Name: Transcendent
ISBN: 9780451469632

Katelyn Detweiler

"In the aftermath of a terrorist attack on Disney World, all eyes turn to a teenage girl who may be the savior the world needs"--

Transcendent

Briar's Reviews

Transcentdent by Katelyn Detweiler is a unique YA novel.

To start this review off, I have to admit that this book was definitely not for me. I did not enjoy this book even though I typically love YA novels. I dig the whole "only, special person" trope and love peeking into dystopian worlds. Unfortunately, this book just didn't hit me the right way. Katelyn had an absolutely stunning tone and writing style and I'm sure many other readers will enjoy this book. 

This book has an interesting plot: A bomb goes off at Disney World and the world is in ruins. The happiest place on earth is now not so happy. All of this happens due to all of the negativity in this world - because terrorists suck, of course. In comes Iris, the teen girl we are following. Turns out, she's "special". Her Mom had a virgin birth and she is essentially the second becoming of Jesus Christ. She can help heal people and make people happy. Her parents don't want her to become famous and take advantage of these powers. She struggles with her sense of self, meets a cute boy, and ends of deciding what to do by the end.

This book had a lot of potential for me, but it fell flat. A lot of the book felt like everyday activities and not much plot. Throw in a romance that didn't need to be there, and I felt... cheated. If the romance would have had more meaning to the story, I probably would have liked it a little bit more. It felt like the romance was there to fit into the YA mold. Similarly, there was one terrorist attack and... that was it? So we needed a girl to come out after a terror attack at one public place? That's... kind of normal these days. If there would have been more terror or horrors, I think it would have made more sense. The amount of good Iris can do didn't exactly match the level of bad one terror attack is (in comparison to our everyday events now. Terrorism is still awful, don't get me wrong).

The book was lacking for me. I had hoped it would pick up speed or add a reason for the romance (Jesus had Mary Magdalene so maybe that could have been brought in?). With all of the religious references, I wish it would have went full force or not at all on it.

And then the book just... exists. There was a lot of substance and descriptions but not a lot of plot. I'm the type of person who needs fast plots, lots of drama, and that good heaping of romance. It just didn't have enough of each for my liking.

So, you might be thinking this review sounds mighty negative. And yes, I feel kinda bad about that since Katelyn's writing was INCREDIBLE. I love how she describes things and I love her tone. Her writing style matched my reading style and I want to read more by her in the future for sure! I would absolutely support her. Unfortunately, we can't like all of the books we read.

Side note: This book is a sequel apparently! Iris's Mom has her own book!

One out of five stars.

I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.

Bryanna Leigh

I received this book through First to Read. 

I'm about maybe three or four chapters into this story, and I cannot bring myself to finish it. Maybe the summary doesn't translate too well to the story, or perhaps this is just not a story for me. It's bland. Maybe it gets better, but I don't find myself trying to pick up this book again and trying to finish it. Iris's character is far too good. Almost to the point where she's a "Mary Sue". 

From what I was able to get through, there was some interesting talk about religion. However, with anyone who doesn't believe in the story of Jesus or God or any of that, it started to turn off from the story. (Also, after looking at the author, seeing how one of the plot points is the same as her previous books, it's a bit of a let down.) 

Maybe I'll finish this at some point. But as of right now, it's filled with characters I don't care about, and overly bland lead character, and a very unfortunate plot.

Transcendent

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