Select one of the keywords
Visions: The Freak    by Carol Matas Amazon.com order for
Visions
by Carol Matas
Order:  USA  Can
Key Porter, 2007 (2007)
Paperback
* * *   Reviewed by Hilary Williamson

In this second in her excellent Freak series (which I highly recommend for younger teens), Carol Matas continues to share with readers her young heroine Jade's coming to grips with new telepathic and predictive powers.

Though Jade explained what she was going through to her boyfriend Jon in the first episode, she has not yet told her best friend Susie ('the ultimate realist'), partly because she's afraid of the latter's skeptical reaction. At the same time, Jade has begun to have visions of women being strangled - and afterwards sees the reality in newspaper reports.

As Jade - with some help from family and friends - discovers that she can affect how events unfold, she also struggles with her own feelings of responsibility for the changes that she triggers. Her dad tells her: 'You need to do the right thing for the right reason, even if the outcome is bad.' This anxiety is heightened by her concern for Susie, who for some time has seemed to Jade to be in great danger, possibly connected to her new job tutoring junior high kids in mathematics.

Visions is a short and sweet sequel with plenty of conflict, action, and empathy. It continues to expand upon what it would be like to suddenly acquire such a talent as Jade's, how it would affect relationships with others, and the ethical dilemmas that would ensue.

Note: Opinions expressed in reviews and articles on this site are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of BookLoons.

Find more Teens books on our Shelves or in our book Reviews