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Dark Flame Rising
Keegan Crowe knows nothing of her past. But when she returns to Turtle Spring, the fourteen-year-old discovers that her parents were members of a secret society dedicated to preserving lost magic – a group destroyed for its knowledge and powers. Seeking those responsible, Keegan enrolls in a secretive school and delves into a hidden world of mystical powers, fabled creatures, and enchanted objects. There, she unearths a plot to stop an age-old threat and bring justice to a warring adversary.
But Keegan rejects her discoveries. The scientifically-minded teen digs elsewhere for the truth, unleashing unexpected consequences. As friends and foes race to find a legendary treasure, Keegan stumbles upon a flaw in the plan. She now holds the key. But to prevail, she must find the strength to push aside her convictions and embrace her family’s shadowy legacy.
But Keegan rejects her discoveries. The scientifically-minded teen digs elsewhere for the truth, unleashing unexpected consequences. As friends and foes race to find a legendary treasure, Keegan stumbles upon a flaw in the plan. She now holds the key. But to prevail, she must find the strength to push aside her convictions and embrace her family’s shadowy legacy.
350 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 18, 2013
12 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
July 25, 2016
This book tricked me. Not without my complacency, I'll admit, but it did all the same. When the author sent it to me, he was very clear that it is a YA novel, so I knew. But over and over again, I saw the cover (which is a great cover BTW) on my TBR list and wanted to read it, only to stop and remind myself with 'but it's YA, even if it really doesn't look YA.' I've burned out on YA a little, you see.
In the end, I gave in to my urges. And what do you know; it really is a YA novel. Not only YA, but lower YA, maybe even upper Middle Grade. The main character is 14 and much of the book reads like an Urban Fantasy version of Harry Potter's time at Hogwarts. She attends a magical school with quirky teachers, talking animals, spells, potions, etc. Heck, it even has houses of sorts, based on abilities and zodiac signs and Muggles, though here they're referred to as Turtles. Yes, there is a very Harry Potter feel to The New School.
I generally liked Keegan. She was smart and possessed a surprising backbone. She did not, however, feel 14. She was an accomplished hacker, blogger, intrepid journalist, fell in love, etc. In fact, many of the characters didn't feel their age. As an example, Cody, her love interest was 15 but could drive and held a job. At one point another group of characters of similar ages were shown to be drinking and partying in an abandoned house. I'm not naive enough to think teenagers don't do this, but it clashed with the idea of the main character being barley out of her tweens.
I also found her dedication to skepticism in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary tedious at best and eventually even a little infuriating. I starting thinking we (she and the reader) wouldn't ever be able to move on if she didn't accept the obvious at some point. That she could retain her denial after the things she saw was almost magical in and of itself, not to mention a little unbelievable.
The writing seemed fine, but I had a serious problem with the use of endnotes to relate educational information. I found them very disruptive to reading the book. But they were also problematic in the sense that if a child is young enough to not know who/what Cleopatra, Excalibur, tarot cards, the Zodiac and many more are then they also probably aren't old enough to know how to follow a superscript to the end of a chapter. And, honestly, would they be all that interested in a history lesson?
Lastly, the book starts out at a breakneck speed. Information is thrown at the reader so fast that it's difficult to keep up. Then, once they reach Turtle Springs, things slow down almost too much. Perhaps this reduced pace felt exaggerated after the first couple fast paced chapters, but once Keegan hit the school, everything seemed to creep along.
I did appreciate the implicit moral of facing the consequences of your actions. There is also an exciting twist at the end. An observant reader will see it coming, but it still opens up some interesting possibilities for future books. All in all, I'm torn on what to feel about this book. I didn't hate it but didn't particularly care for it either. However, I would bet 12-15 year olds might.
Note: I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.
