From The Vampire Diaries author LJ Smith comes a more subtle supernatural tale. Kaitlyn has always been different, and alone. She thinks she might even be cursed, since there are times when her hands become not her own and draw terrible futures. Her “gift” gets her attention from the Zetes Institute, a research group who wants to teach her and four other gifted teens how to use their special skills.
But, of course, Zetes is not all it seems. Fellow special teens Anna, Rob, Gabriel and Lewis offer Kait not just her first real support, but also two chances at love. The love triangle isn’t completely convincing, in part because Rob isn’t interested at first, but also because it’s really clear (or it was to me) that he was a way for Kait to distract herself from dangerous bad boy Gabriel.
Dark Visions is an odd sort of coming of age where a group of outcast (empowered) teens have to decide their paths in life when forced to become adults before they’re ready (often because of the failures of the adults around them).
I really liked these books. I like stories of misfits who find their family-of-the-heart and learn to be strong people. The power bits are just icing. The shorter length does lend to parts that feel glossed over instead of lovingly detailed. It can also lead to the characters having a bit of a cliched feel, but personally I empathized completely with Kait because it was easy to see myself in her.
Of all the older teen books I’ve read lately I think Dark Visions holds up the among the best. It’s a good story, with a slight super hero feel with a dose of love and drama, without getting too crazy. This is definitely one to pick up.