The Exceptionals by Erin Cashman
Hardcover, 236 pages
Published February 1st 2012 by Holiday House, Inc.
Source: Publisher for an honest review
In a famous family of exceptionally talented people, fifteen-year-old Claire Walker is ordinary . . . or so she leads everyone to believe. Yet the minute she steps out of line, her parents transfer her to Cambial Academy: the prestigious boarding school that her great-grandfather founded for students with supernatural abilities, or “specials”. Although Claire can’t see ghosts or move objects with her mind like the other students, she does have a special she considers too lame to admit: she can hear the thoughts of animals.Just as she is settling in, one by one the most talented students – the Exceptionals – go missing. In an attempt to find out what happened to them, Claire uncovers a dark prophecy involving a plot to destroy Cambial and a mysterious girl who can communicate with a hawk. Could she be that girl? Does the gorgeous but secretive boy she meets in the woods know more than he is letting on? After years of ignoring her special gift, Claire decides the time has come to embrace her ability . . . before it’s too late. – Goodreads
My opinion: Claire Walker was a very interesting character. She wanted to be normal and blend in with the “normal” students at her old high school, but now she just wants to learn more about herself. She is a character that learns to be confident and is also how to action. She is a rebellious character at least with her mother, not so much her father, but that made her seem more realistic and real because we are all a little rebellious. My favorite character had to Talrin though. I loved how he stayed loyal after she helped him and the I also like Ferrana. I loved the way she learns about her “powers” and I love the way that she utilizes that power. I love that she was scared but still went through with her plan even though she knew what would happen if she did.
I liked how the plot progressed. She went from wanting to be normal to accepting who she is. I liked the people she was surrounded by and the mystery of the disappearances was really cool with how she was trying to solve it. Dylan was also pretty cool, in how he got her to open up before he even knew what was going on. The story overall was pretty interesting and kept me on my toes in figuring out who was the kidnapper, what he was doing with the kids and why Claire was needed by him.
Overall: 4 out of 5
Novel Society 