In the end, I gave in to my urges. And what do you know; it really is a YA novel. Not only YA, but lower YA, maybe even upper Middle Grade. The main character is 14 and much of the book reads like an Urban Fantasy version of Harry Potter's time at Hogwarts. She attends a magical school with quirky teachers, talking animals, spells, potions, etc. Heck, it even has houses of sorts, based on abilities and zodiac signs and Muggles, though here they're referred to as Turtles. Yes, there is a very Harry Potter feel to The New School.
I generally liked Keegan. She was smart and possessed a surprising backbone. She did not, however, feel 14. She was an accomplished hacker, blogger, intrepid journalist, fell in love, etc. In fact, many of the characters didn't feel their age. As an example, Cody, her love interest was 15 but could drive and held a job. At one point another group of characters of similar ages were shown to be drinking and partying in an abandoned house. I'm not naive enough to think teenagers don't do this, but it clashed with the idea of the main character being barley out of her tweens.
I also found her dedication to skepticism in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary tedious at best and eventually even a little infuriating. I starting thinking we (she and the reader) wouldn't ever be able to move on if she didn't accept the obvious at some point. That she could retain her denial after the things she saw was almost magical in and of itself, not to mention a little unbelievable.
The writing seemed fine, but I had a serious problem with the use of endnotes to relate educational information. I found them very disruptive to reading the book. But they were also problematic in the sense that if a child is young enough to not know who/what Cleopatra, Excalibur, tarot cards, the Zodiac and many more are then they also probably aren't old enough to know how to follow a superscript to the end of a chapter. And, honestly, would they be all that interested in a history lesson?
Lastly, the book starts out at a breakneck speed. Information is thrown at the reader so fast that it's difficult to keep up. Then, once they reach Turtle Springs, things slow down almost too much. Perhaps this reduced pace felt exaggerated after the first couple fast paced chapters, but once Keegan hit the school, everything seemed to creep along.
I did appreciate the implicit moral of facing the consequences of your actions. There is also an exciting twist at the end. An observant reader will see it coming, but it still opens up some interesting possibilities for future books. All in all, I'm torn on what to feel about this book. I didn't hate it but didn't particularly care for it either. However, I would bet 12-15 year olds might.
Note: I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest review.
November 21, 2013
Dark Flame Rising follows 14 year old Keegan in the hunt for a powerful elemental object required to reset the balance of the four elements. It is a young adult novel rated with THREE STARS.
Keegan begins the novel telling her tale of her life that has been spent jumping locations, a history later explained as required to keep her safe. From what, you find out later within the novel. These moves eventually take her to Turtle Springs, a small town that holds many secrets and a rich history. Keegan is a very curious girl, which brings her head first into a search for an object that she doesn't even fully understand.
"Keegan almost fell off the couch when she heard the words fall from Lavinia's lips. Her grandmother had always refused to speak of the place. Its very mention would dampen the brightest spirits and awaken a brooding beast in the old woman that was rarely seen otherwise - one that unleashed fierce reprimands or caused Lavinia to disappear for hours without explanation."
The pages of this novel hold many secrets, secrets that Keegan's curious mind refuses to keep hidden in her search for a truth that has been hidden from her for much of her life. She's on a powerful hunt for answers and comes across these answers in many dangerous adventures. Will Keegan be able to unearth the mystical object that is so very important to the Guardians restoring the elemental balance?
I have chosen to rate this novel with three stars because of a few reasons. One, when the story picks up pace there are several grammatical errors. I found that often times the descriptions were too thorough, wasting time describing scenes that didn't require much description. It made the novel quite wordy. I did enjoy the story, I found that the author did an awful lot of research prior to publishing, the story is heavy with footnotes for further explanations of past events. Some of these were interesting to read, including the explanation of which element each zodiac sign covers. For instance, my element would be water due to the fact that I am a Pisces.
I would recommend this novel to younger readers who enjoy supernatural stories.
Keegan begins the novel telling her tale of her life that has been spent jumping locations, a history later explained as required to keep her safe. From what, you find out later within the novel. These moves eventually take her to Turtle Springs, a small town that holds many secrets and a rich history. Keegan is a very curious girl, which brings her head first into a search for an object that she doesn't even fully understand.
