Unspoken (Is My Rage At You...)

Expected Publication: September 11th, 2012

Unspoken (The Lynburn Legacy # 1)

By: Sarah Rees Brennan

Random House Books for Young Readers

ISBN-13: 9780375870415

Kami Glass loves someone she’s never met . . . a boy she’s talked to in her head ever since she was born. She wasn’t silent about her imaginary friend during her childhood, and is thus a bit of an outsider in her sleepy English town of Sorry-in-the-Vale. Still, Kami hasn’t suffered too much from not fitting in. She has a best friend, runs the school newspaper, and is only occasionally caught talking to herself. Her life is in order, just the way she likes it, despite the voice in her head.

But all that changes when the Lynburns return.

The Lynburn family has owned the spectacular and sinister manor that overlooks Sorry-in-the-Vale for centuries. The mysterious twin sisters who abandoned their ancestral home a generation ago are back, along with their teenage sons, Jared and Ash, one of whom is eerily familiar to Kami. Kami is not one to shy away from the unknown—in fact, she’s determined to find answers for all the questions Sorry-in-the-Vale is suddenly posing. Who is responsible for the bloody deeds in the depths of the woods? What is her own mother hiding? And now that her imaginary friend has become a real boy, does she still love him? Does she hate him? Can she trust him?

Review

   Kami Glass is a quirky, intrepid teenage reporter with what everyone else calls an imaginary friend - she's been talking to him in her head since she was a kid.  She has been treated like a bit of an outsider by the other villagers and questioned her own sanity because of this at times.  But then the Lynburns return to Sorry-in-the-Vale.  They are a mysterious family that lives in a spooky manor on the hill and has for generations.  Now sisters Rosalind and Lillian Lynburn have returned with their sons, Ash and Jared.  It turns out that Jared is Kami's "imaginary friend" and he is very much a real person.  Now, with the help of    

Jared, Ash, her best friend Angela and Holly she has to find out who has been sacrificing small animals before something more horrific happens.  And when Kami is almost killed and another girl does die, it's time to seriously investigate.  But will she find what she expected or will it be even more suprising than Kami ever imagined.  I went into this book not knowing exactly what to expect, especially considering that I was NOT a fan of Team Human, a book that Rees Brennan co-wrote with Justine Larbalestier.  I found this book to be very funny, sarcastic, with a well drawn heroine who was not the average YA shrinking violet who I end up hating.  I loved her quirkiness, the "imaginary friend" debacle and her relationships with her family and best friends.  Some of my least favorite interactions were with the Lynburns, whose return is at the center of the book's plot.  Jared became a complete asshole when he and Kami met in person and I disliked the he-man way that he treated her on a constant basis.  Ash wasn't much better, being basically a spineless and background presence more than a character.  I disliked all of the flip-flopping done with the identities of the "good" and "evil" people once the Lynburn secret was discovered.  The ending would have been alright for me with the major action sequence and the tie being severed between Jared and Kami.  But then Brennan had to go and ruin it for me with the last interaction between Kami and Jared which was downright reminiscent of Twilight/New Moon and completely cringe-worthy.  Unless you are dying to know what happens next, I wouldn't even bother reading the next book.  And I would only recommend this one to readers who can put up with pointless drama.

VERDICT:  3/5  Stars

*I received an Advanced Reading E-book Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley. No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book's expected publication date is September 11th, 2012.*