Book Review: Sleight by Jennifer Sommersby

Sleight
AVRA-K #1
Author: Jennifer Sommersby
Pages: 328 Paperback
Reading Level: YA
Published: March 23rd 2011
Review Source: Author
Available: Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Goodreads

Summary: (from goodreads) Her mom is dead.Ghosts follow her around.
Her best friend is an elephant.
And she’s about to meet the biggest game changer of all: a boy. With a secret.

When circus-dwelling Gemma Flannery learns she will be attending public school for the first time in her seventeen years, little does she know that fitting in with her 12th-grade classmates will be the least of her concerns. A pro at hiding her knack for seeing the dead (“shades”), Gemma is grieving the recent suicide of her mentally ill mother, a process eased by the introduction of her first real love interest, the charming and painfully handsome Henry Dmitri, who is harboring his own collection of dangerous secrets. Together, they will be presented with a frightening challenge: to assume their roles as heirs to a 3000-year-old magical text, the AVRAKEDAVRA, a book the über-rich, sleight-of-being master Lucian Dmitri would do anything to get his hands on. As each terrifying layer in her new reality melts away, Gemma unearths truths that her quiet, nomadic life with the Cinzio Traveling Players is not at all what she’d always cherished. Gemma and Henry must rely on each other to stop Lucian’s diabolical plotting that will bring the world to its tired, scab-riddled knees, and are sent on the flight of their young lives, to save themselves, their families, and the world from the darkest kind of destruction.

Let the chase begin.

Sleight is one carnival ride you will love. The cover doesn't do the book any justice. You can't really tell what kind of a book is inside that cover. Don't get me wrong though the cover is pretty. The way the red hair stands out on top of the grass. Looking at the cover you would never imagine its setting is life in the carnival. 

This would be my first book dealing with the carnival life. It was very different from any other book Ive read in a long time. Jennifer kept this book at a great pace. There is so much adventure and action that will keep you reading faster and faster. Its the kind of action and suspense that keeps you on the edge of your seat. Jennifer knew how to suck the reader in even though it might feel like the story is too long, the secrets and discoveries make up for the length of the story. Honestly once you come to the end, you wish it were a longer book. I think the most entertain part to read is the world building Jennifer created for us. SO in a few words this book has adventure, suspense, twist, friendships and betrayals and last but not least heartache. 

Sleight is the story of Gemma that has recently lost her estranged mother and Gemma goes on to live with the circus. She gets to live a dream many wished they did. Then one day she learns that her traveling circus will be settling for a while and she will need to register in public school. She is a bit freak out about this. She has never been somewhere long enough to make new friend or even have a boyfriend. Everything changes one day when a certain letter appears. She begins to uncover many secrets that they are keeping from her. She begins her quest to uncover all the mystery and will stop at nothing to do it. Did I mention that Gemma sees shades. 

Be prepared for a thrilling carnival ride. I'm curious to see what book number 2 will bring. I recommend this book to all, young or old.