Unpsoken is book one in Sarah Rees Brennan’s new trilogy ‘The Lynburn Legacy’ and one of two new books she has out this year. Unspoken will be available for both the US and the UK (as far as I know but I could be wrong about the UK) in September. Miss Rees Brennan was kind enough to send me an ARC copy, on a related note it has 9/12 on the spine, I interpreted this as it being 9 of 12 ARCs but I could be wrong. Either way, by birthday is on a 9th so I count this as a good sign.
Our heroine, Kami Glass, has an ever prominent sense of humour and when she’s not talking to the boy, Jared, in her head she’s being a fearless reporter, pioneering the school newspaperThe Nosy Parkeralong with best friend Angela Montgomery. Quick to be recruited as photographer is Ash Lynburn whose family has returned to Sorry-in-the-Vale to re-inhabit it’s ancestral home Aurimere house with his parents, aunt and cousin. Kami is determined to unearth the secrets behind the mysterious Lynburn’s who appear to be the town’s best kept secret. A secret that everyone knows and nobody talks about.
Her search leads to the befriending and recruiting of Holly Prescott, the second most gorgeous girl in school after Angela, whose feminine whiles were to be used to snare ‘the other Lynburn’. Jared Lynburn.
The same Jared whose been in her head since before she can remember. The imaginary friend that lost Kami her old best friend and terrified her mother so much she stopped talking about him to other people. Now he’s here, real, solid and part of the mysterious family who live in the big house the other side of the woods from Kami herself.
Kami finds herself caught between an affectionate Ash and a confused Jared, best friend Angela gravitating towards Holly and strange noises in the woods waking her younger brother’s int he night. What’s a lady sleuth to do? Look for clues of course.
What’s great about Unspoken is it challenges a lot of the stereotypes and cliches for young fiction. Kami has kissed a boy, Jared hasn’t kissed anyone, let alone a boy. Angela and Holly who are described as being naturally gorgeous are not the bitchy queen bee’s of the school who happen to have roped the man Kami has her eyes on. In fact, Kami didn’t really have her eyes on any man but Ash was pretty cute. Also the mental connection between Kami and Jared is a fascinating thing.
Rather than have the heroine have admired her supposed love from across the football pitch for all her school years or even just bumping into him on the street the history is already there. Also their turmoil at discovering each other is really real is very much relatable. You might expect Kami to fall head over heals and the pair of them to start passing mental love notes instead they are wary of each other, scared and not really able to comprehend reality. Clearly neither of them are crazy. But imagine if you will someone who knows all your secrets, all the lies you’ve told, all the good things you’ve done, all the awkward puberty moments you don’t ever tell anyone except in your head, suddenly that person is real, in your life, in your school. What could be worse? Face to face with someone who knows you better than yourself would be a terrifying prospect. But that doesn’t mean they lack chemistry. Oh no, plenty of jumbled up feelings and chemistry and an ending that just leaves you begging for the next book. But more on that in a minute.
There’s also some POV changes in the book and very fluid ones too. You find yourself drifting along the mental connection between Kami and Jared to keep everything in moving in real time. Rather than have a scene or a chapter break for each change in POV which suits the fast pace of the book rather well. There’s never a dull moment with some high flying action mixed in with some rebellious teenage-antics and maybe one or two heart wrenching scenes.
Back to Angela and Holly, the dry wit and the perky respectively who seem to be forming a connection all their own. These two are not side kicks, nor do they bale on the action, when push comes to shove Angela picks up a chain and starts whipping the bad guy. There’s no lieing down and taking anything with any of these girls that’s for sure and it’s so great to see. Too often secondary characters spend the climax in peril, crying, out of commission or just applaud afterword and no one is really sure what they were doing in that time. Not here.
Even Ash plays a healthy role. Too many times when you have the two interested parties it’s just for show. One is obviously going to lose out or just puts the girl back together in time for her ‘true love’ to come back and sweep her back off her feet. Not here. I told you this book was challenging. Unspoken also avoids the common trap of the lead couple getting together in book one and subsequently spending book two making googly eyes at each other and generally being about 10% of their usual awesome. But it’s not all about Kami there’s a lot going on between Ash and Jared too. Never a dull moment.
By the end it’s looking bleak for everyone involved but it just leaves you begging for more. There’s so much unresolved tension between Kami and Jared as well as unanswered questions about the Lynburn’s and their powers. Not to mention Ash, Holly, Angela and her brother Rusty who’s non-too-keen on Kami’s affiliation with Jared. That said, no one is particularly keen on Kami’s affiliation with Jared.
Unspoken has set the stage for a fantastic series full of Rees Brennan’s trademark wit and challenging characters. Rees Brennan seems to have a knack for combining high school girl fiction elements with fantastical sub-worlds in believable and relatable ways while skipping merrily around common plot-holes and cliches.
Can’t wait for the rest.
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