Powers

Top Ten ways to know that Doogie is home from college:
10. The toilet seat is up every time I walk into the bathroom (for the first time since he left!)
9. Coke is disappearing at an alarming rate from the refrigerator.
8. All three kids are smiling just a bit more, and Doogie and Molly are picking at each other until I want to pull my hair out.
7. We're going through a roll of toilet paper EVERY DAY!
6. I'm singing to the radio again, especially because Don't Stop Believin' seems to come on rather often.
5. I don't get to sleep until midnight because every night at 10pm he comes in to talk about the stuff that really matters.
4. The living room looks like a tornado hit it.
3. There's a loud grumbling coming from the couch every morning.
2. 25 loads of laundry in three days, and I woke up to 2 more this morning!!
1. My heart is full for the first time in months.

Powers by John B. Olson is the sequel to Shade, but you don't need to read that volume to be completely hooked by this compelling thriller. Mariutza has been raised in seclusion by her grandfather, taught to fight, to use her mental abilities to outwit the enemy, and to fear the outside world. But when he is killed by mysterious hooded figures, she flees from the swamp that has been her only home to the city of New Orleans to seek the mysterious prophet Jaazaniah. Jazz Rechabson is just trying to make enough money to make the rent playing piano at a music club when he has a vision of a man surrounded and killed by strange beings. When he comes to, he finds himself being pursued by those same beings and the emergence of strange abilities he has no idea how to control or use. The two must pair up to find out the secret that binds them both and just may hold the key to their survival. The first 50-75 pages were a bit of a rough read for me. While the action was intense, I couldn't figure out if this was our world or a world similar to ours and just what was going on. Then I relaxed and just let the story flow, and pretty soon the hours flew by, and I couldn't put it down. The reader is much like Mariutza: in a strange world, disoriented, with no grasp of the circumstances. Olson dribbles out the information in enticing tidbits that keep the pages turning. A sure-fire hit with fans of urban fantasy or the supernatural, as well as regular thrillers, this weird, astonishing read is a true treat.

Thank you to B&H Books for providing me with a copy of this book to review.

I'm running a contest this week to win a pair of children's books by Julie Cantrell. God is with Me through the Day and God is with Me through the Night are filled with adorable photos of animals and a strong message of security for children. To win the pain, just leave a comment on one of my posts this week or send me an email before 10 pm on Friday, November 27th. Good luck!