Sophie's Secret

Whispers #1

by Tara West

After shedding 30 pounds of baby fat, Sophie Sinora has grown into a pretty, but insecure, teen in bloom. To make her life more complicated, Sophie can sometimes read minds.

Sophie's BFFs, AJ and Krysta, are also 'gifted' with paranormal abilities. Keeping their gifts secret proves difficult, as their powers are strengthening, making them feel more and more like freaks.

When Sophie falls for Jacob, she hopes he'll ask her out to the Freshman Formal. But when she's forced to cheat and lie for him, she wonders how far she'll have to go to make him like her. Add to her growing list of problems - her teacher's suicidal thoughts, a locker bully who wants to kick her butt, the hot school flirt who won't stop teasing her, her pregnant sister who boots Sophie out of her room, and the growing tension between Sophie and her best friends.

Sophie's got issues. Hopefully, she can fix them in time to save her teacher's life and her social life.

Genres: Young Adult, Paranormal, Romance, Fantasy, Ebooks, Paranormal Romance, Fiction

124 pages, Kindle Edition

First published December 5, 2007

About the author

Tara West writes books about dragons, witches, and handsome heroes while eating chocolate, lots and lots of chocolate. She's willing to share her dragons, witches and heroes. Keep your hands off her chocolate.

Tara West's young adult and new adult romances have been Kindle bestsellers. A former high school English teacher, Tara is now a full-time writer and graphic artist. She enjoys spending time with her family, interacting with her fans, and fishing the Texas coast.

Hang out with her on her Facebook fan page at: https://www.facebook.com/tarawestauthor
Keep up with her latest news at: www.tarawest.com
She loves to hear from her readers at: tara@tarawest.com

Reviews

[Nour · Rating 1 out of 5]

Okay, I get it. The book is supposed to reflect a reality that we have in our highschools and which make me hate highschool A LOT (more than I already hate it), then why would I want to read a book that talks about that - during my vacation - that would remind me of how much I fucking hate highschool? Well, I guess that means it is my problem and I shouldn't be rating the book so low if I have problems right? But people don't escape reality into books just to read more about it, especially into paranormal books like this one. People escape reality to read so they won't be reminded TOO much about it. Let's face it, I don't like to read books that don't have that realistic side, but seriously, this book was too much. It just drove me crazy.

First of all - the slut shaming.
Apparently, these kids think that sleeping with a guy qualifies a girl to become a slut while the guy can fool around all he wants and gets cheers from his friends. This has GOT to stop. And I don't think that putting this slut shaming in a young adult book helps at all. People have to refuse the idea that sleeping with a guy makes the girl a slut. It is none of anybody's business. If she wants to sleep with someone, it is her fucking vagina and then it is her business. NOT YOURS.

Second - the sexism, and the gender issue.
"A girl shouldn't be on a football field" Seriously? I said it before, and I will say it now. These things have GOT TO stop and putting it in a young adult book (meaning it is designed for teenagers) does NOT help at all with this issue. It only encourages it. And trust me, everyone within my age range who drools over young adult books (I do not drool over YA books, except maybe the pretty covers) is NOT mature enough or responsible enough to know that these things are wrong. He/she might go and do that in their community.
The gender issue? Well let's see, if a girl has a rough voice and short hair then her gender is not known anymore? That she isn't feminine enough for everyone? That you fucking need to go around labeling her as "he" or "it" ? Seriously? How does that fucking help? Being like that is NOT wrong. not everyone should just rise up to our twisted society's standards.

Third - the confidence issue, and the revenge.
So Sophie is a girl facing a confidence issue whose friend AJ always has to defend her and stand up to her, but I fail to see why getting back at someone is her way of getting over her fear. What she did was looooow. Very LOW . Instead of teaching kids that they have to stand up for themselves, you are teaching teenagers that it is better to avenge and to stoop low towards your agressor's level? ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME? Instead of teaching them to defend themselves, you tell them to fucking throw the first punch and deal with the consequences later? LOL YOLO , right? Is that how you make a person responsible? Is that how you shape a kid? I know that life is full of disappointment and getting back at someone tastes really good but there are better ways than what she did. She was right, and now she becomes the wrong one.
Throughout the book, Sophie only wants to become "popular" and "cool" and that's how the book ends, with Sophie getting what she wants. Seriously? That's your advice for teenagers? That you should aim high for popularity? I fail to see where that will lead her. Only a huge social life with her grades going low because she has no time, only time to fucking fix herself, and go out with people who won't remember her when she's in need.

