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UC_Silence (2012)

by Michelle Sagara(Favorite Author)

3.74 of 5 Votes: 1

languge

English

genre

Romance

publisher

Daw

series

The Queen of the Dead

review 1: SILENCE was an engaging and unique paranormal story. Emma has been just going through the motions since her boyfriend died in a car accident the past summer. If anyone asks, she says she is fine but no one, least of all herself, really believes it. She has taken to spending a lot of time in the cemetery by Nathan's grave with only her elderly pet rottweiler Petal as her companion. One evening she meets the new boy at school - Eric - and a strange older lady there. The lady kisses her and hands her a lantern before disappearing. Emma is immediately struck down with what she thinks is a major migraine. Eric takes her home and the next day, when she is struck down again at school, takes her to the emergency room where she sees her father. The only thing is, her father died a ... morenumber of years ago. But when Emma touches him, not only does she see him but so do the other people with her. Eric has come to kill her before she learns what she can do as a necromancer. But something about Emma's confusion and the way she interacts with the dead, stays his hand. Emma isn't what he thought necromancers were. Emma doesn't want power over the dead.What I liked most about this story, besides the interesting world building, were the relationships that Emma has with her friends. Emma has a very strong support network in her best friend Allison, her friend Michael, and her friend Amy. Each of the supporting characters are well-written and well-rounded characters. Michael is particularly unique as he is high functioning autistic. The way his friends accept him for who he is is rather amazing. His own unique world view also helps move the plot along when another necromancer, this one quite evil, comes to try to kill Emma and steal her powers.A lot of this story has Emma trying to learn about necromancers and trying to use her powers. Her main goal is to rescue a four-year-old who died in a burning building and who is still trapped there because of his power. Her sympathy for the child's plight is what makes her different than most necromancers.I liked Emma's relationship with Eric and with Eric's partner Chase. It wasn't at all a romance because Emma's heart is still with her boyfriend Nathan. But the mutual respect and liking between them added to the richness of the story. And the way Eric and Chase bickered and argued provided some comic relief to a story that was really emotionally intense. Fans of paranormals will enjoy this unique story.
review 2: I'm usually not really into young adult urban fantasy, but this was by Michelle Sagara, and it didn't sound bad, so I gave it a try. And it paid off, because I actually liked this book quite a bit. It avoids the angsty teenager bits. It avoids the obvious romance bits. Oh, I'm sure there will be romance in one of the sequels, but there's only the merest hint of it here. The book is about a bunch of teenagers, but it also avoids the bitchiness of teenage social behavior. The main character, Emma, had real friends that back each other up, and one of those friends is the social queen of high school. Another of her friends is autistic. It makes for some very interesting dynamics, especially when Emma finds out she can see dead people. So yes, this is an easy-to-read young adult urban, but it also has a bit more depth to it. In particular, Emma and her friends have more depth to them. The bond between them is of such a nature that you just want to spend more time with them. This'll be one of the few ya urbans of which I will read the sequel... less

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