Grounded

The Seven #1

by Heather Ordover

Hannah Rose was able to convince herself that she was a normal teenager, even though she usually knew exactly what was about to happen next. Until one day when she set her jerk of an ex-boyfriend on fire-from 15 feet away-propelling herself into a world of weirdness.

Rosie is sent to live with her aunt in Brooklyn. There, Rosie discovers a family legacy of strange abilities and dangerous talents. Her training tests her gifts-and her patience-but over the summer she does begin to learn to control her unique skills and meets a boy with equally dangerous strengths. Together, they find a sort of peace that neither has ever experienced, and it looks like it will last-until disaster breaks them apart in a way neither saw coming.

The book also has a set of sock patterns, based on the main characters, available as a digital download, as well. More here.

Genres: Fiction, Young Adult, Fantasy, Knitting, Science Fiction Fantasy

384 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 10, 2013

About the author

Writer of books—What Would Madame Defarge Knit, What (else) Would Madame Defarge Knit, Defarge Does Shakespeare, and Grounded: The Seven, book 1, teacher of things, and Caster of Pods (at Craftlit.com).

She lives, teaches, and writes in Eastern PA with her bemused husband, two goofy sons, sly cat, a few frogs, and many, many ka-honking geese.

Reviews

[Heather Ordover · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm biased, but I've read it a zillion times and I still like it.

[Barbara Edelman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely fabulous young adult that this old adult read in huge gulps. Pitch perfect dialogue, snappy pace, magic that feels as real and possible as string theory, a cast of wonderful teenaged mutant psychic ninjas, and a lovely romance to boot. All the various aspects of the story come together in a deeply felt, deeply profound climax, that left me desperate to read the next installment. This book is going places, and so is Ms. Ordover. Do yourself a favor, do the young adult in your life a favor and GET THIS BOOK!

[Vanessa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh mah gawd, does MamaO know how to spin a yarn. Normally, this kind of book isn't totally my thing but Heather O, is a friend and I know she's a great writer. So I gave it a shot.

I am so glad I did.

Let me tell you something about most fiction knitting books: the knitting references come off as hokey and forced. And every metaphor and simile ends up knitting related. I love to knit as much as the next gal, but it's way too much. Not this book.

Hannah Rose is a prolific knitter, yes, but it's not shoved down your throat every other page. I was surprised to read that her knitting does become a plot point because it was subtly included and alluded to.

Also, HR is spunky! And feisty! And knows herself/her self worth! But she's not obnoxious! Nor is she an overwrought caricature of a 'strong woman'. She's open to finding love and thankfully, doesn't lose her sense of self in the process.

Spoiler alert!


The last third of the book was very difficult for me to get through. Like the protagonist, I started my junior year of high school September 2001. While I wasn't in NYC for September 11th, our school faced midtown/downtown New York on the other side of the Hudson River. We were used as a triage center for the folks getting evacuated. It was a surreal time to be in Union City. The older I get, the harder it is to read and remember that time. I had to quickly flip through the more explicit parts of the narration. However, that's my hang up and in no part Heather's fault.


Thank you, MamaO, for writing a book that features teenagers that doesn't suck.

[Joyce · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful book! I can't say enough. This is YA literature with a purpose. I've already written a review on Amazon, so I won't repeat that.

The Goodreads comments are somewhat like reading comments from a book club where the members don't understand the purpose of the club. You can't say a work of art is not good because you don't like it. AND you can't say you don't like a book because it didn't end the way you wanted it. Wouldn't that be too predictable?

In my opinion, the book ended exactly as it should have. In life, all questions are not answered; and some things always remain a mystery. All you can do is try to stay grounded and ride that wave that is life.

[Alyson | Books.plants.and.tea · Rating 4 out of 5]

**I won this book in a Goodreads giveaway**
Thank you, Heather!

***This review will contain SPOILERS!!!!***

I LOVED the end! And yes, it is a 'but'-sentence... But: I was bored and a little frustrated while reading the beginning.

