I don’t know about you, but when I was stuck in my rather boring classes in High School, I would pray something interesting would happen. Anything. Instead, all I got were lectures, and maybe the occasional entertainment in the form of a totally psychotic and evil Physics teacher- total waste of space that man was. If a stapler had launched itself at someone’s face, it would have made my day. So when I began reading Lisette Brodey’s Mystical High, I was amused by the somewhat creepy things that happened within this unusual little school.
The book focuses on two teens, Jessie Dalworth and Jinxsy Patterson. They are juniors, and struggling through the mundane life that is high school. Out of the entire book, Jinxsy was probably my second favorite character. She was sarcastic, brisk, and stubborn. All my favorite traits in a heroine! I found her sarcastic banter, especially with the somewhat antagonist Taylor to be humorous, although I will admit it felt far more immature that it probably should have been. She was a loyal friend to Jessie, despite the craziness in her own life. Who was my favorite character? Hands down it was River. Not only was he a smart ass, but he was a sarcastic, bitter smart ass who could see dead people. Talk about socially awkward! In all honesty he didn’t have a main role in this book, but I found myself enjoying every scene he was in.
I enjoyed the ease of this book, but would not necessarily label it YA. Despite the fact that the main characters are seventeen, I really found the dialogue of this book to be much younger. Especially Jessie and Jinxsy’s treatment of their parents. When Jinxsy finds out her family’s secret, I was actually appalled at the way she treated her parents. I felt that the author went a little to far to make them angry. Will I have no doubt that teenagers are angry, I actually found them to be incredibly rude and ill mannered. Even Jessie’s treatment of her mother, although I will admit deserved, was a bit of a disconnect for me. Their attitudes felt more in line with much younger, perhaps fourteen or fifteen year olds as far as maturity levels.
Despite my disagreement with the character’s maturity level, I thought Brodey did an excellent job keeping the characters consistent throughout the book, as well as having them grow. I believe this is especially true of Jessie as she copes with overcoming her abandonment issues with her mother, as well as coping with her own security. Jessie was probably the most developed, and strongest character within this book, and really acted as the glue that held it together.
The paranormal aspect of this book worked pretty well. Although it was not so much a huge focus, it still existed in the background just enough to keep you wondering. What was it? Who was the guy in the leather jacket? The little snippets of information kept the reader interested through out the story. There was quite the twist at the end that left me a little speechless, but you’re just going to have to read the book to find out what!
There were a few other things that sort of bothered me, but not enough to make me think badly of the book. I thought Taylor’s personality was a bit over the top. I mean I know every high school book has the big bad whore of the school who is intent on making everyone else miserable, but I thought Taylor’s character was just a little too cliche. Santino, despite his over the top personality, amused the crap out of me so I approve of him. He made me giggle. Cabe, well I am not really sure how to feel about him. To be honest, he sort of felt like an afterthought. Like the author needed some sort of romance in the book to make it work, and whipped up Cabe. He really didn’t serve much of a purpose, but that’s just my opinion.
If you are looking for a quick book to keep you entertained, Mystical High is a good pick. While I can’t say it drew me in, it did amuse me. Click the links below to find out more about Lisette Brodey’s Mystical High.
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About the Author:
Lisette Brodey was born and raised in Pennsylvania. After high school, she moved to New York City where she attended Pace University and studied drama. After ten years in New York, several of them working in the radio industry, she moved to Los Angeles, where she held various positions at Paramount Studios in Hollywood and CBS Studio Center in Studio City, CA.
Back on the East Coast, she worked for many years as a freelance writer, specializing in PR and the entertainment industry. In 2010, she returned permanently to the Los Angeles area.
Her first-published book, CROOKED MOON (General Fiction) was published in both the trade paperback and Kindle editions in 2008. Her first-written, second-published book, SQUALOR, NEW MEXICO (Young Adult/General Fiction) was published in the Kindle and trade paperback versions in 2009.
Her third novel, MOLLY HACKER IS TOO PICKY!, a romantic comedy, was published December 1, 2011. The author blogged as her character, Molly Hacker, for over a year. All blogs can be found at http://www.mollyhacker.com.
In January 2013, the author edited and published a book of her mother’s poetry (written 50 years earlier) called MY WAY TO ANYWHERE by Jean Lisette Brodey.
Lisette’s fourth novel, MYSTICAL HIGH, is the first book in her YA Paranormal Desert Series trilogy.
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