Review: Perception
Feb 21
Perception by Kim Harrington will be released in the U.S. on March 1, 2012 in hardcover format. It is currently available to pre-order online at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
Published by Point, an imprint of Scholastic, the print edition is 288 pages.
Perception is the sequel to Clarity by author Kim Harrington.
***
When you can see things others can’t, what do you do when someone’s watching you?
Everybody knows about Clarity “Clare” Fern. She’s the psychic girl in school, the one who can place her hands on something and see hidden visions from the past.
Only Clare would rather not be a celebrity. She prefers hanging back, observing. Her gift is not a game to her.
But then someone starts playing with her head . . . and heart. Messages and gifts from a secret admirer crop up everywhere Clare turns. Could they be from Gabriel, the gorgeous boy who gets Clare’s pulse racing? Or from Justin, Clare’s hopeful ex-boyfriend who’d do anything to win her back?
One thing is certain. Clare needs to solve this mystery, and soon. Because the messages are becoming sinister, and a girl in town has suddenly disappeared.
***
Things have finally started to quiet down for Clarity Fern after the events that took place over the summer landed her in the spotlight. While she was happy not to be called the town “freak” anymore, by almost everyone, she preferred not to be the center of attention.
But not everything has returned to normal. Brooke and Kendra, two of the Barbie Brigade that used to torment her, now treat her like she’s their new best friend. Her brother Perry is no longer the outgoing, social, flirty and fun older brother he used to be. And it seems she has a secret admirer.
When notes and flowers begin to show up at school and at home, Clare is flattered. Since she hasn’t been able to choose between Justin, her ex, and Gabriel, a very tempting possibility, she assumes it’s one of them.
But she starts to grow concerned when it feels as if she’s being watched and followed. Even though she thinks she’s probably imagining things, she isn’t so quick to disregard what she’s feeling, because as a psychic her intuition is almost never wrong.
Someone is behind all of it. She just has to find out who. And if that wasn’t enough of a mystery for her to solve, it appears that a girl has gone missing. Someone she may be able to help find using her abilities.
Things don’t seem to stay quiet in Eastport for long. And Clare just can’t stay out of danger. At least she can count on Tiffany to be her same cruel, tormenting, back-stabbing and completely normal self.
***
Perception is an immensely entertaining story, a captivating mystery and a thoroughly enjoyable one-sit-read. This incredibly fast-paced sequel, with characters that are exciting and either lovable, detestable or somewhere in between, is utterly engaging and has such an easy flow.
The story returns readers to Eastport and picks up shortly after the events in Clarity ended. Clarity “Clare” Fern has started her Junior year in high school and is attempting to once again fade into the background. But not everyone is willing to let that happen.
With a secret admirer who may be more stalker than admirer and a missing girl who may have simply just run away or could already be dead, Clare has two pretty big mysteries to solve. All the while still trying to decide whether to forgive Justin or to take a chance on Gabriel.
As the mystery deepens and the danger to Clare becomes more real, she’ll have to rely on more than just her psychic abilities to find answers and she’ll have to put her trust in someone. She just hopes it’s the right someone.
Author Kim Harrington has followed up her debut novel with a sequel that is just as charming, just as exciting and just as suspenseful. Her main character, Clare Fern is every bit as strong as she was, perhaps even stronger because of all she’s been through, and if possible, even more likable.
She is smart, kind and compassionate. And it is her interest in solving the mystery and her willingness to help, even when helping could put her at risk, that make her such an endearing character.
While some of the other characters from the first book aren’t as prominent in this second book in the series, new characters are added to the mix that are just as engaging, intriguing or suspicion-inducing, giving readers more characters to question, doubt and mistrust, and giving this series room to grow.
As the story progresses, the pace escalates and the tension continues to build, all leading up to a dramatic finish in which all is revealed.
Perception is an absolutely delightful story and a must read for those looking for a quick and fun mystery with a paranormal twist, an abundance of enticing characters and an ending that won’t leave off at the edge of a cliff.
Reviewer gives this book…
On a personal note:
I absolutely love this sequel. I loved Clarity and I love Perception just as much. It was such an adorable, fun and super quick read. Just as I knew it would be. I really hope there is a third book planned in this series because I already miss Clare, Gabriel, Perry, Starla and even Justin.
For the record, I do not miss Tiffany.
Clare Fern is an easy to love heroine – one of my favorites. She’s sweet, clever, caring and understanding. But she’s not a total pushover. And she has this awesome ability – retrocognitive psychometry – which she wants to use to help others rather than as some party trick or way to make money.
I loved getting back into the world, seeing my favorite characters again, meeting new ones and being challenged to solve the mysteries. While I had that “aha” moment and was able to figure out whodunit right away, I was still captivated by the story and it was totally fun to see Clare try to puzzle things out.
Once again the author did an amazing job making almost all the characters seem suspicious. And while one stood out to me, I could just as easily have been wrong, like I was when I read Clarity. And before I end up letting something slip, I’ll stop talking about the mystery.
But for the same reason, it’s also impossible to talk about the characters without giving something away. Any of them. Old or new. There were a few new and interesting characters in this series, but I can’t say whether I liked them or not without spoiling the mystery. And I can’t say whether or not I was happy to see certain old characters again, because that would be spoiler-y, too.
Though, I suppose I can say that there were characters I loved, characters I wanted to love, characters who gave me the heebie-jeebies, characters I really hoped weren’t guilty and characters I really hoped were.
And I can’t not talk about the love triangle. I absolutely love the love triangle in this book. While it wasn’t the main focus of the story, it was always there in the background. Neither boy was an obvious choice. And Clare’s decision wasn’t a guaranteed one. Which made me very, very nervous.
While I had my favorite, I had no idea if he would be Clare’s pick or even if she’d choose either boy. This was one mystery that kept me in the dark for the entire book. And I mean the entire book. No early answers to that question.
As with the first book, the mysteries were solved and everything was wrapped up pretty nicely in the end. I am just keeping fingers and toes crossed that there will be many more books to come in this series. I would be totally happy to devour them all.
***
I had a couple of passages I loved, but only one favorite:
Gabriel studied me for a moment. “You don’t realize it, do you?”
I blinked, twice. “Realize what?”
“What makes you different makes you beautiful.”
My breath caught in my throat.
Book trailer for the Clarity novels:
This review is based on an ARC I received from the publisher, Scholastic, in exchange for my honest opinion.
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