"Keegan almost fell off the couch when she heard the words fall from Lavinia's lips. Her grandmother had always refused to speak of the place. Its very mention would dampen the brightest spirits and awaken a brooding beast in the old woman that was rarely seen otherwise - one that unleashed fierce reprimands or caused Lavinia to disappear for hours without explanation."
The pages of this novel hold many secrets, secrets that Keegan's curious mind refuses to keep hidden in her search for a truth that has been hidden from her for much of her life. She's on a powerful hunt for answers and comes across these answers in many dangerous adventures. Will Keegan be able to unearth the mystical object that is so very important to the Guardians restoring the elemental balance?
I have chosen to rate this novel with three stars because of a few reasons. One, when the story picks up pace there are several grammatical errors. I found that often times the descriptions were too thorough, wasting time describing scenes that didn't require much description. It made the novel quite wordy. I did enjoy the story, I found that the author did an awful lot of research prior to publishing, the story is heavy with footnotes for further explanations of past events. Some of these were interesting to read, including the explanation of which element each zodiac sign covers. For instance, my element would be water due to the fact that I am a Pisces.
I would recommend this novel to younger readers who enjoy supernatural stories.
April 10, 2014
Dark Flame Rising
By J.A. Pedersen
Keegan Crowe and her grandmother, Lavinia, live an interesting life. Lavinia, a tarot card reader and fortune teller, moves Keegan once or twice a year to a new area, and has ever since Keegan can remember. Isolation from people and the constant "new girl" status she is forced to live with cause Keegan to withdraw into herself and seek answers from a popular medium...the internet. A talented hacker, Keegan sets some things in motion that will forever change her life as she knows it. The four elements; earth, air, fire, and water, play a huge part in this interesting tale. By learning about her past, Keegan is forced to accept that things are not what she thinks they are. Dark forces in an unexpected form threaten Keegan and her new friends. Can she overcome her skepticism and look at the world through different eyes?
I was interested in this book from the get-go. Keegan is an interesting heroine; modern, feisty, and skeptical. Her interests are polar opposites from her eccentric grandmother. Enter an adorable teenage boy into the equation, and you have a recipe for success, at least in Keegan's eyes. Keegan is forced to reevaluate her biases toward the supernatural in a way that she never expected. This book kept my attention in a most interesting way. The author, J.A. Pedersen, weaved facts and tidbits of actual historic relevance into the story in an interesting way. The historic footnotes provided additional injections of insight into a most eccentric and unusual storyline.
I am a middle grade teacher, so I find myself really enjoying a good YA read. I am in the unique position of being able to not only know what my students are reading right now, but I also am able to recommend new books to them. This book is definitely one I will talk about. I highly recommend Dark Flame Rising (book one in the Keegan Crowe series), by J.A. Pedersen. I fully intend to watch for future installments. This has the all the makings of a hit series. Well done, Pedersen, you have my attention.
By J.A. Pedersen
Keegan Crowe and her grandmother, Lavinia, live an interesting life. Lavinia, a tarot card reader and fortune teller, moves Keegan once or twice a year to a new area, and has ever since Keegan can remember. Isolation from people and the constant "new girl" status she is forced to live with cause Keegan to withdraw into herself and seek answers from a popular medium...the internet. A talented hacker, Keegan sets some things in motion that will forever change her life as she knows it. The four elements; earth, air, fire, and water, play a huge part in this interesting tale. By learning about her past, Keegan is forced to accept that things are not what she thinks they are. Dark forces in an unexpected form threaten Keegan and her new friends. Can she overcome her skepticism and look at the world through different eyes?
I was interested in this book from the get-go. Keegan is an interesting heroine; modern, feisty, and skeptical. Her interests are polar opposites from her eccentric grandmother. Enter an adorable teenage boy into the equation, and you have a recipe for success, at least in Keegan's eyes. Keegan is forced to reevaluate her biases toward the supernatural in a way that she never expected. This book kept my attention in a most interesting way. The author, J.A. Pedersen, weaved facts and tidbits of actual historic relevance into the story in an interesting way. The historic footnotes provided additional injections of insight into a most eccentric and unusual storyline.
