Book Review: Manifest (Artist Arthur)

When fifteen-year-old Krystal Bentley moves to Lincoln, Connecticut, her mom's hometown, she assumes her biggest drama will be adjusting to the burbs after living in New York City.

But Lincoln is nothing like Krystal imagined. The weirdness begins when Ricky Watson starts confiding in her. He's cute, funny, a good listener—and everything she'd ever want—except that he was killed nearly a year ago. Krystal's ghost-whispering talents soon lead other "freaks" to her door—Sasha, a rich girl who can literally disappear, and Jake, who moves objects with his mind. All three share a distinctive birthmark in the shape of an M and, fittingly, call themselves the Mystyx. They set out to learn what really happened to Ricky, only to realize that they aren't the only ones with mysterious powers. But if Krystal succeeds in finding out the truth about Ricky's death, will she lose him for good?

Manifest is the first book in the Mystyx series, and it introduces the readers to Krystal Bentley whose story takes us through a whirlpool of mysteries, suspense and a drop of romance.

What I liked best about Manifest is the ease in which Krystal, delivers the narration. I believe Manifest is aimed at the younger teen, and this is heavily reflected in her conversational narrative. At fifteen, Krystal is the epitome of the typical teen (powers aside and all). Although stubborn, rebellious and an introvert, Krystal does not drag the reader down her spiral of depression. She was actually an endearing character; reading her story was like peering into a friend's diary, so comfortable was I with her. Krystal is like a rebellious friend you would not necessarily admire, but one you would grow to understand. She's temperamental, misunderstood and often conflicted. I adore her.

In fact, realistic characterisation is a strength of this novel. Aside from Krystal, Ricky is also a wonderful character to spend time with. I especially like his advices to Krystal - it does not only show his depth, but also they also precisely hone in on Krystal's faults. Without being condescending, Ricky 'balances' her out and is exactly what she needs. Secondary characters - namely Sasha and Jake - were also well-described. I want to focus on Jake in particular because I have my theories about him having a bigger role in the next books. I also want to mention the diversity of all these characters - Manifest is really a microcosm of the general society and I give it a lot of browny points for that!

Real-life issues is well-portrayed in this debut novel too. Krystal's depression is a vivid reminder of the effects of divorce, especially of a child is kept in the dark and left to cope on her own; she sees class divisions and discrimination around her; she learns to see beyond the surface and open herself to friends, to ignore the status quo and accept what life has to offer. Although Manifest is a supernatural novel, it has a surprisingly strong grip on reality and current social issues, which is an obvious plus to any book.

However, what really did not work for me was the suspense and mystery. I found that it lacked outline and was fragmented in parts. I often disregarded subplots that just were disjointed and not perfectly  connecting. Eventually of course, the plot makes sense and I did begin to appreciate the course the it took a little more. It just did not grip me as much as I would have wanted. I kept waiting for that 'shock' factor that would make me flip back and wonder how I could have overlooked at clues, and that just was not there.

Regardless, with its ending in perfect position for the beginning of the second book, I believe this series will only get better. Book 2 should smoothen the creases left by the plot as well as answer the questions left by Manifest.

Overall, it's quite a good debut novel. It is however, better suited for younger teens. They'll not only get mystery and romance too, but can also learn a thing or two from the depth of this book.

Three stars.


P.S. I shall be posting a transcript of the community interview with Artist Arthur that I participated in tomorrow. Watch out for it, and don't forget to check out Manifest in your local bookstore today!

* My copy is provided by the publicist for review. Thanks very much Lisa!