Fourth - The fat issue, and the you-are-fucking-wrong-if-you-think-that-you-should-be-yourself issue.
This is just like the slut shaming. The author is only trying to teach kids that being herself IS WRONG. That she needs to dump a lot of what she herself is to stand up to people's expectations, and to be noticed. Okay, maybe losing weight is good. Less diseases bla bla bla. but putting this one aside, I fail to see how not being herself can really help her. It would just MAKE HER FAKE! And if you are a mother, would you want your child to become FAKE? Seriously? You told her to lose every part of who she is - even if Frankie complimented her on being her later (which wasn't actually her anymore) - just to be able to be noticed and rise on the food chain. Is that what you want to teach your kids? She highlighted her hair at this young age - which I would never approve of especially for my own children - she lost weight, changed her dressing habits, wore lots of make up to hide a bruise that she got for not paying attention to the ball (NOT HER FAULT), and eventually, wait... where is the point of the book? That popularity is better? That trying to be "cool" is better? Let us see how that will shape Sophie in the future, how much a better person that will make her in 10 years time. Okay, Sophie is a character that doesn't exist, but any idiot reading this book and working by it (since teenagers today are really stupid) will fail to have a proper future. Okay, I am probably blaming the author too much... but seriously. After all of that venting, I think I have rated the book a bit too much.

Oh, and the writing style sucks as hell. Too lame.

[Heather andrews · Rating 5 out of 5]

So Frankie, he's a character I loved him was totally Team Frankie through out the whole book, did I like Jacob no, so let's focus on Frankie and how much I was Team Frankie. "Don't worry about him." He winked and handed back the bottle. "He'll get over it." Why was I not Team Jacob you ask well let's see him wanting Sophie to do his test is a no-no that is totally a turn off, "Use my pen if you need to change anything. Try not to write like a girl." What an a** right? Now let's talk about Sophie's sister, would I give up my room for mine that is a hell to the no people, "Yeah. I have to give up my bedroom." No I wouldn't do it, I would say suffer. I like when Sophie starts questioning certain feelings for certain boys it shows that the girl does have a brain and can I don't know make smart decisions, "I quickly pulled my hand away and arched back. I saw why so many girls had fallen for Frankie Salas. The boy was magic, pure magic." Also Sophie has a temper and I truly enjoyed watching her crack and break when it came time, "Not my concern?" I couldn't contain the bitterness in my voice. "I gave up my room. She wakes me up all night with her bladder. I can't even do my homework in peace! And this is none of my concern." Frankie really got brownie points in a certain scene, "Frankie has the hots for you. He was the first one to get to you when you were hit." I really did like this book.

[Tracy O’Sing · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great teen read.. The author wrote a realistic and believable story about 3 teenage girls and their secret.. Although the secrets are in the fantasy/ paranormal genre, The author was still able to write with awesome details about the life of a teenage girl her bff's the highs and lows of High school, not to
Forget the HOTTIE, the Nottie or the Snottie...
I enjoyed that the author didn't just write about the normal teenage angst but actually included some great morals ( things I want my daughter to learn).

A fantastic quick read that has left me wanting more.. S+F = more please...
Would recommend this book to all fans teen and adult alike..

[Maki ⌒☆ · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought I would like this book a lot more than I actually did. It just didn't sit right with me.

For starters, the main characters have magical powers (telepathy, foresight, and the ability to see ghosts), but they don't control when their powers activate. Granted, over the course of the book they sort of grow into their powers and gain more control over them, but accidental telepathy?

