Some books suck you in from the very first sentence you read. This was one of them. Beth Michaels is an average teenager (apart from being abnormally smart but that's neither here nor there) and when her vision is enhanced by ropey knots and helices, her average life gets strange fast. Bendinger's wit takes a regular narrative about some not so regular happenings and turns it into a wildly entertaining joy ride. I like Beth Michaels, in fact, I wouldn't mind if she was one of my friends - that's how cool she is. And to me, the greatest hurdle in any book I read is my relationship to the protagonist. How I feel about her colours, to a great extent, how I feel about the entire book. And I liked Beth Michaels. I was also intrigued by the other six women that the book teased us with glimpses of. They all, unbelievably so, in the sparse pages granted them, limned the complexity of both their lives and emotions - engaging the reader and making her want to explore more about their persons and their lives. Moving on to the romance, I'm sure you've read of people getting sparks when kissing but this time, Richie and Beth actually really do get electrified (and not just in that way either). I found their relationship endearing and realistic. It had all the messy emotions of typical of teenagers but it also hinted at something deeper, a potential forever. The plot - okay, I'll be honest here. If I were to be seeing this in a theater, my eyebrows would be lost under my hair (they'd be raised that far) and while I understand the twists and turns required by the narrative, it gave a distinctly coven-ish feel. Also, there were some other developments in the growing expression of the Rays that made me the tiniest bit uncomfortable. The first three quarters of the book is wonderful - the writing crisp, the relationships engaging and the narrative absorbing. The last bit is...well, I hesitate to label it anything because I hope the next book (there has to be a next book! No way was the story completed!) will explain it.
