She's Got Books on Her Mind

"I call it the Shape because I don't know what it is. It's just... formless, like a shimmering, ever-changing shadow. But somehow I know - I just know - it's made of three things: fire and water and the purest, coldest darkness. And then there's the whisper.
Miranda. Come away, Miranda. Come to me."

Miranda can't sleep because when she sleeps she dreams. She dreams of the Shape, this unidentifiable thing filled with darkness reaching out to her, calling out to her, and whistling a familiar tune. When she wakes she must get up to go to her new school in her new town. On the way she finds a group nicknamed The Weirdos by her later friend Jade. The Weirdos talk about strange things when they think no one's listening, they seem to know what's going on with the sudden bizarre events happening around town, and they unnerve her with their staring. Miranda has had enough with the constant stares. She's going to find out what they know no matter what but when she does uncover their secrets she's swept up in a world where impossibilities are possible and her dream and reality intertwine.

I must say I was pleasantly surprised by this book. Right away I was hooked with Miranda's story. It started off with her nightmare of the Shape. The Shape transformed throughout the story and she could see what it was. It was this really great mystery that I couldn't wrap my head around. Sometimes I try to figure out what's happening in a book and sometimes I just go with the flow. This time I went with the flow so there was these speculations and theories throughout the story that kept me wanting to read more. It was kept a mystery until the end so it was a real shock and there was a little bit of confusion about what the heck just happened. There was such a fantastic lead up to the reveal of what really was going on. It was a more than satisfying ending. But, I'm getting to ahead of myself let's talk about the characters shall we?

"Nobody's a misfit. Some people take longer to find the space they fit into, that's all."

Miranda is our main character who everyone seems not to trust. She's the new kid not only with the school but with her new group too. She doesn't know much of what is going on so you don't know either. Everything is just this one big wonderful surprise because of that. Anything can happen. I expected Miranda to be this outcast that doesn't really go for things like she did. She surprised me right away with her cunning ability to find the groups secret hideout. There was a moment where she was learning about the group and her disbelief was kind of eh but that was one of only two sort of hiccups in the story. Miranda has this power. She doesn't have intuition really but a sense of foreboding so she can act before something bad happens. I can see her being this very confident fiery character in the next book. She was strong in this book by being loyal to her friend I just see her kicking it up a notch in the next one. I really admired her integrity and I liked being able to see this new and strange world through her eyes. The second only sort of hiccup by the way was the way others reacted to her obvious tiredness. She was describing herself as being very pale and grayish but hardly anyone really noticed or cared.

Jade was her first friend. She's this gypsy girl who's sarcastic and has her own style. She's an outcast who acts tough but really is quite lonely. She had personality on her. She didn't like that Miranda started hanging out with The Weirdos. She felt betrayed. Miranda still was loyal to her and tried to make it right. Jade had some mystery masked into her life. You didn't really know where she stood. The famous Weirdos consist of two boys and two girls plus a teacher's in that group too but no one knows that except them. So I should explain what this group is. They hunt the shadows, the paranormal. You really don't get a sense of what they are doing until the end. Well that was me. I'm sure someone would have figured it out. Anyways it's very 'secret society" with unknown gadgetry. All of this is being funded by people who don't want to deal with what's going on directly.

Cal is the bossy one of the group. She has a very bad attitude that needs to get adjusted. She clearly doesn't like Miranda. She could have her nice moments. Although she could be rude, she was entertaining. She has intuition about things. She can sense things from objects and people. The oldest of the group at fifteen, Josh, is like Cal in a way. He's pretty sarcastic. When I think of him I think of a cute smirk playing at his lips. He's the historian. Ollie is the computer guy. Anything technology he's on it. He's this quiet, intelligent kid who if you ask him anything he'll know it. He's a little computer himself. He has this whitish blond hair with either blue glasses or blue tinted glasses. It doesn't really matter because he really captured my heart especially with his story. The last kid in the group is little Lyssa, the child prodigy. She's the numbers girl. She's pretty tough herself and is more excited by everything than scared. Last but not least everything is headed by Ms. Bellini, a kind and patient teacher. She was the science teacher and had a way about her. You couldn't tell if she was angry or happy according to Miranda because the tone of her voice was always a reassuring and thoughtful one. All the kids might have their quirks and flaws but you can find goodness in each and every one of them. They all have a story and they are all quite sad. It makes you feel for them. They are all very interesting, sweet, and intelligent kids who are just more observant and curious than most of the other kids. I can see other kids looking up to them.

This book was way better than I could have hoped. It was full of mystery, suspense, and just oddities that made this book such a gem. A gem I say! This is one of those books that more people need to know about and read. This is a book that kids should be clamoring for. It was charming and had these amazingly likable characters. Characters that you can look up to and go on a real journey with. I know it's only going to get better. I seriously can't wait to see what happens next. I struggled with this review for some reason so more than anything if it didn't translate right know that basically this book was awesome. ( )