The Beginning:

I was constantly thinking: "Maybe I should stop reading? ... But I won Grounded I have to continue and write a review..." So yeah, I was reading because I had to.
At the time I didn't know why but I felt like something was missing. I thought the writer had a great potential of telling a good story and that I was the problem.
Casey:
I've got this awesome picture in my mind and I can't seem to find it. Anyway, meet my Casey:

So Casey... Sarcasm and hotness is like THE perfect match and surprise, surprise I like sarcasm and beauty is relative, right ;P
Anyway, remember I said something was missing? Tadaaaaa! Casey comes rushing through that door and the whole book changes in a beautiful lovestory.
I hate linking songs to books but I'll make an exeption:
"When we had our first kiss, it was your favorite thing. And you weren't lying when you said it would sting"
I was laughing out loud every time Casey was smirking at Rose after he kissed her. AWESOME! I loved those moments <3
The end:
My reaction when I put all the pieces of the puzzle together:

Also: how mean can a writer be?! I NEED TO KNOW WHAT'S HAPPENING TO CASEY!! Is he or isn't he blind? Can he or isn't he able to speak? What's going on? I wanna know :(

Oh, and btw:

I'll spell it: Oh My God.
Not ohmagaw. Please, just oh my god. ;)

So conclusion: this book is a beautiful lovestory and building up to an "OH MY GOD, I DIDN'T SEE THAT SHIT COMING"-end and worth your time.

[Fran · Rating 5 out of 5]

Psychic powers, knitting, and written by my favorite podcaster. What's not to like?

Amazing story. I really did not want to put it down, and can't wait for the next one. Oh, and best use of knitting I've read in a novel since Tale of Two Cities.

[Gabrielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm somewhere between three and four stars. I liked a lot about the book, including rose's need for knitting and its role in her story. I whipped through it over the weekend, no mean feat with two smalls and a traveling husband around. I loved the well done New York. It's so annoying when people get things wrong with a cityscape, more fun when it's correct.

I had a difficult time with the timeline, and I thought Rose was pretty compliant for someone who's been whisked out of her life and dumped elsewhere with no answers. As a reader, I found it maddening and wondered why Rose wasn't angrier. I also wondered why, if she's understanding so little of what's happening, she would not mention her visions of the motorcycle guy to anyone, and why no one else saw or felt them. Lots of secrets, and no secrets.

I'm looking forward to number two. I thought Heather's writing really shined in places, and, as I said, I zipped through it. I think students of,mine would dig it.

[M.K. Carroll · Rating 4 out of 5]

I knit, so let's go straight to the important bit: yes, there's knitting in this book, and it's realistic, fitting in with the storyline nicely, while not requiring any special knowledge on the part of the reader (if you knit, however, you'll likely spot at least one inside joke).

Even if there weren't any knitting in it, I'd still enjoy reading it. The characters have actual character, the storyline is well-paced, and I have a special appreciation for YA that hasn't been dumbed down.

[penny shima glanz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was privileged to be an early reader of this novel and have been waiting to be able to talk about it for quite some time.

The characters have stayed with me since my first reading (quite a while ago)... and that is magic.

Review of novel as published forthcoming.

[Cin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank goodness. A YA romance your can read yourself *and* not feel icky recommending to an actual teenager. I liked it so much I read it in 24 hours.

[Zoe · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is a lot to recommend this book, to any reader, whether teenage or adult. Though ostensibly marketed as a YA novel, it's never condescending or trite. At heart, it's a coming of age story (that is obviously going to take more than one book for the protagonists to age, as it's book one in a series of 7) about a girl with some psychic and telekinetic ability who can't control it (although, the reader will be inclined to cut her some slack in the lack of control department, since she had no idea she had these abilities, and frustrated that NO ONE in the book is willing to cut her equal slack).

Learning the tools to control her skills take up a good chunk of the book, but despite the lack of conflict that usually saturates the pages of every modern day novel, there is no sagging middle. There is enough character development here- in Hannah Rose, the main character, but also some of her psychic peers, to keep anyone surprisingly interested. One of the main themes of the book (As Spider-man's uncle so succinctly put it "with great power comes great responsibility") is never pounded in to the reader to hard as to be objectionable, although the adults in this novel (as in many YA novels) are secretive and condescending. They are one of the few flaws to the book, however, and the end- beautifully written with respect and empathy, will leave you too breathless to cry until it's over.
Now we come to the biggest flaw of the book- having to wait for the author to write the second installment.

[Jess · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heather Ordover, the hostess of the CraftLit podcast and editor of the What Would Madame DeFarge Knit? knitting pattern book series, has written a novel! Grounded is a Young Adult novel about a girl named Rosie who is a knitter - but that's definitely not the end of her special talents. When she sort-of-accidentally sets her ex-boyfriend on fire, her parents send her to Brooklyn for Psychic Boot Camp with her eclectic aunt and a group of psychic teens like herself. As Rosie learns more about her talents and what she can do, the mystery of those talents only deepens. There's a love story involved that's SO much better than Edward-and-Bella but still has that powerful suck-you-in, root-for-them quality to it, and by the end of the book I was holding back tears and begging Heather to write faster for the sequel! The absolute bonus is that there are knitting patterns to go with the book! The first one - Rosie's Firestarter Socks - is out already and it's awesome! Heather has done such a great job of stitching together her story with mystery, and enough cliff-hanger elements to keep me drooling for the sequel. This is a strong heroine who is full of flaws and gets easily frustrated with herself but by the end you'll be pulling for her and fist-pumping the air for her as she blazes into book 2.

