Featured Review: Prophase: A Present Tale by Mitchel Street

[LivreAmour217]

I just downloaded this book to my iPhone and I will begin reading it after I finish up my latest review. I am really looking forward to experiencing this story, it sounds great.

[Chrystal]

Stacie's review was informative and revealed enough detail, it is as if I've already read it in novella form.

[ALynnPowers]

I read this!!!! I'm waiting until November to say anything though because I want to comment during BOTM. I wonder if we will be allowed to have a new thread for BOTM?

[Illustrator]

From the San Francisco Book Review
Piper Walker is an average 17 year old girl. She spends much of her home life trying to avoid the wrath of her alcoholic and chronically under-employed father. She adores her younger brother, Charlie, whom she has raised since her mother died of cancer. Her closest confidante – other than her best friend, Lisa – is Esther, the elderly lady next door who fills the role of surrogate grandmother. And of course there’s Jazz, Esther’s aged cat, who spends every night with Piper despite her father’s best effort to keep him out of the house. The best part of her day is the time she spends in rehearsal with her band. She loves playing bass and singing, along with Lisa, Piper’s boyfriend Chris and Lisa’s boyfriend Josh. Yes, Piper Walker is a very average teenage girl.
Piper’s world changes on her 18th birthday. What starts as a normal day quickly goes awry when she arrives at school: suddenly she can see auras. Not just people’s auras, everything’s auras – trees, animals, everything. This is followed by the disorienting problem of suddenly exhibiting superpowers. As Piper desperately tries to understand the swirls of color and enhanced physical abilities now overwhelming her world, she realizes it’s not a problem she can discuss with friends or family. After all, they would think she’s crazy. Right?||But they would be wrong, because Piper isn’t crazy. She’s becoming a Guardian.
Written for a primarily young adult audience, Mitchel Street’s urban fantasy Prophase is a fun, well-written and intense novel of good and evil. The characters are interesting and believable, especially Piper, who has to struggle with her typical teenage angst even as her powers and abilities blossom. Street is a master of description, and the reader will be swept up in Piper’s new life, carried forward by the strange and wonderful world which Piper must master – or die.

[Sshowers01]

Sci-fi/fantasy is not the genre of book I normally go for, but the review for this book is actually interesting. I'm going to start reading it today!

[ALynnPowers]

Has anyone noticed that when you scroll your mouse over the banner at the top, the cat's eyes turn brown?? It's freaking me out, but in a good way!

[kio]

great review, added to my list.

[ejcogan]

Sounds good.. I will definitely be reading this and if appropriate, I will pass it on to my daughter. Thanks for the review!

[Illustrator]

You gotta read this book.
From US Review of books
reviewed by Carol Davala


"The grandest form of light is love. Life, love, and light are all the same."

In the opening of Prophase, a young woman gives birth to a child in the forest. It is the vernal equinox: "a neutral moment" and the start of something new. Next we meet Piper Walker, a likeable high school senior. With the death of her mother, Piper has had to grow up fast. While helping to parent her younger brother, Charlie, she has also buffered the anger of an abusive, drinking father. This over-burdened teen finds solace in her love of nature and music. She considers the latter her "first language." Piper also garners a deep connection with her elderly neighbor, Esther, and her mystical, Lynx Point Siamese, Jazz. As Piper deals with the expected drama of high school (i.e. strained friendships and heartbreak), an unusual chain of events brings about strange occurrences. Soon Piper realizes an unforeseen rebirth into a new destiny: One that is rooted in ancient history, ensconced with the conflict of enemy forces.


It is within this new dimension that the author demonstrates his true literary prowess. Here, he presents a world where emotion and thought are radiated in visuals of color and light. While adolescence is often a time for change, Street effectively highlights Piper's metamorphosis. Suddenly her looks are refined to perfection, her senses sharpened, and her abilities heightened. Training and guidance from other-worldly individuals, all enveloped in metallic auras, will help Piper understand her relative powers and potential. Here, rapid speed and intercontinental transport bring to mind the supernatural abilities of characters from the renowned Twilight series. Like Edward and Bella, love will follow Piper into this new realm.

Pared to its bare essence, Street has written a modern day, coming-of-age tale filled with all the drama, tears, and angst that typify the teenage years. What makes this work truly special is in the author's ability to intricately weave components of art, science, and nature into a fantastical and engaging read. Here the passionate blend appears a fine balance. While the book might seem geared for a young adult audience, Street's knowledge in crafting an interesting plot, as well as imaginative and well-developed characters within a fluid and beautifully descriptive narrative, will undoubtedly attract a broader range of readers.

Growing up in Wisconsin near the shores of Lake Michigan, it is evident that Street draws on much of his own background for his vivid storytelling. With an adoptive menagerie that has included dogs, cats, frogs, birds, and even butterflies, his own love of flora and fauna clearly plays out in Piper's character. Her natural affinity for the outdoors and bond to the forest outside her home directly speaks to the author's own familiarities.

There is a talented partnership in the pairing of John Robert's watercolors and Street's artful prose. As a practicing architect and self-taught artist, the illustrations in Prophase represent Robert's first complete collection. There is a lovely, ethereal quality about the work that is ideally matched to Street's painterly, literary style. Whether images are reflections of natural elements like cell division, spiraling waves, or a sleek jungle cat, or they correspond directly to a chapter's narrative, like the potent cups of tea shared by Piper and Esther and the jeweled dragonfly necklace that Street incorporates as a talisman to offer protection and serve as a mask between the two worlds, all are rendered with a delicate hand.

"Time suspended as I serenaded the oils, ridiculously trying to capture the flower's essence. I was smitten with color and contrast." Here Street eloquently voices Piper's contemplation of her newly discovered artistic talents, as Robert translates the exotic, tropical bird of paradise in gentle shades of orange, coral and green. In this world of light, color, and auras, life is simply entwined within a symphony of hues. Prophase is just the beginning. Hopefully in Metaphase and Anaphase, the coming installments of the Mitosis trilogy, Street will continue to grace readers with the intrinsic, literary beauty surrounding Piper's newly dimensional path.

RECOMMENDED by the USR

[TrishaAnn92]

I am definitely gonna have to read this! This book sounds amazing.

[TammyO]

Great Reviews! This title is not a genre I would normally read. However, I purchased a copy for my daughter and myself. I cant' wait to finish reading it! So far we are enjoying it..

[lizj97]

I'm reading this book now. It is excellent so far; not hard to get into and pulls you into the story plot right from the beginning. I will come back and do a more complete review when I finish the book.

[Erich_gray]

Bought the kindle version. I love the review. It reminds me alot of our family minus the abusive father. We live next to forest with miles of trails, a river and the kids and I prefer spending as much time there than at the house. Along with a cat, its adventurous.

I havnt begun reading the book yet as I am working on two books presently, but as said before, it has caught my eyes and will be reading it in the near future.

Thanks for the review. It was great!! Enjoyed it!

Erich

[jgreen11]

This review put me off a little, I'll have to admit. There have been so many stories of magic and fantasy that I feel they all blend togther after a point. However, when I continued reading everyone else's praise, including the review from the USR, I was a little more intrigued. Perhaps I will read this book of the month and get to know Piper and her adventures.

[Illustrator]

New discussion topic.
What is your favorite quote?

Thanks