Review #16: Whisper by Phoebe Kitanidis

Title: Whisper
Author: Phoebe Kitadinis
Release Date: April 27, 2010
Genre: Fiction/Urban Fantasy/YA
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Pages: 320 (Hardcover)
Source: ARC/Editor

Synopsis: I’d love a cup of coffee. I wish she knew how pretty she was. I wish I could drop this kid in the dryer sometimes. I just want her to be happy. I hope she didn’t find out what Ben said about her. I wish I knew how many calories were in a bite of muffin…

Joy is used to hearing Whispers. She’s used to walking down the street and instantly knowing people’s deepest, darkest desires. She uses this talent for good, to make people happy and give them what they want. But for her older sister, Jessica, the family gift is a curse, and she uses it to make people’s lives—especially Joy’s—miserable. Still, when Joy Hears a frightening whisper from Jessica's own mind, she knows she has to save her sister, even if it means deserting her friends, stealing a car and running away with a boy she barely knows—a boy who may have a dark secret of his own.

MY THOUGHTS

Joy would be a normal girl, except for the fact that she Hears Whispers. In other words, she Hears what others desire, their desire-thoughts. In possession of this hereditary gift, Joy likes to make people happy, to give people what they want, which is the opposite of her sister's choice—use it to make people's lives miserable.

Like I have said since I closed this book: I have no words to describe how much I loved it! It is like no other "hearing thoughts" story. It is such a different, criative, unpredictable and well-written story. I dove into this and almost couldn't get off if it wasn't people calling me to do something while I was reading. I was so excited to know what would happen next that I stayed up really late. I needed to know what Joy would say and do next, who she would meet next. Although it is fast-paced, it doesn't sound like the whole story happens in only one weekend. It seems to happen in a longer time! It did surprised me, because the story is not a cliche at all, like the summary might make you wonder.

I am so sure the highest positive point of my identification with this book were the characters and the dialogues—and, as a consequence, the writing style of Phoebe Kitanidis, of course. It made Joy sound like she wasn't only fifteen, but an older, mature person with characteristics of a teenager girl. Oh, I can tell how big her heart is! Even when Jessica aka. Icka, her sister, treats her like a shit—which means always since they weren't kids anymore—, she is a sweet person, until she explodes and tells Icka the worst things she thinks about their relationship she had kept inside, which leaves Joy super-regretful. Besides all that, she still has to deal with her so-called friends and their desire-thoughts, which turn into kind of "evil" ones.

I really don't know if I can talk about J, who Joy barely knows, but steals a car and runs away with him to save her precious sister. I got so excited about it! Although they had once met, they don't completely know each othe, but get into a great, well-developed conversation after some events. They share feelings and things that even Joy's best-friend doesn't know about. J's revelation is a very interesting one. I'd love to learn more about it! Their relationship gets pretty intense in those two days while Phoebe Kitadinis shows us how two people who looks so different can be so much closer than you might think.

The ending doesn't make you think it is going to have a sequel. Not for me. It sounded lovely and peaceful for the situation the characters were in. But I want to know what is going to happen to Joy after all this. And there is going to have a sequel!

Whisper is an amazing debut novel that might make you consider carefully every little attitude you and people around you do. Phoebe Kitadinis has totally proved her writing quality.

Overall: ★★★★★