[Review] Gift - Andrea J. Buchanan

Title of Book : Gift
Author : Andrea J. Buchanan | Twitter
Publisher : Open Road Media
Published Date : 27th March 2012

Daisy has an electrifying secret that could save her life—or kill her

High school sophomore Daisy Jones is just trying to get by unnoticed. It doesn’t help that she’s the new girl at school, lives in a trailer park, and doesn’t even own a cell phone. But there’s a good reason for all that: Daisy has a secret, unpredictable power—one only her best friend, Danielle, knows about.  Despite her “gift” (or is it a curse?), Daisy’s doing a good job of fitting in, and a gorgeous senior named Kevin even seems interested in her! But when Daisy tries to help Vivi, a mysterious classmate in a crisis, she soon discovers that her new friend has a secret of her own. Now Daisy and her friends must deal with chilling dreams and messages from the beyond. Can Daisy channel the power she’s always tried to hide, before it’s too late?

I got a free copy of this book from Netgalley.

Gift is a book about Daisy and her friends who tried to unravel the mystery within their past. As they tried to reveal the mystery, Daisy also has to deal with her ‘gift’ and control herself. Apparently, she could emit electric waves from her body. Because of that, she has to be extra careful with electronics. This is my first time reading book which character has superpower. So it's refreshing.

The 'gang' has a perfect combination of characters. There's Daisy with her superpower, Vivi who is vulnerable, Danielle who is funny and bold, and Kevin the love interest of Daisy. Danielle is actually my most favorite character. I think she's the one who live up the gang. She could make me laugh with her sarcasm remarks.

There's no instalove (thank God). I always pay attention to the romance because I love romance and I hate instalove. I like the flirtations between Kevin and Daisy before Kevin actually become involved with the girls. It's fun and so high school but it's better than an instalove.

This book lacks background story, especially in the flashback parts. There’s no further explanation about the killing and why the culprit did it. I think the past storyline has potential if only there's a strong reason behind it. I'm a bit disappointed with the plot as well. It feels like there are two storyline, the past/flashback things and Daisy dealing with her gift. She's trying to figure out her gift while she tried to solve the flashbacks mystery. I think it would be good if in the end, there's some kind of twist connection between her gift and her past. I was waiting for the connection until I got to the end of the book and found out that there's none.

What I like from this book is the extras. It seems like the author went all out for this book. There’s even a real YouTube channel with Kevin singing in the videos. The book also has Danielle's journal and Vivi's comic (Vivi is good at drawing). That’s a good thing that the author really made an effort for her/his book.

All in all, this is a book for YA fantasy lovers. It's a quite quick read and this book is so visual. I could imagine watching the movie of this book. But If you're looking for mysteries, I don't think this could satisfy you.