Member Review

As a self-professed "Babysitters Club" fanatic, I was definitely excited to read a YA book that claims to be inspired by that series mixed with Buffy. The story centers around teenage Esme who is struggling with normal high school drama (a bully, driver's ed, etc.), who then also learns she has telekinetic powers. After teaming up with the mysterious new girl, Cassandra Heaven, the two discover they're part of an ancient order to protect the world from evil. There wasn't a ton of action until the last 15 percent of the book, but I do think it was the perfect set-up for a series. It might seem a tad boring to get introduced to the characters and the mythology behind this world, but that probably means that subsequent books will be much more exciting. Esme makes a great protagonist because she's snarky and relatable, so it'll be fun to see how her personality changes as her powers develop further. My only true pet peeve (and this is minor) was the repetitive mention of everyone's outfits. It totally took me out of the story when a whole paragraph was about a person's fashion choices (especially because they all sounded like atrocious outfits, in my opinion). Other than that small issue, I enjoyed the humor in this book and the many pop culture references (Buffy, the Halloween movies, etc.). I'll definitely check out the second book when it comes out to see how this story progresses.