Overcast

The 01:23 Bardo #1

by Ryan O'Riordan

Rebecca Conner has sleepwalked through life since her older brother went missing while surfing. She frequently escapes into her daydreams where they secretly work together as detectives, in order to keep his memory alive. When Freddie, a boy she doesn't recognise appears in her class like he has always been there, she realises the world is changing without anybody noticing. Then one night at 01:23am, her own life changes forever when everything she imagined overwrites the true life she knew.

300 pages, Paperback

First published November 11, 2011

Reviews

[Ken · Rating 4 out of 5]

Note: I was given a copy of this book by the author.

Overcast is the first book in The 01:23 Bardo series by young British author, Ryan O'Riordan. It is an exciting adventure with an element of mystery and reminiscence of Enid Blyton's The Famous Five series but updated for the modern audience.

In Overcast, Rebecca Conner has spent the last 3 years grieving the lost of her brother Ben. Instead of moving on with her life, she imagines her brother is hiding from a notorious London Mob Boss named Frank Magnus and the two of them are secretly working together to bring Magnus down.

Rebecca was content with her made up world but one night she is hit by a car and suddenly everything Rebecca dreamt became real. She learns that Magnus has taken Ben and he's also sent a hitman after her. Rebecca must now take the fight to Magnus in London and bring her brother back.

O'Riordan does great characterisation with truly developed and believable characters. Rebecca is a convincingly strong character and despite everything thrown at her in an unfamiliar world, she still puts on a brave face and get through them. To help support Rebecca in her journey, she is joined by her best friend and the pseudo-new kid Freddie. The trio shows a wonderful chemistry together and forms an incredible crime solving team.

Towards the end of the book, Rebecca notices that not all is quite right in her made up world and there seems to be other forces at work in shaping the world...

Overall Overcast is an excellent and exciting book with likeable characters. If you like adventure with a bit of mystery then definitely give this book a go.

(Reposted from http://www.paperlessreading.com/2011/...)

[Gabby (What's Beyond Forks?) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rebecca's daydreams enable her to escape into her own little world and ignore the fact that her brother is missing. In her mind, they are solving mysteries and beating the bad guys, but most importantly they are together again. As things from her imagination start to happen, reality and fantasy begin to mesh together. The unfolding of the story is a fun little fantasy all it's own. Who hasn't wanted to escape reality and live in their daydreams at one time or another? I never really figured out what was real and what was not when it was all said and done, but I do have a theory or two as to what I think could be happening. I guess we'll have to see as the series progresses. Overcast is an entertaining mystery that takes you on an adventure that doesn't stop just because the book ends.

Full Review at: What's Beyond Forks?

[Kerri Carlson twin Martin]

Lost interest.