Mercy

Mercy
by Rebecca Lim
Hyperion, 5/17/2011

Awaking abruptly in an unknown body and in an unknown place, the reader finds herself as disoriented as the protagonist.

Skillfully written, the story line slowly evolves to allow both Mercy and the reader some glimpses of who Mercy is and where she comes from. Even more startling, Mercy has glimpses of WHAT she is, and it's complicated.

What's different
Paranormal, yes. Trite and over-used, it's not. And it's not the expected fluffy angel tale but rather a rough and not always comfortable tale of adolescents, competitiveness and abduction. It's a more serious YA read -- but worth the weight.

Evaluation -- what will I do now that I've read this?

• Definitely buying this one for my teen readers. It offers a fresh and, like, totally realistic inside look at teens navigating their lives. Serious stuff but not overwhelming for mood-absorbers like I am.
  

• This will be a fun one to share with other librarians and YA lit followers. We'll enjoy talking this one over.

• Not on the order list for my church library -- great read and completely without offense, but not high enough on the priority list for our space-deprived library.

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