Mundie Moms

Sunday, December 26, 2010

Book Review- The Candidates

By Inara Scott
Published by Disney Hyperion
Released On August 24th, 2010
Source- Inara Scott
4 Stars- I Enjoyed It

Dancia Lewis is far from popular. And that's not just because of her average grades or her less-than-glamorous wardrobe. In fact, Dancia's mediocrity is a welcome cover for her secret: whenever she sees a person threatening someone she cares about, things just...happen. Cars skid. Structures collapse. Usually someone gets hurt. So Dancia does everything possible to avoid getting close to anyone, belieiving this way she can supress her powers and keep them hidden.

But when recruiters from the prestigious Delcroix Academy show up in her living room to offer her a full scholarship, Dancia's days of living under the radar may be over. Only, Delcroix is a school for diplomats' kids and child geniuses--not B students with uncontrollable telekinetic tendencies. So why are they treating Dancia like she's special? Even the hottest guy on campus seems to be going out of his way to make Dancia feel welcome.

And then there's her mysterious new friend Jack, who can't stay out of trouble. He suspects something dangerous is going on at the Academy and wants Dancia to help him figure out what. But Dancia isn't convinced. She hopes that maybe the recruiters know more about her "gift" than they're letting on. Maybe they can help her understand how to use it...But not even Dancia could have imagined what awaits her behind the gates of Delcroix Academy (quoted from Goodreads).


The Candidates wasn't at all what I was expecting, it was even better. I really enjoyed the characters, the mystery, the love interests and the story itself. Danica is a teenager who has tried to make herself invisible to hide her secret, but when two recruits come to offer her a chance to attend the prestigious Delcroix Academy, Danica's life changes. I liked Danica's character. She comes from a humble back ground and has been raised by her awesome grandmother. I really adore her Grandmother! I wish there was more of her in the story. Danica and her Grandmother don't live a life of privilege, but have enough to get by, like many of the other folks in their small WA town.

I loved the setting. I know, I'm biases as I'm from the NW, but I love a well detailed setting that takes me back to the small towns that make up parts of Oregon and Washington, where the story takes place. The weather, the scenery and the town's vivid descriptions made me feel like I was back there for just a moment.

Danika is a character who grows into her powers as she learns to accept what she is and what she can do. I really enjoyed the tension between the two hot love interests for Danika, Jack and Cam. I my heart goes to Jack, as he's the bad boy who comes form a broken home and wants to protect Danika. After all, she does save his life, twice. There's a genuine friendship that forms between the two of them, as they both can relate to one another. Cam has an air of mystery to me. I'm still leery of him. I can't say more about him with out giving away part of the plot. I'm anxious to see what his motives really are.

I really liked the mystery that surrounds Delcroix Academy as well as some of the staff and students there. This unique boarding school is described well and allowed me to get a glimpse of it's character. There's something going on at this academy that recruits kids with amazing paranormal powers and helps them grow into them. Inara does a great job at keeping me guessing as to what's really going on at this highly guarded academy. She gave me enough answers to keep reading the book, but left enough questions unanswered that I'm really looking forward to reading the sequel. I want more!!

The Candidates is a great first book in what looks to be a wonderful series. It did start off a little slow for me, but it quickly picks up pace and I found myself reading it in one sitting. I liked that it had some minor similarities to a couple other YA books I've read this year, but it's unique in it's own right. The Candidates is a great Tween/YA cross over book, and it's one I think that would appeal to readers as young as 10 and older, as Danika has just gone through the transition from Middle Grade to High School. It's a great read that has a little bit of everything, but doesn't over do it with older YA themes. I can't wait to read it's sequel, The Watchers.

Be sure to visit Inara's site for more information on the series http://www.inarascott.com/

In My Mailbox

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren. It's a post where we share the books we've received this past week for review, borrowed from friends or the library, received as a gift, bought, or received to giveaway. You can see what we received for Mundie Kids here http://tinyurl.com/23oyhv9

For Review:

* The Lost Gate by Orson Scott Card, published & received by Tor Books, to be released on January 4th, 2011

* Angelfire by Courtney Allison Moulton, published by Katherine Tegen Books/Harper Teen, to be released on February 15th, 2011, received from Courtney (signed) with some AWESOME signed swag we'll be giving away in March. *Angelfire is our March Debut Book Of The Month*

* Prom and Prejudice by Elizabeth Eulberg, published by Point, to be released on January 1st, 2011, received from Scholastic.

* Taking Off by Jenny Moss, published by Walker Books for Young Readers, to be released on January 4th, 2011, received from Bloomsbury Teen.

* The Ancillary's Mark by Daniel Cohen, published by Black Rose Writing, released on November 4th, 2010, received from Daniel Cohen (signed).

* Playing Hurt by Holly Schindler, published by Flux, to be released on March 1st, 2011, received from The Teen Scene for a blog tour.

* Solid by Shelley Workinger, published by & received from Shelley, released on July 9th, 2010 (signed).

Thank you to Tor Books, Courtney Allison Moulton, Scholastic, Bloomsbury Books, Daniel Cohen, The Teen Scene Blog Tour, and Holly Schinder for this week's wonderful reads.

What goodies did you receive? My books from Santa apparently have been delayed in the mail and hopefully they'll arrive next week *crossing fingers*

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