I didn't like a single character in this book. They were all terrible people. Even Sophie, who's supposed to be the character we're rooting for. She gets bullied by the most popular girl in school, so her reaction to make everything right is to one-up that bullying. It didn't even feel like vindication. It just felt mean.

The depressed teacher should clearly have been in some sort of therapy. It doesn't take mind-reading powers to know when someone is depressed. Any human with any amount of empathy should be able to notice when a person is that depressed. But nobody stops to ask her what's wrong, or if she needs help. And the solution to all of her problems is not to ask the teacher to get help dealing with the death of her family, but to throw more responsibility on her in the form of a pregnant college student. Because stress is exactly what severely depressed people need!

The one thing I liked about this book was the relationship between Sophie and Frankie. Frankie might actually be the only character I didn't want to bludgeon. He was incredibly mature for only being 14-years-old, and was able to recognize the effort Sophie put into changing her image. However, even THAT doesn't matter. The book ends, and the very first chapter of the next one you're given as a preview completely obliterates anything that might have been built towards Frankie making Sophie a better person. So much for that.

I understand what this book was *trying* to do...it just kinda failed at that. Completely. This book doesn't show kids how to be understanding about others' differences. How can it, when all of the "different" characters (Mr. "Pick-and-Flick", "the Beast", etc...) spend the entire book being ridiculed by the main character herself?

[Jailen Bernier · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sophies Secret by Tara West is about a girl named Sophie who over the summer she lost 30 pounds of baby fat and became pretty but her and her two bffs AJ and Krysta have more problems she can read minds and her friends can see in to the furture and the othr one can see dead spirtes.She likes this guy named jacob but he doesn't like her back and he makes her cheat on tests for him. But finnaly she relizes what he's doing and puts a stop to it and then in her algebra class she doesn't get the equtions so the teacher has the hottest guy in school toter her and he falls in love wit her and he invites her to the dance and she excepts.so they go together. I really liked this book because there's romance in it and I would recommend this book because its a good book.

[Leanne Duggan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just read this today. There is a story there but I'm still waiting for something to happen! When I finished it, I was left wondering was that it? Not sure if ill move onto the second book!

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I generally avoid reading self-published works, particularly those on Smashwords. The few I have tried have been full of grammatical and spelling errors, and their plots and characters have suffered from not having had a professional editor’s pen taken to them. For example, read the first few pages of Addison Moore’s self-published book, Ethereal. Moore uses many words incorrectly or inappropriately – preface, preclude, pliable, to name a few in the first paragraph -- creates meaningless sentences, and contradicts herself from paragraph to paragraph. An editor would have sorted out her messes and the final product would have been far superior. But some writers have better editorial instincts than others, and one of those is Tara West.

The writing in Sophie’s Secret (a more original title would have been nice – at least six other books titled Sophie’s Secret have been published in the past few years) is more polished than in most self-pubs, likely because the author is a former high school teacher. Still, though the book is free of errors and reads easily, and though the main character is likable, I wasn’t swept away by the story. Several things grew tiresome: the nose-picking incidents, the constant reminder that being 30 pounds overweight is a tragedy – yes, I understand how image conscious teens are, but usually when someone loses enough weight to become attractive in their own eyes, they don’t continue to beat themselves up over what they used to look like – and the fact that the supernatural powers of the three girls rarely contribute anything of significance to the plot. In most cases, Sophie, the mind-reader, can’t act on what she sees in someone’s mind because it would violate their privacy and/or expose her “gift”. So like anyone without the ability to read minds, she simply waits until there’s an opportunity to have a heart to heart private talk with someone. And sometimes, it’s just plain unnecessary: When a teacher starts to cry and races from the classroom, you don’t need special powers to know she’s upset. I also wasn’t fond of West’s use of the name “Jacob Flushman” for Sophie’s big crush. While it’s a legitimate last name, “Flushman” immediately prejudices the reader against him and, given the negative opinions of her best friends and later, Jacob’s own actions (including repeatedly manipulating Sophie into cheating for him), the reader never develops the least amount of sympathy for him, and Sophie’s lingering crush makes her appear clueless and not a little pathetic. (Speaking of names, when Sophie transfers from one class to another, she goes from having quirky Mr. Steinberg as a teacher to having Mrs. Stein. Sure, that could happen, but it would have been better to have more cleanly separated the oddball from the normal teacher by giving the latter her own name. As it was, I was expecting Mrs. Stein to have her own set of loopy idiosyncrasies.)

