#BookReview - The Shepherd by @TWLuedke #YA #Thriller

Tags: Young Adult, Paranormal Thriller

Blurb

Skate punks, kleptomaniacs, clairvoyant visions and reincarnation...

...THE SHEPHERD is unlike any other Young Adult novel you have ever read.

Mike Evans here. Sixteen year old skate punk squatting in a white-trash trailer park with my loser drunk Dad. Seems I lost most of my friends when Dad lost our home in foreclosure. Only Anita stuck by me. Worse, I keep having strange clairvoyant visions of things that always come true.

Then I almost ran over Nadia in my Geo. A passing truck finished the job – left a crumpled heap of skin and bone on the road. I fixed her. Me.

Now this fourteen year old girl won’t leave me alone. I sorta let her sneak in my window when she needs a place to crash.

I have a double life: daytime at school, Anita, skating, and then my nights with Nadia. She's my secret friend, gives me money and listens to my problems when nobody else will.

My world is spinning out of control. Old friends have turned enemy, my grisly visions of death won’t quit, and Anita’s intentions make my head spin. Even with all that, I’ve got bigger stuff to worry about.

Nadia’s hiding something.

Kay's Review

I have to start off by saying I can't remember the last time I enjoyed reading a YA novel so much. In fact, this is probably the first one I've read in a long time that I didn't give up on halfway through reading it. This book threw me back into the emotions of being a teenager and growing up.

One of the best things about this story is that it's written in a teenage boy's first person POV. Mike Evans is a brilliant teenager, someone you'd love to have as a nephew or even a son. He is very likeable and easy to empathise with. Don't get me wrong, his life isn't perfect. He's a skate punk, who lives in a trailer park. His mother is dead and his father is a drunk. His best friend, Anita, had to get in his face before he realised she had a thing for him.

Between the unrequited love and teenage romance, there's the jocks vs skaters rivalry to deal with as well as visions of people dying that Mike can't seem to stop.

This story had me on the edge of my seat and I couldn't put it down till the end. Early on in the story I figured out the twist with Nadia but there were still some others that caught me by surprise.

All-in-all, I loved this book. I think more so because the paranormal element was understated and it kept the suspense going. If you enjoy YA and / or paranormal novels, got and pick up a copy of this book.

Disclaimer: This book was provided by the author/publisher in exchange for an honest review.