ARC Review: Intuition by C.J. Omololu

As Cole begins to accept her new life as Akhet, someone who can remember flashes of her past lives, every new vision from her past lives helps explain who she is in this life. As her passion for Griffon grows, she learns to identify other Akhet around her, including Drew, the young self-made millionaire who reveals his startling connection to Cole-he was her husband in Elizabethan England and gave her the ankh necklace that has been returned to her after centuries in hiding. Drew's attentions are overwhelming as he insists that their connection in the past signals their future destiny together, but before she can decide who she truly loves, Cole must learn to harness her unique Akhet abilities if she is to ever understand her role in this strange new world.

Best Bits:  I was a little nervous when I read the synopsis of this one. I really enjoyed the first book, but the blurb above made the book seem like it focused solely on a love triangle. It seemed that way for the first portion of the book, but the story was about more than Griffon, Cole, and Drew. It was a great look into the way that love changes and grows. Of course, it's up to you to decide if you believe in past lives, but the book brings up an interesting question. If you could remember past lives, would you spend time hoping to reconnect with previous romantic partners, or would you try to experience new people and things? 
There's also a pretty amazing twist thrown in, just in case you were wondering whether this one was as suspenseful as the first book. It was completely unexpected, and I really can't explain it because it would give everything away. I will say, that it has really opened up the possibilities for the future of the series, and it makes Cole and Griffon's roles that much more important in the grand scheme of things. 
When I interviewed Omololu during the release of the first book, Transcendence, she said that she considering this series to be contemporary fiction (whereas I had labelled it fantasy/supernatural). I have to say, that she has the ability to weave together various genres that makes it hard to really put a stamp on it. I'll have to investigate where my local bookstore has it placed.  

Nit Picks: I do think that the love triangle wasn't completely necessary to the story. It was done well, but I feel like we get love triangles in most (99.9%) of YA novels these days. I understand the role that it played in the book, and the development of Griffon and Cole as a couple, but it just felt like the other plot developments could have kept my attention without that added relationship drama.
Intuition  By C.J. Omololu Published by Bloomsbury USA 336 Pages Received for Review Rating: B
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I thought I would host a giveaway for a copy of book one or two in this series. It's open internationally as long as The Book Depository ships to your country!

C.J. Omololu Contest Reminder

Just wanted to remind everyone that my contest for Dirty Little Secrets and Transcendence by C.J. Omololu ends in 5 days! As long as The Book Depository ships to your country you can sign up below:

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Book Review: Transcendence by C.J. Omololu (an author interview and giveaway, too!)

When a visit to the Tower of London triggers an overwhelmingly real vision of a beheading that occurred centuries before, Cole Ryan fears she is losing her mind. A mysterious boy, Griffon Hall, comes to her aid, but the intensity of their immediate connection seems to open the floodgate of memories even wider.

As their feelings grow, Griffon reveals their common bond as members of the Akhet—an elite group of people who can remember past lives and use their collected wisdom for the good of the world. But not all Akhet are altruistic, and a rogue is after Cole to avenge their shared past. Now in extreme danger, Cole must piece together clues from many lifetimes. What she finds could ruin her chance at a future with Griffon, but risking his love may be the only way to save them both.

Full of danger, romance, and intrigue, Transcendence breathes new life into a perpetually fascinating question: What would you do with another life to live? (From Goodreads)

Genre: Contemporary with a bit of fantasy/mystery/adventure thrown in 

The Best Bits: Plot and characters, for sure. I think that the idea of Akhet, those who can recall their past lives, is an intriguing one. They have access to lifetimes of knowledge, they don't repeat past mistakes, and they have the opportunity to improve the world around them. Of course, not all are good people, some are using their ability to right past wrongs. The way that Omololu began to explore this power was extremely rich, and I'm looking forward to learning more about them in future books. There was also a great contrast between Cole and Griffon. Cole is a typical teen in that she's a bit unsure of herself, and doesn't quite believe in her gift (who wouldn't start to wonder if they were hallucinating?). Griffon has a much deeper understanding of their ability and it played out nicely over the course of the book. 

Nit Picks: I really only have one, and in a way it's one that was probably intentional. I felt like the flashbacks that were relevant to this particular portion of Cole's story were fleshed out, but we only get glimpse's into other past lives. In the interview below, Omololu has written another book in this series. So, I'm looking at it almost like a television series. We get flashbacks that are probably going to come into play in later books and Cole is growing to grow throughout the series. I think it's important for readers to know that, otherwise they are likely to question why only one lifetime was explored while others were shown (but hey, I loved all the flashbacks, just wanted to give everyone the heads up). 

Transcendence
By C.J. Omololu
Published by Walker & Company

336 Pages

Received for Review

Rating: A-

Author Interview

A huge thanks to Cynthia for stopping by and answering a couple of questions!

1. Can you tell us a little bit about your new book, Transcendence?

Transcendence is about a group of people, the Akhet, who remember all of their past lives and a girl named Cole who is becoming one of them. She meets Griffon, a very old Akhet, right as she begins to transition and he helps her along the way. As their relationship deepens, Cole discovers there is a rogue Akhet who is out to avenge a wrong that they feel has been done to them in a past lifetime and Cole quickly learns that she may not be able to trust anyone. A little bit of mystery and a little bit of romance - it was a lot of fun to write.