Overall though, and strictly as a young teen romance, Sophie’s Secret does fairly well. It’s lightweight yet still has several satisfying tender moments (like the gradual thawing of Sophie’s relationship with her sister and the resolution of Mrs. Stein’s problem). Not being a big fan of Sophie’s two best friends, the other girls with supernatural powers, I might not read the sequels (Don’t Tell Mother and Krysta’s Curse), but I would recommend Sophie’s Secret as a way to pass a few pleasant hours.

A final comment: The cover for this book (and its sequels) was designed by the author herself. It is very attractive and far nicer than most self-published works. In fact, it turns out that Tamra Westberry (the author's cover artist name) is quite an accomplished designer with dozens of book covers to her credit. Visit her website to take a look through her galleries or to have her design your book's cover: www.tarawest.com.

[Richard Sommery-Gade · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great coming of age book for young adults. It deals with all the problems that kids making the transition from grade school to high school encounter especially if they are the youngest member of the family of high achieving girls, who have gone on to be both popular and successful in school and work. Daunting enough in those things alone, but add a weight problem during middle school with the attendant name calling, it's enough to make it an almost impossible mountain to climb, even though you have turned into a swan in the transition.
Even though our heroine has special talents that her steadfast friends enjoy as well, all of them have troubled home lives which shows that these extra gifts are not, in and of themselves enough to overcome the trials of emerging into the adult world. A great book that is thoughtfully written, by someone who I believe has probably experienced the pain that is portrayed here so vividly. This would be a nice gift to any teenager who is struggling with the normal drama that life throughs at them, that they feel their parents simply wouldn't understand. 5 Stars in my book without any hesitation.

[Kenechi Udogu · Rating 3 out of 5]

True rating - 2.5

I hate to give this book a poor rating especially when the idea is pretty good but I couldn't lie to myself and say I liked it. The characters were so fickle, it was worrying at times. When Sophie inferred that she was better than someone in her school because her parents didn't work at KMart, then went on to call Tyler a beast (especially after Sophie had been bullied before for being overweight), I prayed West would write some redeeming qualities for the girls but this never happened. Real shame though because, as I said before, the idea was good and a lot of the scenes were sweet and made me smile. I just couldn't get over how obsessed they were with being pretty or how awful they were about other people. Also some explanation about how three friends could develop visions, mind reading abilities and ghost seeing powers out of nowhere (thankfully not all the same person) would have been good.

[Jessy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I pretty much love this book. It's about a girl named Sophie who can read minds. She spends most of her time with her friends who have gifts too, AJ can see visions and Krysta gets visits from the dead. After lossing 30 pound Sophie wants to reinvent herself for her crush, Jacob. After watching her sister make a mistake by dating Chad and after her friend told her that he wasn't right for her she finally forgot about Jacob and moved on to Frankie. In the end she goes with him to a dance where they kiss.
The only problem I found in this book is that the ending was extremely predictable. I didn't see many twist and truns that took me by suprise. But over all, this is a great book for pre- teens, teens, and anyone who likes happy endings.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although it was mostly written well, some bits didn't seem to make sense. It's like West just wanted more words. Things Sophie wouldn't know, such as the fact AJ (halfway through the book) swore when she put the phone down crop up. And it's from her point of view.
I can't put my finger on what was lacking in characterization. I really did expect the gifts to have more of an impact on their characterization & to play quite a part. Maybe I was expecting tons of action? I didn't get it. It's a real example of a book that is passive for more than half of it. I do love Lara though...
The second half does redeem the book & I shall read the other Whispers books because I think the action won't be quite as belated in them! Bring on a stunning climax (or two)!

