Tracy Richardson

Thank you to for providing me with a copy of this novel for review purposes.




Plot:



This summer, Marcie is spending time working at Angel Mounds, the archeological dig her mother heads, along with her brother, Eric, and his girlfriend, Renee. The dig is the site of an ancient indigenous civilization, and things immediately shift into the paranormal when Marcie and her teammates meet Lorraine and Zeke.



The two mysterious dig assistants reveal their abilities to access the Universal Energy Field with their minds-something Marcie knows only vaguely that her brother has also had experience with. Marcie learns how our planet will disintegrate if action is not taken, and she and her team must decide if they are brave enough to help Lorraine and Zeke in their plan to save Mother Earth, her resources, and her history. It looks like the summer just got a lot more interesting.



Review:



I really enjoyed this book!







First of all I did really like the main story line, I love this overarching plot to save the planet and lead a generation of environmentally conscious people going forward.



I loved Marcie as our protagonist. She was smart and passionate, fair and hopeful. She is open to new idea's and empathetic to her friends. I loved that she and Eric were on this archaeological dig voluntarily with their mother, this was my dream job growing up and I have major regrets not pursuing it!



It was also clear within the story that Richardson did a lot of research into the theories that she developed part of the characters on, as well as being historically accurate on the area and its history, and lastly, with the effects that fracking has on our environment and people on the short and long term.



The story was fast paced and packed with drama and action, it was so fun to read and I have high praise for readability.







My reasons for not giving a higher rating, was that it didn't seem to be written in mind for a new reader, or for a reader who hasn't read the first story in some time. The story dove into the plot immediately, I don't have a full description of the main character Marcie, and I have no idea what happened in the first book, although it is brought up vaguely many times. I felt like I was missing a large piece of the story.



Lessons I should have learnt by now- always start from the first book! However, a quick intro and 'tldr;' of what happened at the lake in Book 1 would have helped a lot.



Because of this I was kind of struggling at the start with how culturally appropriate things were, in regards to Marcie being able communicate or sense Native American spirits. I'm unclear as to whether this is her heritage and ancestry, or is she a while teen? I am not sure how this sits with me, however part of the plot did give me some assurance that there is a specific reasoning behind the 'powers' (sorry, can't say as its a spoiler!).



Overall a great YA Sci-Fi Eco- Lit. I really do love a environmentally conscious plot line with an entertaining main story, and these themes were balanced perfectly!















I hope you enjoyed my thoughts on Catalyst. Have you read this? Tell me what you thought!   



Feel free to comment below or on my ‘bookstagram’ at @ReadWithWine .
This review was originally posted on ReadWithWine… (altro)

Marcie, her brother Eric and his girlfriend Renee are spending the summer with their mother. She is the head of an archeological dig called Angel Mounds. Marcie has been having some strange feelings since she stepped foot on the site. These are enhanced when she meets Zeke and Lorraine who are their team leaders. Their team leaders reveal to Marcie, Eric, Renee, and another young man named Leo that they have a purpose. They are special, connected to the Universal Energy Field and have a role to play in saving the earth.

This story kept me reading. No matter what your spiritual belief system is, the underlying message was that we as humans have trashed the earth and if we don’t do something now then we can expect it to destroy itself. The setting was in my home state of Indiana. I have been away from there for so long that I was not aware that they were fracking up there. I grew up on a farm and could only imagine how I would have felt if they had come by our farm trying to buy up the rights to frack on our land. We had an artisian well. The thought of it being contaminated by fracking made the story more personal for me. The story line was well written and the characters were well developed. This was an interesting book by an author I have read before. I will recommend this book.… (altro)

Book source ~ Tour

Marcie Horton has connected once before with a spirit when she was thirteen. But that was four years ago and she feels like she’s missing something by not having any further contact with anything…other. She’s hoping a summer working on her mother’s archeological dig will distract her from a feeling of missing out on something big. Joined by her older brother Eric and his girlfriend Renee, they barely get settled in when two graduate students let the three of them and another student, 19-yr-old Leo, in on a secret. There is much more out there than any of them realize. Marcie is about to get her wish - something incredible is about to happen. The real question is: Is she ready for it?

This is a book heavy on how humanity is shitting where we eat. Too graphic? How about how we are killing the very thing that supports us? Too dramatic? Too bad. We are. If you don’t like books that point out this fact, even if it is a fictional book, then you may not enjoy this as much as I have. Now, to the story itself…

Marcie is a pretty level-headed 17-yr-old. She’s had a life-altering encounter with a spirit when she was 13, so maybe that has something to do with it. In any case, the story is told from her POV so it helps she’s not an over-emotional idiot. Side characters are interesting even if Renee makes me want to slap her upside the head occasionally. And don’t get me started on Leo. Marcie is more forgiving than I would be. Oh! Did I not mention there’s a little hotness going on between Marcie and Leo? Ah. Summer love.

Lorraine and Zeke are a bit irritating in their roles, but I get it. And you will, too. I find the idea of a Universal Energy Field fascinating. I want it to be a thing. In fact, my belief is, since we are mostly water and energy then when we die our energy goes back out into the ether and comes back as another being. So, I guess I believe a bit in reincarnation. And that’s why I believe in ghosts. That energy can get stuck and next thing you know, wooohoooo things going bang. Anyway, I enjoyed this journey of Marcie’s and hope she and the others can bring about some change before it’s too late.… (altro)

This book starts out with Eric and his best friend Will trying out for the soccer team. Eric has an uncanny ability as the goalie of knowing just where the ball is going to go. He doesn’t understand why he gets these feelings, he just accepts them. He and his best friend are both taking an AP science class. This is where he meets Rene, the new student and learns that her father, a French scientist is going to guest teach some classes and offer an internship. After his first guest class he has forms for students to fill out if they want to be considered for lab experiments. Naturally Will and Eric are pulled in to this. Eric and Will have some issues. Eric must use his new found abilities to help get things back on track with his friends. I was hooked on the premise of this book the minute I first read it. If you are a science nerd and really like science fiction then you will really like this book. However, you don’t have to be a fan of science or paranormal to like this book. Those things just make it really enjoyable. It is a quick easy read because it grabs you, pulls you in and you don’t want to stop reading. I really enjoyed this one and will definitely be adding it to the science fiction section in my classroom. This is one I will recommend to our school librarian.… (altro)