Transcendence

Gr 7 Up—While touring London with her sister, 16-year-old cello prodigy Nicole Ryan bumps into someone and blacks out. Oblivious to her surroundings, she has a frighteningly déjà vu-like vision of being executed centuries ago. When she regains consciousness, she goes out for tea with Griffon Hall, the boy she hit, and they feel an instant connection. When Cole returns home to San Francisco, she learns that Griffon lives nearby, and the two begin to see each other. He tells an incredulous Cole that, like him, she is Akhet, part of an ancient society of people who remember their previous lives. As her visions of the past increase, so do her brushes with death in the present, leading Griffon to suspect that someone intends to harm her. Part murder mystery, part modern-day romance, Transcendence has the potential to become a popular choice, particularly among readers who enjoyed Jennifer Donnelly's Revolution (Delacorte, 2010) and Kerstin Gier's Ruby Red (Henry Holt, 2011). Though it's a unique play on reincarnation, Transcendence does have flaws. The characters are underdeveloped, the pacing is uneven, and Cole forgives Griffon's controlling behavior too quickly. Savvy teens will question plot contrivances (e.g., how did so many Akhet involved in a past murder in another country end up living so close together in the present?). Still, the story entertains, and a twist in the last chapter leaves room for a sequel.—Leigh Collazo, Ed Willkie Middle School, Fort Worth, TX