Shattered Souls

by Mary Lindsey

Overview

Death, love, destiny, and danger!

Lenzi knows she must be going crazy. She's hearing voices and having visions—specifically of gravestones, floods, and a gorgeous guy with steely gray eyes. And there's nothing anyone can do to help, not even her handsome musician boyfriend, Zak. Until she meets Alden, the boy from her dreams, and learns she can speak with lost souls. Now Lenzi must choose: destiny or normalcy. Alden or Zak. Life or death. And time is quickly running out.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780142421901
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	12/06/2012
Pages:	336
Product dimensions:	5.66(w) x 8.04(h) x 0.86(d)
Age Range:	14 Years

About the Author

Mary Lindsey lives in Houston, Texas, with her husband, children, and dogs.

Editorial Reviews

In Lindsey’s debut, a well-crafted and imaginative ghost story, 17-year old Lenzi Anderson fears she’s losing her mind. Tormented by voices pleading for help, Lenzi follows dreamlike visions and meets Alden, who tells her she’s a Speaker, someone who helps hindered spirits resolve their issues and move on. Because Speakers allow the ghost to possess their bodies, and the possibility exists of being possessed by a malevolent soul, each Speaker is assigned a Protector, and Alden is hers. In fact, Alden has been Lenzi’s partnered Protector for numerous lifetimes, as they are reincarnated together again and again. But something’s wrong—Lenzi has been missing for 100 years and is suffering past-life amnesia. As she steps from her normal life into a world both gratifying and terrifying, Lenzi becomes tangled in complicated relationships while being hunted by a malicious shade. Though Lenzi’s family members are thinly drawn and almost extraneous, Lindsey deftly remolds and refreshes familiar elements and makes them her own, coupled with a light romantic touch. Her accomplished writing breathes energy into realistically flawed characters and smoothly builds to the book’s intense climax. Ages 14–up. (Dec.)

Publishers Weekly

Gr 9 Up—To 17-year-old Lenzi's great surprise, she can talk with the Dead, and as a Speaker she has the power to assist souls that have not moved on, to join with them physically and help them resolve their ghostly lives. Some spirits are angry and vengeful, and one in particular has it in for her. Enter Alden, a cute guy who helps Lenzi channel her powers; he is her Protector, the "body" she must use to complete the transition for these lost souls. Lenzi starts to feel more than friendship for Alden, but there's an added twist—her angst-filled, hottie musician boyfriend. As her relationship with Alden deepens, her connection to Zak loosens, and his anger increases until a final, devastating scene occurs. While the writing sometimes feels rushed, the fast-paced plot keeps readers' attention, characters are intriguing, and flashbacks to old Galveston add to the story's ambience. Fans of Courtney Allison Moulton's Angelfire (HarperCollins, 2011) may enjoy this similarly themed past-life action romance. Larger libraries that cannot keep light supernatural titles on the shelf should consider adding it.—Angela J. Reynolds, Annapolis Valley Regional Library, Bridgetown, NS, Canada

School Library Journal

A formulaic forbidden-love story and teen debut featuring [insert female name:] Lenzi, who [insert paranormal gift:] serves as a conduit for ghosts with unresolved issues, and [insert male name:] Alden, the guy she wants but shouldn't have. When Houston teen, origami-loving Lenzi, begins experiencing hallucinations and disembodied voices, she's sure that she's succumbing to the same schizophrenia that recently claimed her father's life, until Alden unexpectedly arrives. The 17-year-old should remember Alden and the last time she died, in the Galveston hurricane of 1900; after all, their souls have been cycling together for generations. But somehow she's developed past-life amnesia. Reminiscent of Lauren Kate's Fallen series and Alyson Noël's Immortals series, the story builds slowly as Alden, who can (get ready to swoon, romantics) feel Lenzi's soul respond to emotion, explains their roles as paired Protector and Speaker in helping Hindered spirits pass on to the next world. The only real action occurs when the pair battles Hindereds who have turned into Malevolents, including a court-martialed Civil War soldier still bent on revenge for Lenzi's deception in a past life. As she struggles to recall her past life and understand her current role, Lenzi must also reconcile her feelings for Alden and both their previous platonic, work-only relationship and the strict demands on their gifts. Lingering threads suggest a sequel, but isn't that part of the formula? (Paranormal romance. 14-18)

Kirkus Reviews