Title: Show Me A Sign
Author: Susan Miura
Publisher: OakTara (October 14,
2013)
Pages: 144
Several years ago, my teenage daughter got me hooked on YA (young adult fiction). Since then I've been repeatedly blown away by not only the content of the stories, but the writing, and SUSAN MIURA'S, SHOW ME A SIGH, is no exception.
Right from the start, I was drawn in. I love MS. MIURA'S voice, her humor, and her spot on accuracy to capturing a male teen character. I'm a mother of four, three girls and a boy, and it's not uncommon when reading a novel that I cringe when an authors secondary character is a child of any age. More times than not, they were not successful in capturing the true essence of a kid, whether that be a two-year old or a seventeen-year old.
Nathan Bolivan attends a high school for the hearing as well as the non-hearing. He's had his eyes on Haylie Summers, who's both beautiful and deaf. His excitement of their upcoming first date is quickly turned upside down when he discovers Haylie has gone missing ... and he's a suspect.
Haylie Summers is abducted, tie-up, and blindfolded. Frighten, and not able to hear her captors only adds to her uneasiness. As she remains imprisoned, she wrestles with the answers to the questions swarming around in her head. Why is she being kidnapped, and by whom? Would she make it out alive, or would she never see her family and friends, again?
SHOW ME A SIGN is wonderfully handled in first person between the two main characters. There's just the right amount of suspense, mystery, love, humor, and faith all wrapped up into a believable and powerful story. The flow is natural, with a captivating pace and plot. The humor is refreshing, the characters are three-dimensional, and the writing brilliant.
Though I enjoyed all of the characters, I'd have to say that aside from Nathan, his best friend Alec, is my favorite. He's fun and likeable. MS. MIURA did an incredible job incorporating a teen British boy. With the One Direction craze going on in the teen world today, her timing could not have been better. I loved the interaction between Nathan and Alec. Natural, funny, and entertaining.
Start to finish, there wasn't one thing I'd change in SHOW ME A SIGN. As an aspiring author, I tend to edit as I read. A true sign to a brilliant storyteller is the ability to incorporate all the aspect of what goes into writing a great story, and that MS. MIURA has accomplished. I may be long past my teen years, but you can bet I'll be looking for her next book.
Right from the start, I was drawn in. I love MS. MIURA'S voice, her humor, and her spot on accuracy to capturing a male teen character. I'm a mother of four, three girls and a boy, and it's not uncommon when reading a novel that I cringe when an authors secondary character is a child of any age. More times than not, they were not successful in capturing the true essence of a kid, whether that be a two-year old or a seventeen-year old.
Nathan Bolivan attends a high school for the hearing as well as the non-hearing. He's had his eyes on Haylie Summers, who's both beautiful and deaf. His excitement of their upcoming first date is quickly turned upside down when he discovers Haylie has gone missing ... and he's a suspect.
Haylie Summers is abducted, tie-up, and blindfolded. Frighten, and not able to hear her captors only adds to her uneasiness. As she remains imprisoned, she wrestles with the answers to the questions swarming around in her head. Why is she being kidnapped, and by whom? Would she make it out alive, or would she never see her family and friends, again?
SHOW ME A SIGN is wonderfully handled in first person between the two main characters. There's just the right amount of suspense, mystery, love, humor, and faith all wrapped up into a believable and powerful story. The flow is natural, with a captivating pace and plot. The humor is refreshing, the characters are three-dimensional, and the writing brilliant.
Though I enjoyed all of the characters, I'd have to say that aside from Nathan, his best friend Alec, is my favorite. He's fun and likeable. MS. MIURA did an incredible job incorporating a teen British boy. With the One Direction craze going on in the teen world today, her timing could not have been better. I loved the interaction between Nathan and Alec. Natural, funny, and entertaining.
Start to finish, there wasn't one thing I'd change in SHOW ME A SIGN. As an aspiring author, I tend to edit as I read. A true sign to a brilliant storyteller is the ability to incorporate all the aspect of what goes into writing a great story, and that MS. MIURA has accomplished. I may be long past my teen years, but you can bet I'll be looking for her next book.
I enjoyed your review, Kym and feel it's well written. I also like that you feel so strongly that you wouldn't make any changes in the story.
ReplyDeleteI just reviewed "Hunting Shadows" on Amazon and feel that I would have rated it higher if the author cut down the length. Please check it out.
Mike