Miss Invisible - Marie Digby

The Candidates
Delcroix Academy, Book 1

Author: Inara Scott
Pages: 293
Publisher: Hyperion

Description from Goodreads:
Dancia Lewis has a secret: whenever she sees a person threaten someone she cares about, things "happen." Dancia does all she can to stay under the radar, but when recruiters from the prestigious Delcroix Academy offer her a scholarship, she reluctantly accepts.

First Sentence: "He had greasy shoulder-length hair and a stained white T-shirt stretched tightly across his full, round belly."

Review:
The opening scene of the book with Mr. Judan and Cameron coming to Dancia's house to invite her to attend Delcroix Academy totally caught my interest. Why? Because it totally struck me as another version of the Hogwarts letter. It's this mysterious invitation only school. Obviously, something crazy awesome and/or creepy must be going down in there.

I sympathized with Dancia right from the beginning. Partly, this is because I, too, spent my middle school years as an awkward mess noticed by no one, although unlike Dancia, I desperately wanted attention. Mostly, though, the reason I feel for her immediately is because I know what she goes through with her hair. She apparently has the same awful hair I do, namely "half frizz, half ringlets" (32). This kind of hair is the worst. Well, it's definitely better than no hair, but I sure do envy all of you ladies with straight or lightly wavy hair, or curly, non-frizzy hair.

Overall, The Candidates reads like it's marketed to a younger YA crowd. The main characters are mostly freshman (14/15), and they act like it. They are not your sophisticated teens from WB shows at all. Dancia especially retains a lot of youthful naivete and often fails to put together some obvious things.

While I did have a pleasant reading experience, the pacing of the book sometimes seemed a bit questionable. A lot of time would pass without much happening at all, and then everything would happen at once in a rush. In pretty much just one scene, Dancia figures out how to use her powers; she doesn't struggle much at all. That just didn't seem all that realistic; she should have had a proper training sequence, like any good jedi (note: she's not a jedi, but they are referenced in the book).

I'm all set to head into book two later today, and look forward to seeing Dancia grow up some more. Also, I hope she comes to her senses and goes for Jack; I do not trust Cam at all. Recommended to people who like Buffy and the X-Men, and feel like something lighter and fluffier.

Rating: 3/5

Favorite Quote: "'I suppose there's no good answer to that, Danny. I wish there was. But if you take the wrong, path, something deep inside you will feel twisted. There are times when that will be the only way to know the right from the wrong.'"

"There's a girl
Who sits under the bleachers
Just another day eating alone
And though she smiles
There is something just hiding
And she cant find a way to relate
She just goes unnoticed
As the crowd passes by
And she'll pretend to be busy
When inside she just wants to cry"