Fathom - Book Review

Fathom
by Merrie Destefano
ebook

What is it about:
Everything is changing . . .

Turning sixteen can be hell, especially if everyone in town thinks your mother killed herself and your sister. All Kira Callahan wants to do is swim, hang out with her best friend, Sean, and ignore the kids who torment her at school. That is, until one day when she gets invited to a party. For three minutes her life is wonderful—she even kisses Sean in the driveway. Then somebody spikes her drink at the party and some girls from out of town lure her into the ocean and hold her underwater.

Kira soon discovers that the group of wild teenagers who have come to visit Crescent Moon Bay are not as innocent as they seem. In fact, nothing is as it seems—not the mysterious deaths of her sister and mother, not her heritage, not even her best friend. And everything seems to hinge on the ancient Celtic legends that her mother used to tell her as a child.

What did I think of it:
I love everything Destefano has written so far, so when I got the chance to read Fathom I jumped at it of course.

And Fathom didn't disappoint.

I liked Kira (who's one of the two narrators of this story) from the start. She's haunted by the memory of her mother and sister and still has to find a way to cope with the loss. This makes her vulnerable, but it also made her strong in other ways. I very much enjoyed getting to know her and I wanted her to find happiness.

The other narrator in this story is Caleb. I really liked his voice. Caleb sounds more mature, more contemplative than Kira and even while you get to see inside his head he remains a bit of a mystery. I kept wondering what his motivations were and why he feels drawn to Crescent Moon Bay and to Kira.

The story is very suspenseful and it kept surprising me. Just when I thought I knew where things would lead, the story took a turn I hadn't seen coming. It was haunting, creepy and emotional. Destefano's writing gave it a fairytale-like feel that fitted the mythology she used in this story.

All in all this is a beautiful Paranormal Young Adult read and I hope Destefano will write more books in this setting.

Why should you read it:
It's a haunting Paranormal YA read


Buy it here