Review: Darwin's Children by Natasha Larry

As soon as I heard about it, I thought Darwin's Children sounded like a really cool story--and it was!! The characters and the world were really interesting!

I received an e-copy of this book from the author for review.

Darwin's Children by Natasha Larry 

Life can get pretty complicated for any seventeen-year-old girl, but for a home-schooled telepathic black girl trying to survive in a prestigious private school in small-town Jonesborough, Tennessee, it can be maddening; especially when her telepathic father keeps eavesdropping on her thoughts! 

Jaycie Lerner's family isn't the usual mom-dad-kid setup. Jaycie's mom is MIA, but Allison, her personal live-in trainer, is more than a mom, with her own special abilities, like being able to lift cars and run incredibly fast. And Jaycie's godfather John is more than persuasive; he can literally convince anyone to do anything. 

As far as the rest of the world's concerned, Jaycie's on the outside looking in. The townsfolk love Jaycie's paediatrician father, but she doesn't fit in with "normal" kids, and she doesn't really want to. Most of her free time is spent training to keep her telekinetic and telepathic powers under control. But there's one thing she can't control; and that's her feelings, especially when her best friend Matt is nearby. If only he knew what she was truly capable of... 

Everything seems to be status quo for Jaycie until she receives a cryptic message from a stranger and meets a very unusual girl new to Jonesborough. Then all hell breaks loose! 

------

Imagine, for a second, that you're a teenage girl. (Well, maybe you actually are, but that's not the point.) Take all the drama of high school, cliques, and general crap, and add in the idea that you can read minds and know what everyone thinks of you--the good AND the bad.

Welcome to the life of Jaycie Lerner, teenage psychic. Of course, it isn't all bad--It's pretty cool to have a dad who can read minds (even if it causes privacy issues), a trainer who's pretty much indestructible, and a godfather who can get anyone to do what he says. But on the other hand, sometimes Jaycie wishes she couldn't read minds. Because then she wouldn't know that her best friend Matt has feelings for her. Like, THOSE FEELINGS. Of course, Jaycie likes him, too (LIKE THAT)--but how can she keep her secret from him when big emotions make her telekinesis act up?

Then there's the new girl in town, Haylee. She's got problems of her own, and a past that she'd like to leave back there. At first glance, she and Jaycie don't have much in common. But according to a strange woman who keeps appearing to Jaycie, she and Haylee are destined to become friends.

There were definitely a lot of things to like about this book! A psychic family isn't something you see a lot, so that makes it an interesting read by itself. There were also a lot of POV switches--almost every main character (and even some of the not-so-major characters) got some POV time, which was interesting, if a little confusing.

One thing I didn't get was that everyone at school supposedly didn't like Jaycie/thought she was weird but everyone in town loved her and her family. Maybe that's just the teenagerness talking ;) But still, I liked Jaycie's character and thought she was fun to read about.

I liked the other characters, too, especially Matt and Haylee and Allison. Each one brought something interesting to the story, and I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next for all of them in Unnatural Law, the second book!

Altogether, Darwin's Children gets <*><*><*>

(:D)
~Mag