[Mandy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like this book. I finished this book within two days. I love how the author engaged me into the story. There are moments in the story where I was like, why, Sophie, why, that's just stupid! Being able to make the reader feel something, even if it's anger, is an achievement for the author. I feel that as the story reaches its climax and turning point, Sophie started to learn what is important and to be able act rightly. I love that the ending turned out to be perfectly romantic as I like it to be. One point that I dislike about this book is when Sophie turned around and said was being mean to Jacob. Sophie could just treat Jacob as normal, and just stop cheating for him, and not say the mean things about him, or tease him.

[Wanda Hartzenberg · Rating 3 out of 5]

The plot moves fast and smooth and that is a major plus for the story.
However...
Most of the book is written to establish the characters for the rest of the series, nothing wrong with that.
However....
Sophie at times together with her friends seems mean. In fleshing them out they come across as bratty.
This is not continual and in fiction it is a given that three girls with powers will end up in the same town, school and be bff's.
Their personal dramas is the pivot point of this book and at times I would have preferred more bang and less drama.
The way the story is written though I am convinced that the rest of the series will produce exactly that!

WaAr

[Jenna · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars
Sophie Senora en her Buff’s all have a gift they don’t know how it works or how they got it.
Now Sophie has lost 30 pounds and but she still feels like she’s overweight.
Sophie sometimes get’s glances off people thoughts, she can’t control who she hears and lately her gift is developing.

She is in love with Jacob but he wants her to cheat on the tests for him. Is he really that nice?

This was an o.k. I feel that the paranormal aspect could have been more worked out. More special just more. The characters were kind off plain, yes they have lots of emotion but I still didn't feel it.

[Raven · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sophie's Secret is the first book in the Whispers series by Tara West. This book focuses on Sophie, but also introduces us to her two best friends AJ and Krysta. In this book, we learn that Sophie and her two best friends have secrets. We learn what their secrets are. We learn about Sophie, her secret, how she deals with it and uses it, and her innermost desires. It is a sweet story filled with crushes and revelations. For those who love the YA genre, you won't want to pass up this book or the series.

[Joana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lol. this book was so clichéd I can't even explain it. They use words like "dork" and "cool". And the boy is a football star, there's the mean popular girl, there's the loser, there's the valedictorians, and there's the mean teachers. I should give this 2 stars, at most. But you know, it's a Friday, it's been a long week, it was free, and you know what, I kind of enjoyed it. hahaha I might even read the next one.

[Gordon Howard · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book enjoyable. After reading the book description, I was a little disappointed in the book because I thought that the unique 'talents' of all three girls would play a larger role in the plot but the book focuses almost entirely on Sophie's skills. That aside, the book pretty much reflects high school relationships and the ending makes the book well worth the read.

[Johanna Sawyer · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought the book overall was pretty good but wasn't really sure about the reading minds or dreaming of future/ seeing the dead parts. It didn't really fit and it wasn't necessary. I have a feeling that authors sometimes put there works out there with unnecessary stuff so they can add their title to more genres to attract more readers.

[Sheri · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is the begining to a series that will leave you wanting more. Three teens trying to live a normal teenage life while discovering the meaning behind their powers. This series is one that you will want to follow to the end.

[Heidi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I truly enjoyed this book. I think it is a great book for young readers. Not only does it have good characters, but it also has some great advice for young readers on handling situations like bullies.

[Roy Huff · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a good book if you like coming of age paranormal romance. My only complaint was that I wanted to see more paranormal aspects and develop more of the supernatural abilities. Aside from that, it was an enjoyable read, and I look forward to reading more from this author.

[Violet-Elisabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

. . . Nope. . . don't get me started.
I mean i did like the book but I hated how when I clicked on every page because this was on my kindle, that I had a thought of what the book brought me back to.

[Diane · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wish I could have liked this book, & I hate to give negative reviews, but this book felt like it took eons to read. Wasn't for me

[Paula · Rating 4 out of 5]

Young teens begin high school. Learning to deal with bullies, crushes, and their individual 'special' powers. Good book for teen reading!