[Lise · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this book. I thought the characters were well developed and I came to care about them. I was a little bugged by a few minor points - such as why Rose didn't talk about her visions (of motorcycle dude & the plane) with the others. Plus I don't understand why if she is so helpful for Casey no one will let her go to him or even talk to him. But overall it was a great read and I cannot wait for the next in the series.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

I heard about this series on the Knotty Girls Knitcast and was intrigued enough to buy the kindle version. I really liked this book, as a reader and a knitter, this book spoke to me in a way that was awesome and I found it hard to return to my office when I was reading it during my lunch break as I just wanted to see what happened next! Looking forward to reading the other books in the series when they arrive!

[Chris · Rating 1 out of 5]

Holy catfish, this book was NOT for me. It was endless, but I had no other book on my phone so this was it. I so badly wanted to like it, particularly for the parts that described Tucson so beautifully, but this was a definite DRONE....on and on and on and on with very little meat. Sketchy, too. There are so few books that I flat out don't like, and my apologies to the author, but....

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had told myself that I was done reading YA paranormal novels, but I made an exception for this one because it is authored by Heather Ordover, a writer, knitter, designer, and podcaster extraordinaire. As I suspected, I enjoyed it very much.

[Tammy · Rating 5 out of 5]

**** SPOILERS ****I usually reserve the 5th star for the books that totally engross me with the descriptions to the point where I can FEEL I'm in the story. Mostly that happens with the Dead Authors, like Austen, Bronte, Dickens or Hardy... I'm using it here because when my Kindle fried, I WAS SO STRICKEN with not getting to finish the story. And now that I'm finished, I'm anxious to hear how Rose fared home again and how is Casey, Jenn, Izzy, Justin, Mina and Jazzmine... and the woman at the knit shop!

--earlier notes--

Working on a special project (more later) needed this and COULD NOT FIND it in the stores in my area or at the library. SO, I purchased it for my Kindle. Not sure if I'm supposed to have the pattern in the e-book edition, if it's there I haven't found it yet.

I'm about 25% through: I have not heard if anyone else is having this, but I think I have been listening to Heather too long (which really hasn't been long at all in comparison with how long she's been podcasting). I'm starting to anticipate what I think she wrote next in the book. I wondered why she hadn't referred to Barbara Walker's writings several pages before she actually did. I'm not complaining, but it's almost as if I've already read this and I'm denying myself the pleasure of discovery.

I'm Loving This Book, in a way I haven't enjoyed modern literature in a very long time. I will be staying tuned for the next in the series....

[Janelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think maybe I'm not the target audience for this book. I've never been a fan of fantasy so it's a rare book with supernatural elements in it that will grab me (The Time Traveler's Wife would be a notable exception). I did not perceive a noticeable difference between "grounding," "centering," and a lot of the other psychic actions going on, and I found them to be narratively convenient rather than believable.

And then there's the teenage angst. Some describe the dialogue as "snappy" but it was just irritating to me. I know this is a YA book so I was trying not to judge about the drama. Again, I may not be the target audience for this.

Sure, I heard about this through knitting circles (Ordover's CraftLit podcast is a lot of fun). Even the most casual reader of this review will notice the ball of yarn and needles on the book jacket (never mind that it is unlikely that Rosie would knit a shawl on these short, straight, wooden needles). The knitting references were accurate, but again, I found it a little too unbelievable that the character would knit a complicated lace pattern - on the fly (no planning, no pattern) - that foretold the future. Wha?! And of course, that future would involve the 9/11 attacks in NYC.

I'm retreating to historical fiction for now. I'm glad I gave this a try, but it just isn't my cup of tea.

[Lise · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a terrific and powerful book.

"Spoiler alert" sort of. It's set in New York, in the summer of 2001, and the main character is a precognitive, who is learning to understand and use her powers. From the first chapter you know where it's going. As one character says, knowing where it's going to end doesn't tell you how it gets there.

Rosie and her friends don't understand their visions, don't put them together. The reader sees all too clearly what the clues mean. At the same time, it's completely clear why the characters don't, how it's all something which can only make sense in hindsight (which, paradoxically, we have at the first reading). The book is a huge countdown.

