Sunday, September 4, 2011

The Predicteds

The Oracle of the Chobani Cup has spoken.  Today's review will be The Predicteds by Christine Seifert.  

Daphne Wright's super-smart scientist mother, Dr. Melissa Wright, has moved the two of them from the Minneapolis/St. Paul area to a town called Quiet, Oklahoma.  On her first day of high school there, Daphne chokes on a piece of gum and then is caught in a school shooting.  Enough drama yet?

Daphne has attended nine schools and every first week at a new school something embarrassing or minorly catastrophic happens with Daphne at the center.  Her choking attack gives her an excuse to retreat to the supply closet in the classroom just as a deranged student starts to shoot up the school.  There, her soon to be love interest, Jesse, shoves Daphne under the sink and saves her from the crazy shooter.

The quotes at the beginning of each chapter, from scientists, parents and students, all refer to a psychiatric testing experiment called PROFILE.  Because of the prologue, which chronicles a nasty attack on one of the characters, and these quotes, the reader begins to suspect that Jesse might be one of the Predicted - teens whose PROFILE results predict that they will engage in violent criminal activity.  While readers are scanning each page for clues about Jesse and the other students, Daphne and Jesse are falling in love, going to the Mall and attending parties - just like normal teens.

The suspense was too much for me.  I actually skipped about 60 pages so I could find out - WHO WAS that guy in the prologue?  WHO?  WHO??  I went back and read the 60 pages.  I had to. Even after that all-important question was answered there were plenty of pieces that still needed to fit.

And NO!  I won't tell you who it was.  Read the book.  I do have to warn you that I read an ARC.  Your book may not have a prologue in which case I apologize.  I have tried to be as vague as possible.

The book discussion sites are going to love this one.  As suspenseful and insightful as this book is, people are going to be talking about The Predicteds.

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