by 
The Author:
I’ve heard a lot about Steven James, who writes thrillers, so when I came across Blur, the first book in his young adult trilogy, I picked it up. I liked Blur so much that when I finished the novel, I bought the second book and one of James’ for grownups thrillers.
Brief Summary:
I hate writing summaries, so here’s what Amazon says:
“The isolated town of Beldon, Wisconsin, is shocked when a high school freshman’s body is found in Lake Algonquin. Just like everyone in the community, sixteen-year-old Daniel Byers believes that Emily Jackson’s death was accidental. But at her funeral, when he has a terrifying vision of her, his world begins to rip apart at the seams.
Convinced that Emily’s appearance was more than just a mere hallucination, Daniel begins to look carefully into her death, even as he increasingly loses the ability to distinguish fantasy from reality.
What’s real? What’s not? Where does reality end and madness begin?
As Daniel struggles to find the truth, his world begins to crumble around him as he slips further and further into his own private blurred reality.
Full of mind-bending twists and turns, Blur launches a new trilogy of young adult thrillers from Steven James, a master of suspense.”
My Response:
The story grabbed me from the beginning and carried me to the end. It’s a trilogy and the third book is NOT out. I really hate to get hooked on a trilogy, but they seem to find me.
I read a couple reviews that panned the book and slammed it against the wall. Not sure if we were reading the same book. Some reviews said it wasn’t as good as his other books — I assume they meant his books written for adults.
This is a YA book, so I don’t expect the story to equal a thriller written for adults. Which, by the way, doesn’t mean this book is “less than” because it’s a YA book. The story addresses real issues of high school students, which a YA book should do, and the plot is fast-paced and has enough twists to keep even the most dispassionate reader interested.
This book has an element of the paranormal. He’s stepped into the fantasy realm and that might be throwing some of his readers off.
Looking at the book as a lover of YA and fantasy books and considering his target audience’s point of view, it’s a winner!
Some examples of YA issues:
- While Daniel, the protagonist, explores a murder mystery, he struggles with what seems to be a physical illness, a psychological disease, or some kind paranormal powers he doesn’t understand or have control over.
- He’s shy and tries to get up enough courage to ask out the girl he likes.
- Actually, there are two girls, one who likes him and he’s sort of interest in, and the new girl he’s more attracted to. Yeah, he’s got a pretty sweet teen problem.
- Mom and dad are separated. He doesn’t know why and his grappling with his feelings and frustrations in dealing with the situation.
- Oh, yeah, he sees ghosts, never a good thing.
It may seem strange, but I liked Daniel’s introspective nature. As a teenager, I was way more introspective than I probably should have been, and I can identify with teens who are shy and in their heads.
Couple of Issues:
Although I completely enjoy this story, there are a few things that could be improved. I’m hoping the next two books will address these.
- Character development: Daniel is a well rounded character with plenty of inner and outer issues; however, the other characters, even his father, are under-developed. His friends sometimes seemed like pawns moving around in the storyboard. Kyle, his best friend, comes the closest to having a distinct personality.
- Female Characters: the women are little more than stick figures. A couple of times Kyle’s girlfriend showed some interesting spark, but the others seemed to be damsels in distress stereotypes.
- Daniel and Kyle play teen sleuths, but often, they aren’t too bright. I would have liked them to be smarter. They bungled around in a half-assed way. I can almost forgive this because teens do manage to make dumb choices and do silly things. I know I did. But, I still want my lead to be smarter. Part of this problem smacks of red herring (planting clues that are misleading or distracting). Contemporary writers should leave red herrings to the likes of Agatha Christie and write for 21-century readers.
Over All:
If you like YA books, suspense, mystery, and some paranormal thrown in, I recommend this book. Blur is an entertaining, fast-paced novel with a lot of page-turning moments. It’s a fun read.
I’ll start Fury, the second book, tonight!
The Usual Reminders:
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