Title: Strange Girl
Author: Christopher Pike
Genre: Young Adult Paranormal
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Publication Date: November 17, 2015
Paperback: 413 pages
Series: Standalone
Where’d I Get It: Purchased from Barnes & Noble
Synopsis (From Goodreads): From the moment Fred meets Aja, he knows she’s different. She’s pretty, soft-spoken, shy—yet seems to radiate an unusual peace. Fred quickly finds himself falling in love with her.
Then strange things begin to happen around Aja. A riot breaks out that Aja is able to stop by merely speaking a few words. A friend of Fred’s suffers a serious head injury and has a miraculous recovery.
Yet Aja swears she has done nothing.
Unfortunately, Fred is not the only one who notices Aja’s unique gifts. As more and more people begin to question who Aja is and what she can do, she’s soon in grave danger. Because none of them truly understands the source of Aja’s precious abilities—or their devastating cost.
Love Aja or hate her—you will never forget her.
My Thoughts: I grew up on Christopher Pike books. Some of them were amazing, some of them were less amazing but still good, and even the “bad” ones were worth reading again. I love that this man has in recent years begun producing more stories for old fans and new to fall in love with all over again.
First, the con. As is typical of a Pike book, the beginning is slightly less refined than I’d like it to be. I wouldn’t call it choppy and honestly I’m not sure I can actually find words that adequately describe exactly what I mean, but the first bits of his books are never very indicative of what he’s capable of. I forgive it every time, however, because at some point (30 pages in sometimes, 20, 10…) you turn the page and bam, he’s hit his stride and the story blooms and your eyes are glued to the page.
Aja is to this book what Sita is to the The Last Vampire. And I don’t just mean the obvious in that she’s the book’s protagonist, I mean she’s THE story. She’s got personality. You can imagine her as a real person in a real world doing real things. She has thoughts and feelings that we’re able to relate to on a certain level and quite simply, despite the unbelievability of the plot itself, she is believable and therefore everything else seems plausible. Suspension of disbelief comes easily and it makes reading this book a pure joy. Summer is the perfect time to get out and hit the road. Put the windows down, turn the music up, and enjoy the lure of the open road! Summer road trips are hugely popular vacation choices that are fun for the whole family, but is always good to have some save money tips.
The plot itself is something that is not my typical cup of tea. It’s spiritually focused and touches on a little too much “religion” (although it isn’t preachy at all!) for me to be fully comfortable… but I was fully comfortable. I loved it. I’m going to buy another copy or two to give to friends as gifts.
Go buy it. Run run, shoo, go!
Rating: 5 of 5
