Title: Savannah Grey
Author: Cliff McNish (site)
Published: Feb 4th, 2010 by Orion Children's Books
Pages: 234
Buy: Amazon / Book Depository
Rating: 3.5/5
Synopsis: 15 year old Savannah Grey has never felt she's belonged. She keeps her distance, so she's surprised by her attraction to the new boy Reece. Then strange things begin to happen: nature, it seems, is exerting an overpowering force on the world. Birds behave strangely; gusts of wind blow leaves so fiercely they seem to lure people away. And Savannah learns she has supernatural powers. Nature has a purpose for Savannah and her friends. For they are on course to meet the vile and evil Orcrassa, who wants to destroy the world by corrupting nature. And it wants Savannah Grey to help realise its savage intent.(Goodreads)
Review: This has been a very difficult book for me to review. I enjoyed it, and my overall feelings about the book are complimentary, but it's hard to put into words. This was such a dark, twisty, adventure of a book. The Orcrassa and its minions are both terrifying and sympathetic. I love a book that first scares you with a villain and then makes you (grudgingly) come to feel pity for it, to understand why it is evil. The main character seems to get lost in the story, I'm not left with a very strong impression of just who she is. The story itself, however, more than makes up for this. Instead of focusing on relationships and emotional development, this book is all plot. I did manage to figure out the twist before it was revealed, but not too far before. The reader is let in on the secret just in time to make you want to scream, "No! Don't do it! Are you blind?!", and not so far in advance that you get bored with the story. McNish is a very interesting writer, I will definitely check out more of his works. (There are several on his site that look fantastic.) I would recommend this especially to guys, it has a no-nonsense sort of vibe towards gushy girliness that makes it very readable.