[Abi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actual rating - 3.5

[Britt · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is the third book in a row I've reviewed that has been trash. My poor rating average is suffering and I. Am. Salty.
I was torn between giving this book one or two stars. At first, I was going to be generous and give it two. But after the ending, which royally pissed me off, and the fact that this is my THIRD dud in a row, I decided that I'm too pissed off for mercy.
***SPOILERS FROM HERE ON OUT***
This book was extremely disappointing. The summary made it SOUND LIKE it would be a neat paranormal story. But NO. The "powers" that Sophie and her friends, AJ and Krysta, possess make up like 1% of the entire plot. There wasn't even a backstory as to why Sophie and her unrelated friends all possess different powers. Basically, the story was just normal high school stuff...with the fact that Sophie and her friends have 'powers' sort of in the back of the readers' mind. You know how the title is "Sophie's Secret"? Yeah, well, the title is pretty much irrelevant. The entire story is wish-washy and not at all in-depth with detail—in fact, once you read the summary, you basically know the entire plot. Except for the exaggerated emphasis on the powers, of course.
Sophie is a fourteen year old Freshman who has a crush on, not one, but TWO 9th grade boys, Jacob and, uh...Frankie (I had to go back and check the book because I'd already forgotten his name). Because, you knows it's not a young adult novel without a shitty love triangle. Anyways, despite the fact that these boys are 14, and all 14 year olds look like fucking five year olds, Sophie gushes on and on about them as if they're freaking supermodels. There's a part towards the beginning where Sophie pretty much goes Gaga for Jacob's "8th grade body." Seriously, I think she gushes about Jacob's thighs (not his eyes, not his lips, his THIGHS), for ten pages. It's a 130 page book. So apparently Jacob's "strong, thick thighs" are worthy of talking about for 7.7% of the plot. Which is 7.7% too much. And pretty much the only in-depth reason Sophie gives for liking Jacob is that he used to be overweight, just like her.
But, as it turns out, Jacob is a douche. Except, between her 'Supernatural power' (which is mentioned perhaps three or four times, despite taking up half the summary), dealing with a knocked up older sister, a suicidal teacher, and befriending the school 'slut who isn't really a slut,' it takes poor little Sophie 90% of the plot to figure this out. When she finally DOES figure this out, she runs straight into little Frankie's arms. Big surprise there.
Side Note: now I'm thinking about Frankie Valli and have Sherry stuck in my head.
Oh, and did I mention that Sophie is literally the WHINIEST bitch on the planet? I mean, seriously. I get it, she's fourteen and, like, teenage hormones are a thing, but I don't remember complaining that much when I was fourteen—granted that was forever ago back in 2012. If I was, though? I give my fellow time travelers permission to travel back to 2012 and shoot me in the fucking face. Because Jesus. Fuck the fact that her friend is going through a rough time, her sister is pregnant, or her teacher is FUCKING SUICIDAL. Because it's all about Sophie!
Seriously though, Sophie (what's her last name again? I don't even know) is a giant fucking bitch. When she finds out that her older sister gets pregnant, her first thought is not about how Rose Marie is going to support herself or her babies financially. It's "MY GOD, BUT SHE TOOK MY ROOM, I WANT MY ROOM BACK!" When she finds out that Jacob, her crush, is spreading rumors about a girl sleeping with him, she not only denies the rumors, she DEFENDS JACOB'S SLUT-SHAMING because he is her "crush." ANNNNNND, as for the grand finale, you want to know what Sophie does in order to "stand up" to Summer Powers, the school 'bitch'?
She doesn't confront Summer verbally.
She doesn't go to a teacher.
She doesn't tell her parents.
In order to get back at a girl she sorta dislikes, Sophie prints out a picture of Summer picking her nose and HANGS. IT. ON. HER. LOCKER. FOR THE ENTIRE FUCKING SCHOOL TO SEE.
AND SHE BRAGS ABOUT PUBLICALLY HUMILIATING SUMMER.
That is the kind of fucking shit that makes kids develop anxiety and makes them kill themselves. So, hey. Thanks, Sophie!
Oh yeah, and can we please talk about the fact that Sophie's pregnant sister moves in with her suicidal teacher??? What the actual living fuck was that.
...
God.
I would go on, but I think I'm drained. One more bad review and I think my brain might explode.
Anyways, I think y'all get my point.
This book sucked and Sophie is trash.

[Larissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sophie's Secret

[...] 3 friends with unusual abilities: seeing/talking to the dead, an oracle of sorts and a mind reader. This series –pack– will deliver each view and their drama. Sophie's the mind reader and a young girl with blossoming powers. Her drama will become annoying at some point but it was a nice kinda message in the world of teenagers: deal with emotional, family and scholar drama. And the most important: acceptance. Obviously, there will be romance and other friendships. But be ready to deal with incomplete love triangle and the school hottie bitch.

Don't Tell Mother

[...] an emotional roller coaster to our toughest girl, AJ. Her insecurities and drama will come full force and the reasons behind some fights will come to light.
You are used to our Sophie, the mind reader; AJ, the psychic; and Krysta the ghost whisperer. Now it's time to meet two other characters with amazing abilities as well: granny and mommy. But until this wreck of abilities come to light expect teen drama at absurd proportions. And teen love, obviously.

Krista's Curse

[...] We will finally take a step forward into seeing Krysta's life as a ghost whisperer. She has a lot to learn and many turn to make in order to accept herself in full, and to finally stare at death differently. Obviously, there will be tons of dead people roaming around her, but this couple and a murdered victim will weight heavier on her. But her alive life is just as busy. And to not lose the thrill of teenage drama: do expect a very difficult relationship start to blossom.

You can catch it in full on ♀Bookworm. Link shows the review on book 3, Krista's Curse with links to previous books: 'Dont tell mother' and 'Sophie's Secret'

[Shawn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sophie and her two best friends have something in common, they all have special powers: Sophie can read minds, AJ has visions of the future and Krysta can interact with ghosts.

Newly skinny Sophie is beginning her Freshman year a whole new person, but she's still carrying the baggage of self-loathing she picked up as a "fat girl." On top of this, the cute guy in school that she has a crush on keeps asking her to break the rules for him.

It starts with a scene entirely meant to shock the reader, making it sound like the three girls are talking about sex instead of their powers, but it's a conversation that they would have had when they first found out about each other, so it's there for no valid reason other than to confuse the reader, so, I mean, I'm kind of mad at it from the outset. Sophie uses her telepathy rather willy nilly when it furthers the plot, but never when it would further the plot too much, basically she never uses it when she should.

These are only a few of the things wrong with the story, culminating in a cruel revenge plot that makes her as much the villain as the person she retaliates against, but it's got just enough teen angst and the little guy winning that it's thoroughly enjoyable. I wouldn't call this a great book, it has a lot of flaws, but all in all, it was a light easy read. I'm kind of up in the air on whether I'm going to continue with the series.

[Ruth B · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've had this book on my reader for years (yes! YEARS) and I started to read it accidentally and it was great! It was a nice surprise, Sophie's Secret is an entertaining and fast to read story.

After losing some weight Sophie is now a pretty teenager who has the ability to read minds (the paranormal aspects of her and her friends was the only thing that could have been erased and still made a good story). The story is about her experience with bullies, friends, starting dating and big sisters.

The story is super fast to read with simple languages and good characters. If you are looking for something to clear your mind and read just for fun, this one is a good choice. And if you enjoy it there are more books in the series.

[Gina Clabo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have to laugh because this just brought me back to my high school years and I hear my Moms voice plan as day "You could find a bum in a Ten mile radius Gina." This book was fine nothing wrong with it, except I did get tried of Sophie always putting herself down a lot which I'm sure being a freshmen girl comparing yourself to other girls is a thing, not only high school but in social media, movies and friends.
I really would like to have seen Sophie and her friends use their powers more with some action or something adventuress, with it just really being about Sophie and her boy troubles I got bored just was glad I read it though for it has been on my Kindle for years. Recommend cute high school story with friends, family and special gifts.. Gina Clabo