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Title: The Gifting (Gifting, #1)
Author: K.E. Ganshert
Published By: CreateSpace (2015)
Synopsis: “If science is right, then I am crazy. And crazy is dangerous.”
In a world where nothing supernatural exists, Tess Eckhart is positive she’s going crazy. After her complete freakout at a high school party, her parents worry she might be right. So much that they pack their bags and move across the country, next to a nationally-renowned facility for the mentally ill.
Tess is determined to fit in at her new school, despite the whispers and stares. But when it comes to Luka Williams, a reluctantly popular boy in her class, she’s unused to a stare that intense. Then the headaches start, and the seemingly prophetic dreams that haunt her at night. As Tess tries harder to hide them, she becomes increasingly convinced that Luka knows something—that he might somehow be responsible.
But what if she’s wrong? What if Luka Williams is the only thing separating her from a madness too terrifying to fathom? (Taken from Goodreads)
Review:
I was very disappointed in the Gifting. The author has recently become one of my new favorites, and when I saw she had written a dystopian trilogy, I became very excited—for surely it would be another spectacular work of fiction and this time I would have three books to love!
This book, though, pales in comparison to the author’s other works. It doesn’t even compare. I felt the author was trying way too hard to break into the YA world, but what she didn’t realize is that it being the standards are already so preposterously low in YA, there really isn’t anything to “break into.” Anything goes in YA. The author toned down her writing a ton, and it irked me. There was so much potential here!
What I liked: I really liked the spiritual thematics and messages. A LOT. It might be that alone propelling me to keep reading the series. I think it is a message that is very applicable to today’s culture and one that needs to be told. On the flip side, it was confusing and hard to keep track of, presenting more confusion than clarity, though that very well may be tied up better in the next few books.
What I disliked: The rest of the book. Okay, maybe I’m being a little harsh. The plot was….a plot. Kinda predictable. A little stereotypical. A little repetitive. I did like how the author wrote the romance between Luka and Tess, though.
What I really disliked: (spoiler!) I really didn’t like how when they went to save her grandmother everything went just perfectly for them, and I hated the scene where they “have” to tie up the person who caught them. It was just so contradictory to their characters and to the attitude of the story as a whole. It made the author appear desperate, like she didn’t know what to do. I also disliked how after saying hi to the grandma they just leave and go home. I didn’t get it at all. It felt very anticlimatic.
I didn’t really get a lot of emotional depth at all from any of the characters. Yes, there were emotions, but nothing compared to the author’s other works. Tess has emotions, but I didn’t feel them the same way I felt emotions in the author’s other works. It was just so disappointing. I expected a lot more, and it doesn’t measure up at all. It was flat and repetitive and the more I think about it, the less I like it.
Also, can we talk about how the phrase Tess is told—“You are the Gifting” is grammatically incorrect?
Negative Content/Notes:
Romance doesn’t go beyond a kiss. Some violent content, as Tess sees huge monsters around and thinks they will attack her.
Overall: I love Katie Ganshert. This book was not all bad by any measure. It just did not live up to my expectations. I mean, by default of course I like the book because of the author. It just wasn’t what I expected at all and because of that I was very disappointed.
Rating: 4.0 / 5.0
Recommended to: Not recommended, unfortunately.