Book Jacket:
When you can see things others can’t, where do you look for the truth?
This paranormal murder mystery will have teens reading on the edge of their seats.
Clarity “Clare” Fern sees things. Things no one else can see. Things like stolen kisses and long-buried secrets. All she has to do is touch a certain object, and the visions come to her. It’s a gift. And a curse.
When a teenage girl is found murdered, Clare’s ex-boyfriend wants her to help solve the case–but Clare is still furious at the cheating jerk. Then Clare’s brother–who has supernatural gifts of his own–becomes the prime suspect, and Clare can no longer look away. Teaming up with Gabriel, the smoldering son of the new detective, Clare must venture into the depths of fear, revenge, and lust in order to track the killer. But will her sight fail her just when she needs it most?
You can read an excerpt here.
Review:
With its contemporary feel and refreshingly pragmatic take on psychic abilities, Clarity is a bracing change of pace and a clean, entertaining read.
Honestly, I’m at a saturation point with paranormal YA – they all just seem to so readily fall into the same pattern: mysterious powers/heritage, dark, brooding boy the girl is inexplicably drawn to, often at a boarding school, and their undying love connection. When I read the jacket cover of Clarity, which (as you see above) definitely hits the typical paranormal abilities and romance notes, I kind of sighed and thought, here we go again. So you can imagine my relief and delight at discovering Clarity is a different kettle of fish – a story more concerned with solving a mystery than delving into Gothic themes, with a romantic subplot that revolves around honest, confusing teenage attraction, instead of otherworldly romance, and an entirely real world setting, with a complex family dynamic and vibrant tourist town backdrop. Altogether, Harrington has delivered one delightfully refreshing YA read.
The character work in this book is definitely a cut above your average YA fare. Clare makes for a feisty lead, a girl who keeps her guard up and isn’t afraid to give as good as she gets. She’s instantly sympathetic as an outsider, a freak because of her family, she acts tough but is really tired of being alone. Given her general lack of social acceptance, Clare’s life very much revolves around her family – her overzealous Mom, who is fairly prone to freaking out, and her brother, a loyal friend but very much a lady’s man – which is why she doesn’t hesitate to help her brother when he’s implicated in a murder, even if it means she has to find the real killer herself. Harrington has created a complex, realistic family dynamic, and it is very much the heart of this book.
I loved how there was nothing mystical or mysterious about Clare’s abilities – her family makes their living operating a Psychic shop, where tourists come in for readings. Her powers are just part and parcel of her life: her parents came from psychic stock, and as a kid she was told what to expect, no drama or angst required. Clare’s ability, psychometry, is a given, as is her mother’s limited mind reading and her brother’s abilities as a medium, and it adds an interesting layer to the story, a unique way for Clare to find clues to help in her investigation, but it never overshadows the mystery at the heart of the narrative. Clarity is a whodunit more than anything else.
There is a nice sense of tension to the narrative, with Clare trying to hide her brother’s involvement while dealing with her growing doubts about his innocence; keeping secrets from the police even as she’s helping them with their investigation, and Clare’s involvement is further complicated by her completely realistic and confused attractions to an ex-boyfriend and a complicated new boy in town, both of whom are involved in the investigation. It all adds up to plenty of interesting personal repercussions for Clare as she goes about trying to solve the murder.
I did find at times that Clare’s suspicions swung a little too wildly, such that I really wanted to sit the girl down and make her watch a few episodes of CSI, just to make sure she understood the difference between supposition and evidence, but overall the whodunit unraveled well, with a nice variety of suspects and suspicions, and Harrington does a good job using Clare’s abilities to seed interesting clues without giving too much away. The pay-off is solid, and the ending definitely leaves plenty of series potential.
Clarity is a satisfying, solidly constructed whodunit that makes for a refreshing change of pace from the Gothic paranormal YA glut. This is definitely an author to keep an eye on.
Byrt Grade: A-
As Levar Burton used to say – you don’t have to take my word for it…
Publishers Weekly (starred review) says:
Harrington’s well-developed characters and tight plot are simultaneously charming, realistically complex, and intriguing. While recalling classic sleuth stories, Harrington creates a fiery and sharp-witted heroine who’s more Veronica Mars than Nancy Drew
Harrington’s writing is straightforward and enjoyable. The characters each stood out on their own, and they all served a purpose. I could picture all of them perfectly. I won’t complain about how short it was (it was a little short!) because I enjoy these kinds of books that you get pulled into and you don’t really need to put it down to go to sleep–you probably have time to finish!
Overall this was a fast and enjoyable read. There isn’t a lot of meat and some details could have been fleshed out more, but I loved the fact that I could sit down and be entertained by this book. I also loved the fact that Clarity is a bright resilient character who uses her brain as much as she uses her abilities.
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