Fiction and Fantasy Book! So obviously this book review was completely up my alley! I love Young Adult Fiction and Fantasy! The Gifted was released March 28, 2011, and has been since growing in popularity including spending time as # 4 on the top Contemporary Fiction downloads on Amazon!

Synopsis: Pyper just wants a normal life. But ever since the day she died, she’s been able to control objects with her mind. What she can’t control is a mother who fears Pyper’s ability and the possibility of it being discovered. Pyper only finds solace in her friend and brother, Baler. When Pyper moves to yet another new school, she meets Kael, who takes an immediate interest in her. He knows her secret, and he needs her help saving the Fae people. The problem is, Pyper doesn’t believe in Faeries. But when her brother is abducted, Pyper doesn’t have much choice. Can she really save a race she doesn’t believe exists? Can she rescue her brother? And can she accept her second chance at life?

My Review: 

This is one of those books that I saw and just HAD to read! I had been putting it off for months due to being so busy, and having other books to read, but I just couldn’t put it off any more! I had friends who had read it, and I knew it was my style of book from what they said! One weekend, I splurged and bought the Kindle Edition from Amazon, and then the next chance I got, I started reading!

The beginning of the book immediately drew me in! It seemed to jump around a little, letting you see bits and pieces of Pyper, the lead character’s life and personality. Yet it still leaves you with questions which only spurns you to continue reading so you can find out more! I loved that it didn’t have any long drawn out back story, but immediately jumped right in and let us start experiencing the characters and their personalities!

After a few chapters, these questions slowly start to be answered as Pyper meets Kael,  the supporting role, and as she learns more about herself and her destiny! Pyper learns the purpose of her special ability, and how it can play a role in saving the Fae people, yet she struggles as she doesn’t know if she really wants to save the Fae, nor put her family at risk!

The story travels between both our contemporary world and the otherworld where the Fae live. We are lead on an adventure as Pyper discovers her abilities, learns to increase her skill, falls in love with a forbidden character, and also has to endure danger at every turn from the evil Fae that wants to stop her at any cost!

I love Deborah’s writing style as it is simple enough that you don’t need a dictionary in one hand just to understand the story. Yet, it is full of adventure, action, magic, and even a love story! But the love story is not the main theme, nor is it thrown in your face! It is well balanced with the adventure of the story! And any romance is limited to hand holding, a few hugs, concerned and longing glances and 2, maybe 3 kisses! Yet definitely not enough to disgust the male reader!

The Gifted is also void of fowl language and is very family friendly oriented! Although a 10 year old probably wouldn’t be as interested in the story as say a 12 year old may be, It is still nice to know that the language and content would not be offensive nor inappropriate for the younger audience! I love that my 8 year old son could read this book if he ever developed the interest and there wouldn’t be a single word, or scene in the book that I feel I would need to edit the content to make it appropriate for him.

One of my favorite moments in the book is when Kael is left with the feat of telling Pyper about the Fae, and struggling to get her to believe him, and he even has to resort to using the common word of Faeries, even though he hates being referred to as a Faerie because of it’s feminine nature and our earthly connotations.

I also loved that we got to see Pyper learn and grow from being a grouchy, vengeful teenager, into a beautiful, confident and strong lead character! It is definitely a book that a young teen-aged audience will be able to relate to.

The Gifted had some humor, definitely a lot of adventure and even fantasy action where the 2 Gifted of the Otherworld must battle to the death with their Gifted Magical powers, using the powers of the elements. I honestly felt like I was watching a movie toward the end of the story, as it was fast paced, full of action and adventure and had me on the edge of my seat! Needlessly to say, the last 30% of the book (as I was reading on the kindle, I don’t know what page it started on) I was literally glued to my phone’s kindle app. I almost lost it when my phone’s battery died on me 5% away from the end! Talk about dramatic Pause! I immediately had to plug in my phone so I could finish, I couldn’t wait!

The Gifted has been compared to fit in the same genre as Percy Jackson, Harry Potter, Sisters Grimm, 39 Clues, Red Pyramid, Sword of Shannara, 13th Reality, Eragon, Fablehaven, and others.

About the Author: 

I met Deborah Andreasen shortly after we moved to Idaho! She actually lives right down the block from me, and has the cutest kids! Her son is my little Jade’s special friend whom she adores! Or maybe it’s because she can use her “girly” ways on him to get what she wants, I’m not sure. haha! Then I discovered she was a soon to be published author, I felt quite honored to know a real life Author!

Deborah is a stay-at-home mom, living in southeastern Idaho, and completely loves her job. Her husband and children are very patient with her and give her plenty of time to disappear into paranormal worlds. (Either those of her own creation or someone else’s.)  She grew up in a small town in Nevada. After High school she moved away to College where she earned a bachelor’s degree in Business Management and a double minor in Finance and Psychology, none of this have anything to do with writing! Yet she has always been in love with writing, and decided to take it more seriously a few years after she graduated.

The Gifted is Deborah’s First published novel, yet after a short break from writing while she adjusted to have a new baby girl, she is back to writing and currently working on the follow up novel to The Gifted whenever your children allow her a few moments of peace at the keyboard.

You can follow Deborah’s Writing journey and learn more on Deborah’s Facebook Page, as well as at:

http://www.deborahandreasen.com

Where to BUY!

Currently you can find The Gifted on amazon in both a paperback and Kindle Edition.

You don’t have to take just my words for how amazing this book is, you can read all the other raving reviews for it on Amazon, as well as on Goodreads!

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Disclaimer: JadeLouise Designs was not compensated in any fashion for this review. I purchased the book on my own, as it is one I knew I would love, and I did love it enough that I wanted to share it with my readers. All opinions are 100% my own and were not influence by outside sources! However, the Giveaway portion that will be awarded to JadeLouise Designs’ Readers is Sponsored by the Author. Even still, no compensation was received.