Poltergeeks [Paperback]

The stunning cover art of POLTERGEEKS is a promise delivered. From the intense opening scene until the spectacular climax, author Sean Cummings conjures a Teen Paranormal novel that crosses the boundaries of the heretofore stereotypical teenage girl-biased genre and ushers in a whole new perspective, one to which many of us can easily relate.

POLTERGEEKS is about teenage witch Julie Richardson and her struggle to prove herself to her mother, a powerful witch that lives apart from the local coven. When sudden poltergeist activity reaches new and terrifying levels of violence, Julie's mother is compromised and a tragic twist of irony places Julie in such a position where she must prove herself if she is to save her mother's life. Her journey becomes one of self-discovery and growth as Julie must navigate through two worlds, one of high school drama and typical teen challenges--now without her only parent there to comfort and guide, the other a breakneck pace through the spirit world of evil shades and spell-blasting immortals.

Sean Cummings captures the voice of his teenage protagonist from a surprisingly risky style, but one that pays dividends throughout. Unlike the typical, first-person POV and present tense combination found in so many titles under the Teen Paranormal heading of late, POTERGEEKS is written in a third-person past tense, making it a bit more appealing to the young male audience, as well as female. Also, the use of language is spot on with a great Star Wars motif woven throughout and a very believable teen dialect found in both conversation as well as narrative. Of course, it wouldn't be a good teen novel without a solid romance arc and Sean Cummings crafts a beautiful one that--while not exactly unexpected--teases and then delivers to satisfaction.

Overall, the only drawbacks I found in POLTERGEEKS were a few very minor grammatical/ typeset errors in the e-book version, though I suspect that is idiosyncratic to digits and not found in the actual print edition.

Highly recommended, POLTERGEEKS is an action adventure amalgam at every chapter. Righteous imagery, military precise detail, and all the wonder of the unknown wrapped into one delightful tale where the teenage witch is more than just a spell-casting chick in red hair and sparkles--she's a kick ass heroine with the moves of a ninja and the power of a Jedi, all fueled by a heart that beats fierce for the ones she loves.

This book was a very enjoyable read! I thought the story line was very interesting...of course, me loving witches, magic, and ghosts! The story was very action-y, suspenseful, quite funny, and overall cute!

I think Marcus and Julie make a great team! And I actually like the fact that Marcus is, you know, a little nerdy ;) But not only that, he is also very sweet! There was this note he wrote to Julie, and oh my gods! It was the sweetest thing I have ever read! I even got all teary-eyed, no joke!

As for this mysterious "bad guy," can't say I knew who it was from the start, but once we got closer to the end I figured out who it was. So I wasn't surprised when this bad guy was revealed. Darn! I really like surprises! But that's okay!

Concluding words: If I were to describe this book with one word, it would be wicked! It was wickedly fun to read, and that cover? It's wicked cool!

The YA binge continues with Poltergeeks by Sean Cummings, my third book from the guys at Strange Chemistry. This is another very solid entry that does a lot of things rights and sets up things very effectively for future novels in the series.

Poltergeeks tells the story of Julie Richardson, a strong willed teenage witch who has a habit of picking fights well beyond her capabilities. When a rogue poltergeist put's Julie's mother in a coma and continues targeting Julie and her best friend Marcus, it's up to Julie to track the source of the poltergeist to stop the attacks and save her mom.

As with most YA books I've been reading recently, the story here is pretty straight forward - young girl with special powers runs into trouble, the one person who can get her out of trouble is removed from the equation, and she has to grow up fast if she is going to save the people she loves. Oh and also throw in an awkward teenage love triangle, some secret family drama and a predictable ending. That said, Poltergeeks rarely strays into stereotypical territory, and Cummings keeps from indulging in some of the popular YA tropes like the inept authority figure. Things are always kept fun, light hearted, and there are plenty of geek culture easter eggs to watch out for on the way through.

The characters have been well crafted here, and they aren't over the top geeks like I have seen recently in a lot of YA stories. Being a geek is just one element of their overall character, and they all have plenty of little nuances and ticks that get revealed over the course of the story. I really liked Julie, she plays the role of a strong female protagonist with a lot poise, modesty, and some random enginuity. She is impulsive, she gets the crap beaten out of her by ghosts, she beats the crap out of other ghosts, and she is smiling the whole time while her brain is working overtime trying to figure out and exploit a weakness. Cummings doesn't make a big deal out of her being a strong teenage girl, he just lets her be who she is and lets the plot mould around her. Marcus provides a great foil for Julie, he is calm, measured, not quite strong enough to fight his own battles but more than assured in his knowledge of how the world should work. These two feed off each other and make for a very proficient team.

Poltergeeks is a fun coming of age story, one that feels like a cross between Sabrina The Teenage Witch, Charmed, and Ghostbusters. It is one of the more fun stories I have read this year, something that I have needed given all the serious fantasy stories I seem to have been reading of late. This is a book that should have no trouble making you smile at least once.