The 13th: Destiny Awaits

by Ela Lond

Kate, the school outcast, has always been able to see ghosts, and she constantly fears that someday, her so-called 'gift' will drive her mad like it did her mother, who has now been confined to a mental asylum. With the ever-present ghosts, her institutionalised mother, the unwanted attention from a bully and everything else going on in a teenage girl’s life, all Kate wants is to graduate quickly and without troubles. But that becomes impossible when Ethan, a gorgeous new transfer student, takes an interest in her, claiming that she is the Soul Reaper, and that he is there to train her. Things get even worse when her nemesis, the school bully Sandra, decides that she wants Ethan for herself.

Genres: Ebooks

261 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 29, 2013

Reviews

[Andrea Hatfield · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kate's always been different than other kids, she can see ghosts. Her mother taught her a few tricks to make her sight of ghosts go away, but they no longer work. She used to have friends until the incident with her mom, now she prefers to stay in the background. The only friends she has now is Tyler, a popular school athlete, and Mandy, a transfer student from Japan. Ethan, Mandy's brother, takes an interest in Kate and that draws the attention of her tormentor, Sandy, even more. Sandy becomes even more fixated in torturing Kate, when she can't draw Ethan's attention. With all of that happening in Kate's life she learns that the reason she can see ghosts is because she is the Soul Reaper and has a job to do. Can Kate handle all that pressure or will it all cause her to break?

Kate is the main character and the story is told through her perspective. I really liked her character. She's a teenager that has the ability to see ghosts yet she hides from them because that is all she has been taught to do her whole life. She's had to deal with her mother being institutionalized and her father always being absent so she has had to grow up really quick. She does come off as kind of whiny at times but honestly I don't blame her.

Tyler has been Kate's best friend and neighbor since like preschool. He's the school's star athlete and most popular guy. He comes off as a pretty good guy and only wants what's best for Kate and to help her however he can. He stands up for her when the other students try to pick on her.

Mandy is a transfer student from Japan and has become friends with Kate. She seems like a really sweet girl. Kate helps to get Mandy and Tyler in a relationship so we really don't get a huge look in to her character.

Ethan is Mandy 's brother and I got mixed vibes from him the whole time. One minuet he seems like all he wants is to get to know Kate better and help her out then the next minuet he seems like all he is doing is using her for various reasons. It isn't until towards 3/4 of the way through the book that you get a clear picture into the reasons.

I gave The 13th: Destiny Awaits a 4 star rating because it kept me highly entertained. I love how Ela Lond put a different kind of spin on the whole Soul Reaper thing. When I read the synopsis and saw the words Soul Reaper I thought she was supposed to be there when people die so she could reap their souls but that's not how it goes at all. While the story does read like it is intended for a younger teenage audience I really enjoyed this book and was able to get into the whole story very quickly and easily. If anyone is looking for a refreshing paranormal read I suggest giving The 13th: Destiny Awaits a try.

[Julia Handley · Rating 4 out of 5]

The unlovable girl, that what she thought she was. :(
 
Kate is a outcast at school, she has a mum in the nut house, and a dad that is always away Working. She just tries to get by ignoring the school bullies and the lights that follow her. She has a good friend Tyler who through all of it never turned his back on  her, even when it caused him trouble. She got by. Well until Ethan came into her life and making her confront the truth. With his sister who is nice to everyone.

I felt bad for Kate, with her mum and school and her ghosts she didn't have it easy. Because she is different she found out who her real friends are, turned out she didn't have that many. So yep she has trust issues, which is understandable. It was frustrating watching her distance herself from Ethan, Tyler and Mandy. I understand why she feels unlovable a broke my heart, BUT it was still annoying when she keeps Ethan at a distance and not just be honest with him. I felt bad for him, then I wanted to slap him for keeping secrets too. Well I'll be honest I had a few moments I wanted her to slap some honesty talk I  them both. The more frustrating thing is, even before you find out both story's you can't help help but feel for them both.

This book made me laugh,angry, frustrated and sad all at the same time. You could feel how sad Kate was and lonely. Things take a drastic and sad turn  and all secrets come out and these 4 friends show you what kind of friends they are.

[Shawn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Now here is a book where I love the writing style and it pushes me through. Kate is a girl mentally crippled by an onslaught of ghosts and ostracized for being crazy and being the daughter of a crazy woman. Enter Ethan who starts butting into her life and telling her that he can help her with the ghost problem, but everything with him comes at a price...and everybody in the book writes that off as part of his charm. He's slow to give her any information, offers her advise that he refuses to take himself and at one point forces her to pretend to be his girlfriend to get another girl off his back in exchange for spells she needs to be safe! There may not be any sex involved here, but this is still forced prostitution. Her best friend keeps setting up scenarios in which she can meet Ethan despite her obvious disdain for him because said friend is dating Ethan's sister and she's sick of hearing her brother's moping. And on top of all her friends working against her, the fake couple thing is making her a bigger target at school and then she has a Soul Eater eating away at her mother to contend with..alone, because Ethan isn't proving to be very trustworthy.

And then, in the end, she falls for Ethan! How?

And yet I made it through because the writing style, despite hating most of the characters, I still wanted to see how this would end.

[April · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kate's mom has been institutionalized because her ghosts have drove her over the edge. She attempted to take Kate's life. Now Kate realizes shes next in line to lose her head over the ghosts. She has been seeing them for years now but once her mom is placed in a facility her talents become much stronger, more annoying and she wants control. When a new hunk shows up at school and starts paying attention to Kate she has to wonder if its not some big joke. She the average nerdy girl that is constantly bullied by her classmates. When Ethan tells her he can teach her how to not only control but use her gifts Kate is a bit cautious and much more suspicious of the reasons that Ethan has started tagging along. This is a teen novel for ages approx. 10-18 good read keep an open mind

[Susan · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm afraid I just can't give this book the glowing review that others have been writing. I thought the characters were one dimensional with little personality except for Kate, who was immature, whiny, spiteful and completely unlikeable. I couldn't muster any sympathy for her whatsoever - I only wondered how in the world Ethan found anything in her to love. The reaper worldbuilding was weak and poorly explained, and the storyline frequently made little sense. After the first 100 pages, I started skimming because while I don't like not finishing a book, this one became almost painful to read. I wasted $3.99 on this book and would not recommend that anyone else pay good money for it.

[Joy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great story. I really enjoyed the story and the characters. Excellent!!