2. What inspired the Akhet, those who can recall their past lives?

The idea of reincarnation came to me after a friend's teenaged son died suddenly. I couldn't understand why this wonderful boy was gone, and started to think that the only way it would be okay is if he could someday come back again. This led me to do a lot of research on different theories of reincarnation in various cultures - I took what I liked and left the rest. The idea to call them Akhet and associate them with Ancient Egypt happened when I took one of my kids on a field trip to the King Tut exhibit at a local museum. I saw an ankh mirror in one of the displays and remembered the ankh necklace that I wore for years when I was in my teens - it all just seemed to fit beautifully. All of the words - Akhet, Sekhem, Iawi, etc. have roots in Egyptian words that have meaning that makes sense to the plot. For example, Akhet means the place on the horizon where the sun rises and sets, which to me was the perfect metaphor for reincarnation.

3.The reader gets to see a number of different flashbacks for Cole. Have you considered writing another book where she might explore these past lives?

I loved writing the flashback scenes, but there is so much research involved in writing a true historical that it's a bit daunting. We just wrapped up the second book in the series and there is a deeper exploration of some of her past lives in that story.

 4.Your first book for teens, Dirty Little Secrets, was realistic fiction. How did your writing process change for Transcendence, a book which included some fantasy elements?

It's funny, but even though there is a focus on reincarnation, I almost consider Transcendence a contemporary book. As long as you can suspend disbelief in the Akhet, there is no other magic in the book - everything they can do is physiologically possible. Both Transcendence and Dirty Little Secrets required a lot of research on their subjects, but luckily, nobody can come back and tell me that I got the details of reincarnation wrong.

5. Do you have any new projects in the works?

There are always new projects. As I said, we've just finished the second Transcendence book (title still to come) and I really love how it turned out - a continuation of some threads, but a new and exciting story in that world. I'm also working on a few standalone projects on the side - hopefully you'll get to hear about them someday soon.

Giveaway

Alright, I've decided to host a little giveaway. Everyone knows that I loved Dirty Little Secrets, so I thought I'd give that one away as well as her newest release Transcendence! I'll be shipping them through The Book Depository so make sure that they ship to your country (I could also send e-book version, so the winner could potentially choose to go that route). The contest ends in two weeks on July 17, at 11:59 pm EST. 

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Teaser Tuesday (June 19)

What is teaser tuesday?
It's a meme hosted by Should Be Reading and here are the rules:
Grab your current read...
Open to a random page
Share two teaser sentences from somewhere on the page
Don't include spoilers.


"The door to the bedroom is the same prison door that's been there since the fifteen hundreds. Late at night you can still hear the echoes of the prisoners pounding on the heavy wood."


-Transcendence, Page 23, by C.J. Omololu


*I'll be posting my review, an interview, and a giveaway of this book in early July!

Book Review: Dirty Little Secrets by C.J. Omololu

Everyone has secrets. Some are just bigger and dirtier than others.

For sixteen years, Lucy has kept her mother's hoarding a secret. She's had to -- nobody would understand the stacks of newspapers and mounds of garbage so high they touch the ceiling and the rotting smell that she's always worried would follow her out the house. After years of keeping people at a distance, she finally has a best friend and maybe even a boyfriend if she can play it right. As long as she can make them think she's normal.

When Lucy arrives home from a sleepover to find her mother dead under a stack of National Geographics, she starts to dial 911 in a panic, but pauses before she can connect. She barely notices the filth and trash anymore, but she knows the paramedics will. First the fire trucks, and then news cameras that will surely follow. No longer will they be remembered as the nice oncology nurse with the lovely children -- they'll turn into that garbage-hoarding freak family on Collier Avenue.

With a normal life finally within reach, Lucy has only minutes to make a critical decision. How far will she go to keep the family secrets safe? (From Goodreads)

Anyone who's heard of hoarding knows that it typically stems from a mental health issue. They also know that it's a very serious problem. Omololu does a great job of describing what hoarding is like, and how it can affect children in hoarding homes. In some cases, the children grow up to be hoarders themselves, but in Dirty Little Secrets, Lucy is waiting until she's 18 so she can move out and have a normal life.

Lucy's struggle over the course of the book was an interesting one. She's managed to hide her mother's hoarding problem from her best friend, but it's added another level of stress to her life. After Lucy finds her mother dead, everything begins to fall apart. She doesn't want her family to become a news story, so she decides to clean her house before she calls 911. As this mission becomes increasingly impossible, Lucy has to decide what's most important to her.

Quite honestly, this story is heartbreaking. Omololu gives the reader information about what caused Lucy's mother to begin hoarding, and the reader gets to see how this issue has progressed. In fact, there's one scene where Lucy recalls cleaning out the house with her aunt to surprise her mother who had been in the hospital (hint: the big reveal did not go well). Seeing the interaction between Lucy, and her mother was also sad. There seemed to be a bit of resentment for both of the characters, and that was never resolved. It's also got an ending that will make you think. I think that every reader will have to decide whether they would have made the same choice as Lucy, or decided to go down a different route. Unfortunately that's a little vague, but I don't want to spoil anything for reader.

This was a great read, but it wasn't always a happy one. There aren't fuzzy kittens, and gentle ponies in this one. Still, don't be afraid to pick it up. It's a fairly quick read, and Omololu does an excellent job depicting hoarding.

Dirty Little Secrets
By C.J. Omololu
Published by Walker Books
212 Pages
Rating: B

Teaser Tuesday (June 22)

What is Teaser Tuesday?
It's a meme hosted by Should Be Reading and here are the rules:Grab your current read...
Open to a random page
Share two teaser sentences from somewhere on the page
Don't include spoilers

"Hurrying past the kitchen and down the hall, I glanced around the narrow pathways we'd carved in the piles of newspapers and garbage over the years. It had gotten easier to get around since I'd grown tall enough to see over the top of a lot of it."

-Dirty Little Secrets, page 16, by C.J. Omololu