Lauren Sabel

I didn't finish this book, but I did make it just over halfway. I almost gave up when the main character (the raised in California main character) didn't know what guacamole was. I finally did give up when I decided that the main character was just going to continue to grate on my nerves. If I overlooked the jarring moments of total ignorance about Mexico, religion, and people in general, the story moved along at a nice clip and had the bones of a decent thriller. It might work for some reluctant readers. But if you aren't a reluctant teen reader, I don't recommend it.… (altro)

Well. This was disappointingly mediocre.

First of all: the romance. This was insta-love like never before. As you probably know, I'm usually pretty okay with Insta-love, because I know it needs to happen. But in this book, it just didn't make sense. It was established that he hated her (but was helping her for whatever reason), she told him her mom died and then they were making out. It just didn't work for me.

Second: The character, Vivian Divine. She was such a weak character, and she didn't grow or change at all throughout the story. In the beginning, she wanted adults to fix it all. at the end... she was still waiting for an adult to come along and fix it all. I understand that in this age there are SOME THINGS that teenagers need adults to help with. But encouraging dependent behavior in youth creates dependent adults and if the adults are dependent on others, who can the teenagers depend on? Our society is creating a dangerous paradox.
Also, there were points where she was talking to Alex or Isabel about her mother's death and they said things about dealing with grief, and she thought, "That makes sense," like it was the first time she'd ever heard that. Did she get NO grief counseling? I mean, if that sort of thing hapened to a poor kid, the public school would probably provide grief counseling, and since she's rich you'd think that someone would have bothered to get her some grief counseling. But no.

Thirdly: This book was so predictable. An not the kind of predictable where it was "Oh, I figured that out two chapters before it happened!" It was more like: "Oh. I knew that was gonna happen ages ago. What's new?"

So, yeah. Not to impressed.

… (altro)

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher as a part of a book tour for a fair and honest review and rated it 3.5 out of 5 Stars.

A young adult thriller with paranormal elements, Lauren Sabel’s Lies I Live By combines psychic abilities, a teenage love triangle, astral projection and a light touch of humor. Raising the question of who we are and who we can really trust, Ms. Sabel reminds us that becoming an adult is not always an easy, or painless, journey. If you like young adult books and spy novels – you’re going to want to add this to your library.

A seventeen year old on the verge of graduating from high school, Callie Sinclair is not your normal teenager, she has a pretty big secret. The newest, and youngest, recruit for a secret government program, Callie has psychic abilities which allow her to see electromagnetic radiation and catch the occasional glimpse of the future. Lying to her single mother and boyfriend, Callie spends her afternoons practicing astral projection as she tries to keep the country safe from potential enemies. I really liked Callie’s character; she’s smart, brave and hates having to lie to everyone she knows. She’s also a teenager who questions who she is, what she wants to become and if she can really trust the people she knows. Ms. Sabel does a good job developing her character and I enjoyed watching Callie grow and mature throughout the story.

The secondary characters are well developed and I really enjoyed getting to know her mom, her “boss” and recruiter, Indigo, at the government agency, her boyfriend Charlie, who wants them both to go to the same college on the East Coast, and Jasper, a government psychic brought in from New York to work with Callie. Ms. Sabel used all of the secondary characters to give Callie’s character more depth, introduce a romantic element into the story and add emotional angst. They also introduced a light touch of humor and fun into Callie’s life.

The thriller portion of the story is well developed and I enjoyed reading about how Callie used her abilities to “spy” on dangerous enemies. Especially with the type of talent she had. The story’s pace is a little uneven – the story starts out very slowly, but I enjoyed Ms. Sabel’s voice as an author. Overall I thought Ms. Sabel did a good job balancing all of the elements in her story.

Will Callie continue working for the government after she graduates high school? Or will she choose to go to college on the East Coast? And will she have to make a choice between Charlie and Jasper? You’ll have to read Lies I Live By to find out, I enjoyed it and look forward to reading more of Ms. Sabel’s work.… (altro)

A young teen, Callie Sinclair, was at a park with her family and was approached by a man who called himself Indigo. My first thought was he’d lead her away from her family and abduct her. But, no! His intentions were purely for business purposes. He’d been watching her over time and figured out she had psychic abilities. Those strengths were needed for Branch 13, a private company contracted with the CIA. She fast-tracked her last year of school and began working as a psychic spy in a Governmental Internship.

Coordinates are placed in a sealed manila envelope, and each psychic has their own way of navigating their thought process to the area in question. Similar to going into hypnosis, Callie can only describe what she is sensing about the location of the coordinates but is not allowed to give her own opinion about it. Eventually, after Callie begins to piece things together in her mind, she begins to get more involved in the investigation process … taking the initiative on her own.

This starts out with a bang, and it managed to take me on an unexpected path. That’s always a good thing when you want to read a mystery, but you don’t want it ‘cookie cutter’ style. Aspects of this story were highly entertaining, and the characters were amiable. There is a little romance that buds between the pages. At times, I felt the dialogue was weak. The turn of the story became too unreal – kind of like seventeen-year-old girl saves multitude with her psychic ability. This is geared toward YA and teen readers. Rating: 3 out of 5.… (altro)