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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Courtesy of Teens Read Too, 12 Aug 2009
This review is from: Moonstone (Paperback)
Fifteen-year-old Alfrieda Emerson already had enough to deal with before finding out she has freaky psychic powers.
Crammed into a one bedroom trailer with her mother on her half-uncle's property, Allie's life has been pretty miserable since her mom decided (thanks to Oprah) that she has fibromyalgia and can't work anymore. Every Thursday, her mother's lawyer, "Big Ed," comes to spend the night, and Allie has to escape to her creepy neighbor's opulent home.
The eccentric Kizzy keeps telling Allie that she has the Gift, but Allie never believed her until a fall from a ladder into the bull pasture triggers something strange in Allie's brain, and she's suddenly able to keep the bull from charging her with a mere thought. Later that night, a hippyish ghost named Trilby appears out of nowhere, claiming to be Allie's spirit guide.
Apparently, Allie has passed "the first test," but Trilby refuses to tell her anything more, except that Allie is part of an ancient prophecy.
Things get weirder when Kizzy gives Allie a moonstone pendant that has been in her family for generations, saying that Allie is meant to have it. If this piece of jewelry means even more magic, Allie wants nothing to do with it. But despite her reluctance, she finds herself in the middle of a magical tug-of-war between those who would misuse the power of the moonstone and those who would see the prophecy fulfilled.
It's time for her to live up to her destiny as "The Maiden Who is Strong of Mind" so she can protect the people that she loves.
This first book in the new UNBIDDEN MAGIC series starts off with great promise, and draws the reader into Allie's world, where ancient conspiracy and magic meet the most common of circumstances. Watching the main character grow to take charge of her life and deal with her new role left me itching to read the next book and find out what happens to her.
Reviewed by: Allison Fraclose
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great tale if you can get past the awful formatting, 3 Dec 2011
This is kind of a weird tale to review without going into detail and spoiling it. Instead, I'll try to say what I liked about it: The female lead, Allie, was only 14, but was non-bratty, seemed to genuinely care for her mother, her mentor and those in danger and being bullied. She was mature beyond her years, having to be a carer to her sponging, ditsy, loving but benefits/welfare-faker of a single mother, and totally took on board what it meant to be the holder of the Moonstone and the powers and responsibilities that came with it. She was such a refreshing change to the spoilt little rich girls from teen novels. Her gift itself manifested in several weird and funny ways, especially so in the farting prize bull that suddenly put itself into reverse gear when she shouted 'back up, back up' after being zapped by lightning, which activated her birthright powers. The way in which she came into her powers was funny and not one I'd come across before, making it a refreshing change. The Moonstone was a cool inheritance, enabling her to see auras and gauge what was within people. Her innocent teen romance with a gorgeous Latino 'bad boy' with a rep, who seemed to want to change for the new girl in his life, Allie, who didn't only want him for his coolness and street-cred, was really sweet. The baddies themselves and their purpose, and Allie's own type of power were ones that I'd not come across before in any paranormal romance, and I found this totally refreshing. The whole tale happened in the midst of Allie's everyday life - with social services, school, welfare cheques, living in a trailer, with people she'd befriended looking out for her - it made the tale all the more warm and all the more believable. I really enjoyed it, and to think that I nearly didn't bother, with the frankly AWFUL formatting. Amazon, pls get this sorted!!
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38 of 42 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Moonstone, 29 Dec 2009
By YA Book Queen - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Moonstone (Paperback)
I can really go either way with this novel. I had read some great reviews and the story just did not live up to them, in my opinion. I hate to be the one to say that I disliked this book, a lot. Allie was a good main character, but it took me awhile before I started to really like her. In fact, in the end I'm still not sure if I did like her as a character. Her mother, on the hand, I despised. This is what I wanted to say to her: Get off your *&$@ing @#$ and get a job (use your imagination). Needless to say, her mom - Faye - landed on my list of characters I want to punch in the face (and I don't even have a list...). The story was kind of blah for me, it didn't seem too original, and in the end I saw it all coming. None of the "shocking" moments shocked me. As a whole, I was really disappointed with the story. Usually I love magic, and whatnot, in stories, but this one just made me think about how much I loved all those other stories. HIGHLIGHTS: Um...it actually was amusing at points. I also liked how Allie didn't just say "Oh sweet, I have magical powers". She was more realistic about the whole scenario, and she was a giving kind of character. LOWLIGHTS: I think I've said enough. However, do not let my review keep you from reading this story, because everyone has different tastes and sometimes certain stories don't mesh well with certain readers. This story + me = not good. Despite that, I've seen some amazing reviews about this novel on Amazon, so I would definitely recommend anyone to check out their thoughts to see if it's something you'd like to read.
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Awkward in places, but a good read overall (Kindle formatting review at the end), 4 Mar 2010
By Dawn S. Miller - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Moonstone (Kindle Edition)
At first, I wasn't sure I'd like the story, but it got better as I continued to read. Especially after meeting characters like Diddy, "the only non-black African American in Peacock Flats." The humor that showed up toward the middle of the book really helped me enjoy it.
The narrative voice is conversational, and a bit wordy at points. It's in first person, and sometimes that meant I felt stuck in Allie's head when she stopped describing the world around her.
The book could have done with one last proofread. It had just enough typos to irritate, like this one in Chapter 1: "When I wiped the steam off the mirror, I saw a dark-red, dime-sized circle the size in the exact center of my forehead."
But even with all of that, it was a fun read. The author is a decent writer with some imaginative scenes. And I was pleasantly surprised at the moments of suspense.
Would I reread this book? Yes, I might.
Would I spend money on this book? I'd pay a few bucks. And I'll be checking the sequel out from the library.
Kindle info
Formatting: Looks like the book was scanned. Some of the words were lighter or thinner, which made some of the italics difficult to read, and on occasion a paragraph had an accidental hard return or a word with an extra space. Bothersome, but otherwise not bad.
Length: 2206 locations (2207-2296 include Acknowledgements, About the Author, and an excerpt from the book BITE ME)
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
A nice light read, 22 Jun 2010
By sailorwind "sailorwind" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Moonstone (Kindle Edition)
I can't honestly say I was blown away by this book. It wasn't bad. It was light and fun and kept me occupied for a few hours. It was somewhat predictible and formulaic, but it didn't bother me too much. The main character was likeable, although I personally found her mother to be my favorite character. Based on the ending this was a little unclear as to whether it was going to initiate a series or not. I guess I wasn't intrigued enough to check on that.
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