Having said that, it's also a book about a collection of psychics, learning to use their powers and try to understand what they mean. It does a good job of putting that in context with real world beliefs and history, without going over the top, invoking a huge 'masquerade', or stating that Beethoven was an alien spy. There's a romance angle to it as well, with a hint of 'these characters were fated to be together', but it's not too annoying because it's clearly not supposed to be the focus of the book.

I am very much looking forward to the sequel.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this YA fantasy set in modern(ish) times. The main character was interesting, a strong-willed and reasonably self-assured teenager -- which, I must say, is incredibly refreshing after having read stupid Divergent. So glad to see that not everyone is following the trend of "girls need their romantic interest to tell them who they are, because there is no way they can figure it out on their own." blergh. Anyway, /rant. This book doesn't do that! Yay! The characters all feel very real, and their relationships are complex. I also really enjoy the mythos of this fantasy: almost magical, almost woo-woo spiritual, but stays really linked to reality, and doesn't go too far into either of those realms. My only criticism of the book is that sometimes I felt like the teenagers didn't talk like teenagers (though Casey always talks like an awkward nerdy precocious teen..), but it wasn't bothersome enough to distract me more than every once in a while, or to detract from the book as a whole.

[T Crockett · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has one of the best opening lines ever. I'll be using it in my writing class right along with The Catcher in the Rye.

Once I started reading I just inhaled this book. I stayed up to late reading. I ignored my TO Do list to read. I thought about the characters when I wasn't reading. Yup, it's that good.

The main character, Rose, doesn't figure things out quickly, doesn't always do the smart thing and she is sometimes annoyingly quick to make a joke or be sarcastic, but that's exactly the sort of thing that makes Ordover's characters feel real. There are no milk-toast characters in this book. I love that I came away understanding enough to feel satisfied, but still really eager for the next installment.

[Rachel Murphy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first half was a little slow. I kept wanting everyone to just tell Rose what was going on and get on with the story. The second half was good though. The 9/11 section was especially interesting, particularly as it was written by someone with first hand experience. I liked the significance of the shawl, and can't believe I hadn't seen it coming! (Although would a teen really be that good at knitting?!)

The final part was so good I stayed up late to finish it. I'm looking forward to the next book.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a long-time listener of CraftLit, I was very excited to read Heather's book. I found that the story started a bit slow (mostly because lots of things are alluded to but not completely explained right away), but all those hints at bigger things really drew me into the story. By the time I was about halfway through, I was having trouble putting it down. My biggest complaint is that it ends with something of a cliffhanger -- and now I have to wait for Heather to finish the next book to find out what happens next!

[Caitlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a big fan of the Craftlit podcast and really anything Heather Ordover does. So it is no surprise that I really liked this book! The book is about teenagers with psychic powers, but not that far into a fantasy world. The main character is strong and a good female role model for girls, even when she is falling in love and confused about her self (unlike Bella in Twilight, more like Katniss in Hunger Games). Loved the jokes, the knitting references, and the descriptions of NYC. Can't wait for the next one in the series.

[Kayleigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book for young adults-- or someone like me who just loves young adult books! It's certainly not perfect-- the dialogue comes off stilted in places-- but the plot and, more importantly for me, the characters are fantastic. The combination of realism and magic are a lot of fun, and the love story is amazing and made me giddy. I cannot WAIT for the sequel! On that note, thanks for the semi cliffhanger :(

[Mary Charlene Reese Snellings · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great Young Adult title. The characters are written in a believable, sometimes touching fashion for a science-fictiony kind of book. And it's interesting to see how many ways you can apply "grounded" to the characters and the storyline as it goes along. It was hard to put the book down, and I can't wait for the sequel.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Had to wait for my daughter to finish the book before I could start, she was enjoying it so much, she didn't want it to end. Once she relinquished it, I devoured it and absolutely loved it. Couldn't put it down for the first 2 thirds, then tried to savor the rest to make it last longer. I loved the fact that it takes placed in the recent past and cannot wait until the next one comes out.

[Little "Dani" Blue · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought that the book was the most amazing thing that I have read in a long time. I just wish that I knew what happened to Casey!!!!! I know that he is with Bill, but it is just not fair that Rose had to go back home and leave Casey in New York. I just want the next book in the series to come out QUICK!!!!!!!!!!!

[Desiree · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very affecting read: it kept me up late at night and woke me in the morning with wanting to know what happened next. This young psychic coming into an understanding of just how she is different and how that's okay is relatable to most of us, I should think. Immersive, intense, don't start this book unless you intend to finish it.

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book starts rather slow. So much so, I nearly gave it up. However, once I hit the 40% mark, I was hooked and rad straight through.

This book has a cliffhanger, so hopefully we don't have to wait too long to find out how things go with our characters.