Silent Symmetry. (The Embodied Trilogy, Book 1). J. B. Dutton. n.p., www.JohnBDutton.wordpress.com, 2013. 185 pp., trade pbk., $11.93. ISBN 978-1-484067468. Grades 8 and up / Ages 13 and up. Review by Ronald Hore. *** /4

excerpt:

I entered and time slowed to a crawl. Then it jumped back twelve years to that fateful Saturday afternoon the cops phoned Mom with the news about Dad. Because I had the exact same feeling again. The second I walked through the door I knew something was wrong. There were only two people in the room: a tall, slim guy my own age, and an older gentleman wearing a black suit and black dress shirt. So far, nothing too weird: student and teacher, right? But they were shaking hands. Not in the typical way, but with both hands at once, staring straight into each other’s eyes as they stood in front of the teacher’s desk. They held eye-contact with each other for several seconds, then both turned their heads slowly toward me before letting go of their hands. It was beyond creepy. It was other-worldly.

Kari Marriner is a teenage girl moving from Wisconsin to New York City with her widowed mother. Kari has strange dreams. When she starts at her new prep school, she discovers some unusual people. They are not from our universe, which they call the Light, but are from the Dark Universe. They are known as the Embodied and are not human but can take our form. Kari finds herself torn between two boys, Cruz who is human, and Noon who is not.

     Kari becomes involved with the Embodied and their mysteries. Noon is suddenly taken away. Her mother disappears, supposedly on a trip to Paris. Kari is captured by the Embodied who wish to experiment on her. By the end of Silent Symmetry, she has escaped, and one of the pursuing aliens, looking exactly like her mother, avoids the police by leaping off a bridge into the river. No one will believe Kari that the individual was not her mother, and Kari has to move in with Cruz’s family.

     The fate of the Earth may hang in the balance of what is really going on. The back cover of the book describes this story as a paranormal mystery love story. So far, that seems an apt description. Kari may also be more than the ordinary girl she appears to be as she goes in search of answers.

     This volume consists of title page, copyright notes, dedication, acknowledgments and index of contents. There are 185 pages broken into eleven chapters, with each chapter being headed by one of Kari’s memories or dreams. The final two pages contain information about the author.

     Imaginative concepts, and well-written, told from Kari’s point-of-view, this trilogy should appeal to readers looking for an unusual thriller.

Recommended.

Ronald Hore, involved with writers’ groups for several years, dabbles in writing fantasy in Winnipeg, MB.

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