Jul 212013
 

The Raven Saga Part I: Raven

The Raven Saga Part I: Raven

After the inexplicable disappearance of Lilly Taylor’s parents, she has no choice but to move to Canada where she unravels some frightening yet intriguing family secrets… Her whole life had been based on a lie. Lilly had grown up in a loveless home with a father who she had barely ever seen and a mother who was… well, not very motherly. After they mysteriously disappear without a trace, Lilly is sent to Canada where she finds a whole new way of life. A life filled with love and people who ca

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  3 Responses to “The Raven Saga Part I: Raven Reviews”

  1. 7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
    4.0 out of 5 stars
    An Unusual Paranormal Mystery, June 14, 2011
    By 
    Claude Nougat (Rome, Italy) –

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    As other reviewers have said, this is a real page-turner and if you like paranormal mysteries, this one is for you. While Lilly, the protagonist, is just 13 years old, it is a book for all ages, adults included. It takes you away to beautiful British Columbia and presents you with the mystery of this teenager who lost her parents in London and has to start a new life with her bizarre Canadian family. You soon discover she was born with a supernatural ability, but in the beginning the author cleverly keeps from you (and her protagonist) what this ability is all about…and you can’t wait to find out and you keep turning the pages…No, I am not going to tell you what it is here, that wouldn’t be fair. Read the book, it’s a real surprise!

    When you do find out, you are presented with the fantastic world that Suzy Turner has cleverly crafted, filled with evil witches, vampires, changelings – the whole range of wild supernatural beasts and beings. The plot thickens, you worry for Lilly’s well-being, and can’t stop reading till the last page. It’s a good thing this is the first installment of a series and that more is coming!

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  2. 11 of 13 people found the following review helpful
    4.0 out of 5 stars
    An Interesting Work on a Number of Topics, January 20, 2012
    By 
    Kelly Libatique (US) –

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    The Raven Saga Part I: Raven, by Suzy Turner, is a good effort at starting an intriguing and shadowy storyline about a thirteen year-old girl named Lilly and her family. I wanted to give Ms. Turner’s work a chance, despite the fact that I normally don’t read books on mystical subjects. Ms. Turner sites J.K. Rowling as one of her inspirations and not once, but twice, are the Harry Potter series referenced in this book, a series I haven’t read. Nonetheless, I am glad I read Raven because I found the whole otherworldly theme to be more a vehicle to deliver a story about other significant topics.

    First, this is a tale about self-discovery. If one were to remove entirely the supernatural elements, what you’d be left with is the story of a young girl on the verge of growing up, who, after escaping terrible circumstances, discovers her roots, real family, and ultimately herself. And it all happens very quickly from where the story starts. This kind of topic can ride on the back of just about any foundation and be successful, if done well. It intrigues us all, the idea of going from a dysfunctional family, social awkwardness and rejection, to everything positive-love, family, and acceptance. But now let’s add the mystical underpinnings. In addition to everything else, our main character discovers unimaginable things about herself and family, things most people would not accept or believe. It’s a ride from one extreme to the next that most adolescents could not handle.

    Secondly, this is a story about family issues. Our main character, Lilly, is raised by an unloving mother and estranged father. The father, we later find out, had been manipulated and almost killed by an evil I will leave unnamed here. Ultimately, the father abandons Lilly and this becomes one of the cliff hangers at the end of the story. In general, stories where there are father issues captivate many of us, as Hollywood has discovered. After the big move, Lilly discovers a new father figure in her grandfather, and several mother figures in other relatives.

    This book has an expository writing style that some readers will like and some won’t. Written in the first person, one feels as if one were reading from the personal diary of our main character. This makes the writing very descriptive in nature. There are long stretches where there is no conflict or suspense, but hints of the unknown thrown at the reader here and there keep things moving. I had to remind myself that this book is intended for a young audience, adolescence to young teen perhaps. Hence, it was easier to forgive what is really lacking in many parts of the story-detail. The plot moves along quickly, leaping over large periods of time where many events and interactions among characters would have happened. There is also not a lot of imagery given to certain characters, which leaves the rest to imagination.

    One bone to pick some readers may have with this story is the romantic relationship formed between the main character and a seventeen year-old boy. Perhaps this is not so farfetched anymore, but some perspective is in order. Throughout the story, Ms. Turner tries to convey the fact that Lilly is mature for her age and has come to find out things about herself much sooner than expected. All this is supposed to make her more grown up than any typical kid her age. But from a practical standpoint, seventeen may be a bit too old. I don’t know what Canadian laws are, but once he’s eighteen, he would be in trouble for kissing her the way he did where I reside (in California). But not to worry, his character is removed from the story after an incident where he makes a discovery he cannot accept.

    If you enjoy stories about vampires, werewolves, changelings and the like, you’ll find elements in The Raven Saga Part I: Raven that you’ll enjoy. It’s a fun, light read that moves along quickly and is easy to follow. If you keep in mind the bigger picture, you will be able to engage with the story and follow it to the somewhat enigmatic and cliff-hanging ending.

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  3. 15 of 19 people found the following review helpful
    5.0 out of 5 stars
    There’s not enough good things to say about this book!!, June 24, 2011

    Wow Wow Wow, I don’t even know where to begin with this review, so let me start here. Usually I am very skeptical when it comes to reading books with a paranormal aspect and I think that it’s because they are so far-fetched in regards to reality that I have a hard time connecting with the characters, but this book changed that for me for sure. In fact, i’m going as far as to say that THIS IS the BEST paranormal YA book that i’ve ever read.

    Lilly is stuck in England with an unloving mother and a barely there father, so when both of her parents disappear, Lilly gets uprooted and moved to her grandfather who she’s never met halfway across the world in British Columbia, Canada. Lilly is in for a lot of suprises though, when everything and I mean everything she thought she knew about her life gets turned upside down!

    This story honestly gripped me from the first page and held on tight until the last page. My only complaint about this book was that it wasn’t long enough, I got to the last sentance and was devastated that the story was over, but thrilled to learn that this is the first in a series. Book 2 is due out this September, and you better believe i’ll be counting down the days until I can get my hands on this book. I honestly could sing my praises for this book for days, but instead i’m going to give you a word of advice and tell you to go pick up this book and read it, I promise you will not want to miss out on this series!
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