Paperback, 240 pages
Expected publication: February 15,,2011
by Obsidian Mountain Publishing
ISBN 0982903340
url http://laurakreitzer.com/
series: Summer Chronicles #1
4.5 stars
Summary: Sold into slavery to pirates at the young age of four, Summer learns to survive the rough seas of subterfuge and thieves through silence. When the boat she’s lived on most of her life is destroyed, Summer finds herself washed up on the shore of a new world, a phantom universe full of the bizarre and extraordinary. She meets Gage, the one boy who understands the girl with no speech. But when their lives are put on the line, will Summer finally call out? Or will all be lost in the fathomless depth of silence?
I’ve been hot on Laura Kreitzer’s tail since picking up her first book Shadow of The Sun last year and giving it 5 stars. But, I had no way to read egalleys and keep pace with her new releases. Thanks to DH and my new Nook, this is the first ebook ARC I’ve read in 2011. What an awesome adventure it was!
Think of Hush by Donna Jo Napoli spliced with Inside Out by Maria Snyder and the Uglies Series by Scott Westerfeld. It’s a combination of pirate slavery tale meets time travel and poof 200 years into the dystopian future. The book starts out delving into the rather graphic past of a four year old sold into modern day slavery. Main heroine Summer’s back story is not easy to swallow and not recommended for children under age 16. I found myself cringing every time the story went back, for me personally it was too graphic. That being said, I relished those scenes in the present and future tense. Laura Kreitzer blows me away with her imagination with writing which is deep and rich, her characters multi-faceted.
Summer is not your average girl. She is suffering from PTSD which makes her mute, at times catatonic and riddled with severe anxiety. She communicates via taps and written notes with her best friend Landon aboard the Cosmos, slave ship on the seas of 2010. Twelve years pass in slavery until the crew is attacked by people from Summer’s mysterious childhood. Washed ashore on an island and launched into the future dazed and confused she meets main main number two, Gage. He is determined to win her trust and help her overcome the past, if they could just figure out what exactly that past means. Phantom Universe is a time travel adventure of a group of teens against all odds and a girl with unprecedented potential. It’s a series to watch because of the original premise and solid writing.
But, dang Laura for making sequels with a cliff hanger endings! You’ll always want more. Book two, Forsaken Harbor is due out in July (which is a good thing for those like me who hate to wait.) Guaranteed I will be picking it up. I want it now! Thanks so much to Laura and Obsidian Mountain publishing for the sneak peak to her new Summer series. Once again, Laura Kreitzer carried me away to her world and jump started my love for reading.