Book Review: Glimpse by Stacey Benefiel

Summary:
Zellie Wells has a devastating crush on Avery Adams, the son of her mom’s high school sweetheart. At her sixteenth birthday party, held in the basement of her dad’s church, she finally finds the courage to talk to him. Turns out, the devastating crush is mutual. As Avery takes her hand and leads her out onto the makeshift dance floor, Zellie is overwhelmed by her first vision of his death; shocking because not only are they both covered in his blood, but they’re old, like 35, and she is pregnant.  Afraid to tell anyone about the vision, (she’d just be labeled a freaky black magic witch, right?) Zellie keeps the knowledge of Avery’s future to herself and tries to act like any other teenager in love. When they get caught on their way to a secret rendezvous by her mom and his dad, they are forbidden to see each other.  Convinced that their parents are freaking out unnecessarily, Avery and Zellie vow to be together no matter what. They continue their relationship in secret until Zellie learns that their parents are just trying to prevent her and Avery from suffering like they did. The visions are hereditary, they’re dangerous, and if they stay together the visions will come true. Now Zellie must choose between severing all ties with Avery, like her mom did to prevent his father’s death, and finding a way to change Avery’s future.

Review:
Thank you to The Book Vixen for recommending this book to me and to Stacey Benefiel for providing me with a copy for review!  


I really enjoyed this sweet story about a preacher's daughter falling in love and discovering hidden truths about herself and the people around her.  Zellie (short for Hazel) is a perky young girl with a huge crush on Avery Adams.  She stares at him in church and at school and dreams of having the nerve to talk to him.  Little does she know that he secretly feels the same way.  I thought the interaction between Zellie and Avery was so sweet.  They were both so awkward and I really enjoyed the development of their relationship. 

The first part of the book introduces us to Avery, Zellie and their respective families.  Right away, we get the sense that something is different about Zellie: when visiting sick parishioners with her mom after church, Zellie correctly guesses what's wrong with every single person. This is a weekly game between Zellie and her mom and that's when we first get the inkling that something deeper is going on with Zellie.   

Zellie finally talks to Avery and they dance at her birthday party.  That's when the story really took off for me.  Like any first in a series, the world-building parts felt a little slow to me.  This is a struggle I often have with first in a series novels.  About halfway through, Glimpse starts going in a really neat and unexpected direction and that's when I couldn't put the book down.  I'm not going to say more because I don't want to spoil anything. 


I enjoyed the writing style, plot, and romantic suspense in Glimpse. I will definitely be reading the next book in the series, Glimmer, out November 1, 2010! 

Just One Gripe:
The first part felt a little slow.

The Best Thing About This Book:
The unique paranormal twist.

Appropriate for a younger audience:
Yes

Score:
Characters: 4/5
Plot: 4/5
Setting/Imagery: 4/5
Originality: 4/5
Ending: 4/5
Total Score:  20/25






5 comments:

  1. This sounds good. I hadn't heard of it. Great review. Thanks for bringing it to my attention :)

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  2. But they're old, like 35 - yeah that is soooo old. Sounds like a good read and what unusual character names, thanks for the recommendation.

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  3. This one sounds like something I'd be really interested in and I'm really curious about the paranormal twist. I always enjoy a cute, awkward first love story, but it's nice to know about the slow beginning. I feel the same way about world building a lot of the time. Thanks for the recommendation!

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  4. I'm glad you enjoyed it. I can't wait to find out what happens next for Zellie.

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  5. Thank you for the great review! I didn't know you'd posted it or I would have commented sooner, for sure! :) (I just sent you a little Glimmer info on Goodreads.)

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