Book Review of Compass (With a bonus story: Awake) by Jennifer Gibson

Book Title: Compass

Genre: YA Romance/Coming of Age

Pages: 298

Author: Jennifer Gibson

Date Published: 30 January 2013

Synopsis:

Being a teenager is hard enough. To be hard of hearing on top of that is like being stuck in the middle of a never ending soap opera.

In Compass, the sequel to Sway, Jessie's life begins to change its course, sending her toward a new reality. When her world is suddenly ripped apart by an angry rival, the one person she trusted to stand by her side simply walks away. With her composure shattered, Jessie questions everything she believed about herself, and as her life takes her on a new path, it turns into a perilous journey full of surprising twists and turns.

Review:

Compass (with bonus story: Awake) by Jennifer Gibson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is the second book in a series that follows Jessie, a teen with a hearing impediment. I really enjoyed this story!

Jessie McIntyre is a character I could relate to somewhat. I really liked her when I first met her in Sway, but also didn't like her at the same time. In Sway, she had built a wall around herself to prevent being hurt emotionally by bullies and could be rather surly and unfriendly to people in turn. Meeting Ethan brought her out of her shell somewhat and, along with her hobby of Karate, she finds herself opening up to new experiences. In Compass, we find her facing new challenges.

I think I like this book a lot better than Sway because of Jessie's growth, both emotionally as well as physically. She is not as inwardly focused on herself, and is taking interest in things and people around her. Her angst at being bullied is quite understandable, and watching her deal with that, and entering Karate contests to test herself and her abilities, made me feel quite proud of her. But watching her teaching Karate class (along with Ethan) at Camp Balsam (a summer camp for kids with various disabilities or disorders) is where she began to shine; showed me there is so many layers to this young woman. She has a natural talent and ability to teach. This book (and story arc) has an almost spiritual feel to it, especially Jessie's dreams of her spirit guide, who also happens to be her cat, Peter Parker.

The story is not especially fast paced, but when I reached the end I felt quite sad; I wanted to keep reading! Luckily, there is a bonus story called Awake, which is in the form of a dream, but I really enjoyed reading it. I'm looking forward to reading Destiny, the next book, soon.

Jennifer Gibson has written an intriguing and interesting YA story based in truth. I found the story a quick read. I love the way the story flows from scene to scene; it's extremely fluid and the descriptions were described in such a way that I could picture them with ease. This is an author I am looking forward to adding to my favourite authors list.

I highly recommend this book to young readers aged 12 to 16, and to adults who love reading younger YA romance or coming of age novels. - Lynn Worton

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