1) Trance

     I am reading Trance by Linda Gerber, and am about one-fourth of the way through the book. Basically, the book is about a girl named Ashlyn that has visions of things before they happen. The visions never make sense so she has to figure them out with her sister Kyra, who also has these visions. While in a "trance" they write down a bunch of numbers, and they have no idea what they mean, so they have to try to figure them out. One day Kyra had a vision of Ashlyn and her mom getting in a car accident, but Ashlyn doesn't believe her. Later that day they get into a car accident and the mom dies. Ashlyn blames herself for what happens and so does Kyra. Kyra moves out and Ashlyn is left alone to figure out the strange visions she keeps getting.
    I really like this book! I had to force myself to stop reading until I did a blog post. The book is just so interesting. It's such an easy read and it never gets boring, something interesting is always happening. It starts out by making you ask question that you have to keep reading until you find out. Like how her mom died and what happened between her and this boy Nick, that makes her hate him, but still like him, at the same time. It's so hard to put down. The authors motivation for writing this novel was to  make you realize just because you have something "different" about you, it's nothing to be ashamed about. For Ashlyn, she goes into these trances and everyone thinks she's weird. Even her own parents are ashamed of her and her sister because they had this ability. Kids need someone to relate to if there in this situation. To show you that the something "different" about you might help you in the future. This also could also be the theme of the book.
    My favorite character would have to be Ashlyn or Gina. Gina is a pregnant girl that Ashlyn works with at the mall. She says whatsever on her mind and tells you what she thinks. She just a very real person. At first she is kind of rude and snobby, but after a while she is really nice and you get to know the real Gina. Thats how her character developes over the course of the book. I also like Ashlyn because she has these trances. I feel a lot of empahy for her as well. She only has one friend, her mom is dead, her dad is always traveling for his job, and she is all alone.
   "Even though at the time we didn't understand what kind of power our ability held, we knew. Our gift was no longer a gift. It was a curse." This is an important quote because she realizes her special ability is not something she should be proud of. It something to hide and dread. Something to be ashamed of. Something even her parents are ashamed of. I  have a lot of questions about this book. Will she fall in love with this guy Jake she meet? What happened between her and Nick? What is the trance about? Will the trances ever stop? Will she ever get a hold of Kyra? So many questions, but know I can keep reading.