Please NOTE: I've read the first book, not the set. There isn't a listing for just Book One. I did reach out to the publisher to no avail. So, Origins (Dysfunctional Series) is pure Young Adult. It is quite clean, but still a bit of fun for us older fakkers. Sally, Theo, Reuben, and Jane - all highschoolers, damaged in varying ways; all have unexplained gifts of supernatural substance. When? Recently. How? That bit is explained in a loony farm. The concept - pretty fun. So, Reuben is a loner, Theo the ex-jock, pretty boy, Sally an 'average' girl afraid to be more, and Jane - she has her own story but isn't as integral in Origins. See - total YA. I highly suspect Jane will play a major role and make a foursome as the story continues. As these kids come to terms with their new abilities, they are thrust into a thriller-detective-vampireish conflict that yields a night of zombies, too. There are still loads of questions, relationships to be had, an epic battles to fight. Overall, the story reads quick and is engaging. As stated, I read the first book in this three-book series. I do not know if it gets better or worse as the story continues. 3.7 of 5 Stars. ARC provided by author/publisher. From the Publisher:
Evil comes in all shapes and sizes. It's up to three kids, brought together by extraordinary circumstances, to save their school from a monster hiding in plain sight...before it finds them. When Theo Aldrige loses his family in a gruesome murder, he sinks into a bottomless pit of depression. After a failed suicide attempt, he meets Sally and Reuben - classmates of his who are also in dire straits. Sally is dying of a rare disease that steals her sleep, and Reuben is struggling to relate to the people around him while hiding the darkness of his home life. One day, the three unintentionally discover that they've acquired powers that seem to fix their worst flaws. Where did these abilities come from? And how do they control their newfound powers without being exposed? While trying to make sense of these changes, the new friends come across a disturbing secret in their very own high school. A force of destruction that only Theo, Sally, and Reuben can stop.