#2 Haunted
A hidden enemy...
"This power that I have - this ability to reach inside people's minds and know their thoughts...Anthony says it's a gift. But ever since this gift started, my life has been in danger. And now someone I care about is in trouble because of me. I have to help him - if I can find him."
Brief Synopsis
Jesse has been kidnapped as a test for Rae. It is up to Rae and Anthony to discover where he is since the police believe he was run away. First they track down Jesse's father, and when that proves fruitless, they must face that fact that Jesse was kidnapped because of his involvement to Rae.
Quotes
- Ha ha. Hee hee. (pg. 11)
- "I figured," he answered, his voice soft, too. "Either that or she fell out of the car." (pg. 47)
- Very smart, Fascinellli, Anthony thought as he frisked the guy, finding nothing. Yeah, cut off his air, then ask him a question. (pg. 176)
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Review
Remember! Reading this threatens serious spoiler content. Also, please be prepared: these reviews were written when I was in high school and, as such, read like a high schooler's ramblings. I intend on keeping the reviews as they are, as the opinions of a teenager are probably more relevant to this series than my older perspective.
As before, this book has a very driving plot. Metz is very good at writing about dramatic issues with teenagers. She can really put the reader into the characters' minds and have them live vicariously through them. I think it is a little disappointing that Metz only writes from two characters' perspective, though. We only get to hear what is going on from Rae and Anthony's point of view. I think the books would be more fun to follow if more characters were introduced in more depth. Like Marcus and Jesse. Marcus's character is hard to get a clear hold on, since we only have Rae's feelings toward him. We need some firsthand information about him so we can understand what he is really all about.
I suppose Yana does give her point of view; we just don't know that is it her yet. Yana's character is much more interesting to read about after you have already read the series once and know that she wants Rae dead. Metz expertly uses Yana and her powers without letting the reader know about it. For example, Yana must have used her thought-implanting powers on the bouncer guy in New Orleans. And when Anthony and Rae are dealing with that drunk who wants to dance with Rae, Yana just passively watches - looking for Rae's power. Very subtle clues.
Then there are clues that scream out at you. Right after Rae catches that person looking in her window and chases after him, we read about Ms. Abramson having a raw bruise on her arm. To the observant reader this would foreshadow that Ms. Abramson was the one who was after Rae since the bruise on her arm corresponds with the "killer" who tripped while running from Rae.
At the end of this book, we learn some very important information. There are two people who want Rae dead. I think it is very ironic that the "killers" who have already tried to off Rae with the pipe bomb eventually end up helping her, and it is Yana who makes the final attempt at her life. Although the guy who was at Rae's window wasn't very smart. He was probably either Aiden or the meter-reader guy (which we'll meet in future books). Why was he walking around with the envelope of pictures of Rae? Uh, DUH.
As I have said before, I think Anthony's character development is very interesting (probably because Metz developed him the most). Once again we see the contrast with what he is really like and his bad-boy attitude. He is so sweet - singing his brother to sleep and helping his sister after she wet the bed - that it is so hard to think of him as mean as he is supposed to be. Even though he may have a bit of a temper and punches the wall of the warehouse, it is hard for me to picture him being so bad as he makes himself out to be. His principal and Mr. Rocha all want his blood, but what could he possibly have done? Did just meeting Rae make him change his priorities about smoking pot and graduating overnight? It doesn't quite match up; I suppose our imaginations can fill in the blanks.
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