Book Review: Darwin's Children by Natasha Larry


Life can get pretty complicated for any seventeen-year-old girl, but for a home-schooled telepathic black girl trying to survive in a prestigious private school in small-town Jonesborough, Tennessee, it can be maddening – especially when her telepathic father keeps eavesdropping on her thoughts!
Jaycie Lerner’s family isn’t the usual mom-dad-kid setup. Jaycie’s mom’s MIA, but Allison, her personal live-in ‘trainer,’ is more than a mom, with her own special abilities, like being able to lift cars and run incredibly fast. And Jaycie’s godfather John is more than persuasive – he can literally convince anyone to do anything.
As far as the rest of the world’s concerned, Jaycie’s on the outside looking in. The townsfolk love Jaycie’s pediatrician father, but she doesn’t fit in with ‘normal’ kids, and she doesn’t really want to. Most of her free time is spent training to keep her telekinetic and telepathic powers under control. But there’s one thing she can’t control – and that’s her feelings, especially when her best friend Matt is nearby. If only he knew what she was truly capable of...
Everything seems to be status quo for Jaycie until she receives a cryptic message from a stranger and meets a very unusual girl new to Jonesborough. Then all hell breaks loose

Photo and description from Goodreads.com. 

I really enjoyed the characters in this book. They are all very likeable and well developed and interesting. Jaycie is kind of a negative thinker and a loner, but I seemed to connect with her completely. Her thoughts and situation are very well described that you can see things from her point of view and agree with her. They are all very superhuman and all seem to have a calling in life.
The plot developed like cat plays with a ball of yarn. Sometimes unraveling at a slow steady pace and other times at high speed that makes your heart beat fast with anticipation. The first time we read about Jaycie and Allison's training session is when I knew that this story was going to be a good one. I didn't want to have to put it down to see what other powers Jaycie and Allison would portray throughout the story. When first going into the story I was expecting a girl and her family with special powers, but I was not expecting the introduction of other beings as well.
As the book ends with a hint to the reader of another book to come, as I started to write this review, I began to enjoy the story more. In a way it's the perfect book for the first in a series. It begins with an introduction to the world and the main characters, then gradually like a ladder it builds and develops more as you read. I have read some very popular first books in which the author keeps the same pace throughout the book until the end. But this book did a great job of continuing to build deeper and becoming more intriguing as the story continues. 
I give this book 4 stars and hoping that I will get the opportunity to read more about Jaycie and watch her develop and use her powers to their full potential. Darwin's Children (Volume 1)
There is currently a giveaway going on for this book on Goodreads.com (last day to enter  is Sept 29 2011)

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