Blog Tour: Scintillate by Tracy Clark - Review and Giveaway

Title: SCINTILLATE
Author: Tracy Clark
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Pages: 304
Pub. Date: February 4, 2014
Find it: Goodreads, Amazon, Barnes & Noble

SYNOPSIS:

A mighty flame follows a tiny spark

Cora Sandoval’s mother disappeared when she was five and they were living in Ireland. Since then, her dad has been more than overprotective, and Cora is beginning to chafe under his confines. But even more troubling is the colorful light she suddenly sees around people. Everyone, that is, except herself — instead, she glows a brilliant, sparkling silver.

As she realizes the danger associated with these strange auras, Cora is inexplicably drawn to Finn, a
gorgeous Irish exchange student who makes her feel safe. Their attraction is instant, magnetic, and
primal—but her father disapproves, and Finn’s mother orders him home to Ireland upon hearing he’s
fallen in love. After a fight with her father, Cora flees to Ireland, both to follow Finn and to look for her missing mother.

There she meets another silver-haloed person and discovers the meaning of her newfound powers and
their role in a conspiracy spanning centuries—one that could change mankind forever…and end her life.
 

MY THOUGHTS:

 4.5 out of 5 stars

This book went above and beyond what I was expecting when I first started reading.  I've read several good books this year, but there have only been a few that fall into the "I don't even want to stop reading to eat" category.  Scintillate by Tracy Clark was one of them.

I've been thinking about my review for a few days now because I like to at least seem like I know what I'm talking about when I put my thoughts out there...but I still come back to where my thoughts went immediately after reading the last sentence, which is that I really really enjoyed reading this story.

And after all, that is why I read.

I found Cora to be a believable 17 year old...I remember how it feels to be like I was living life on a leash, convinced that my parents were on a mission to squash all my dreams like a bug.  I also remember what it was like to lose all rational thought when talking to a cute boy -- the ones I could gather up enough courage to talk to, anyway.

And there weren't any cute boys with Irish accents and tattoos when I was in high school.  Trust me, I would have remembered. 

What I can't imagine though, is what life would be life if my mom had not been in my life, or what it would be life to be able to see auras and to have all these questions and not get any answers. 


Why is she seeing auras?  Is there a man really following her and what does he want?  Why are people dying?  What does her father know?  

 That is what Cora deals with.  She KNOWS there is more to her life than what she is being told and is unbelievably frustrated when roadblocks are constantly put in her path.  Still, she is determined to find out the answers, no matter what she has to do to get them.

I have to admit, when I first read in the synopsis that she takes off for Ireland on her own, I seemed a bit far fetched but once I started reading, I didn't even think twice about it.  I got so caught up in the story that I was able to take off my common-sense hat and see where the adventure was going. 

I am so glad I did.

Once Cora gets to Ireland, Ms. Clark's story really takes off.  Adventure, history, romance, deception, fate, hope...all the feels are there.  I found myself thinking I wanted one thing to happen and then maybe I didn't...but then maybe I did, but only if other things happened.  And even then, when the book reached the end, I found myself pleasantly surprised with the way there was enough open ending to make me want the next book as soon as possible, but I didn't keep trying to find the pages that just had to be missing from my Kindle because I can't believe it ended there. 

All in all, I am really glad that I had the chance to be a part of the book tour for Scintillate and I look forward to seeing where the adventure takes us.

There are some amazing blogs on this book tour.  Click here to see the schedule and to check out their reviews.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: 

Tracy Clark is a young-adult writer because she believes teens deserve to know how much they matter and that regardless of what they’re going through, they aren’t alone. In other words, she writes books for her teen self.

She grew up a “Valley Girl” in Southern California but now lives in her home state of Nevada, in a small town at the base of the Sierra Foothills. Her two children teach her the art of distraction and are a continuous source of great dialogue. She’s an unapologetic dog person who is currently owned by a cat.

Tracy was the recipient of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) Work in Progress Grant. A two-time participant in the prestigious Nevada SCBWI Mentor Program where she was lucky enough to be mentored by bestselling author, Ellen Hopkins, who taught her so much about the art of writing and cured her of her ellipsis addiction.

Her debut novel was inspired by her enchantment with metaphysics as a teen, seeing it as the real magic in life. Tracy is a part-time college student, a private pilot, and an irredeemable dreamer.

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