I am a middle grade teacher, so I find myself really enjoying a good YA read. I am in the unique position of being able to not only know what my students are reading right now, but I also am able to recommend new books to them. This book is definitely one I will talk about. I highly recommend Dark Flame Rising (book one in the Keegan Crowe series), by J.A. Pedersen. I fully intend to watch for future installments. This has the all the makings of a hit series. Well done, Pedersen, you have my attention.
August 13, 2014
Dark Flame Rising by J A Pederson
The beginning starts off with Keegan, a blogger hacking into the Agency’s sensitive data. Her aim for her blog is to expose people that are corrupt and what they are doing behind closed doors.
Turtle Springs comes into play where Keegan was born and where her parents died; where sleeping demons lie, and secrets dormant could expose those to danger once again. Now after a long time Keegan and her grandmother Lavinia return to this place. The fire that occurred thirteen years ago still blazes in Lavinia’s mind, her desperate attempt to keep Keegan away, but something has brought her back.
Other characters are brought into the plot, adding different layers. Small snippets about past presidents and facts are quite informative at the bottom of the book, certainly interesting for those curious about history. Unfortunately there are a lot of tedious elements, which does build the character’s personalities, but too much information weighs it down, slowing down the plot.
The author quickly describes the characters, the looks, their quirks, what drives them.
Elements of magic come into play in order to divine things hidden in this small town, so many events masked behind this place in New Mexico.
There are some editing errors that could have improved things. It was slightly difficult to connect to the young character at times, fleeting moments where I found something, but as my personal preference leans towards adult characters, I did find it hard to really feel for these characters.
Each character contributes to the novel in a different way and the element of magic, guardians and the Wisdom are sure to excite those that like the fantasy world.
I do feel the novel is a bit too long, components in the novel probably don’t need to be there. Slow developments do take place, but it takes too long to get anywhere and the major climatic event wasn’t really worth the build-up. Perhaps enjoyable read for some, but a slow one for me.
2 ½ stars
The beginning starts off with Keegan, a blogger hacking into the Agency’s sensitive data. Her aim for her blog is to expose people that are corrupt and what they are doing behind closed doors.
Turtle Springs comes into play where Keegan was born and where her parents died; where sleeping demons lie, and secrets dormant could expose those to danger once again. Now after a long time Keegan and her grandmother Lavinia return to this place. The fire that occurred thirteen years ago still blazes in Lavinia’s mind, her desperate attempt to keep Keegan away, but something has brought her back.
Other characters are brought into the plot, adding different layers. Small snippets about past presidents and facts are quite informative at the bottom of the book, certainly interesting for those curious about history. Unfortunately there are a lot of tedious elements, which does build the character’s personalities, but too much information weighs it down, slowing down the plot.
The author quickly describes the characters, the looks, their quirks, what drives them.
Elements of magic come into play in order to divine things hidden in this small town, so many events masked behind this place in New Mexico.
There are some editing errors that could have improved things. It was slightly difficult to connect to the young character at times, fleeting moments where I found something, but as my personal preference leans towards adult characters, I did find it hard to really feel for these characters.
Each character contributes to the novel in a different way and the element of magic, guardians and the Wisdom are sure to excite those that like the fantasy world.
I do feel the novel is a bit too long, components in the novel probably don’t need to be there. Slow developments do take place, but it takes too long to get anywhere and the major climatic event wasn’t really worth the build-up. Perhaps enjoyable read for some, but a slow one for me.
2 ½ stars
December 30, 2013
There’s a good story in here, but it’s half lost in a mish-mash of styles and several tangents . The main story—about a girl who discovers her family’s secret past and her part in it—is more of a supernatural, earthy story. People gain power from the four Elements, but one group has overstepped their boundaries and has used their power for evil, not balance.
This story is good unto itself—but then fantasy creatures are added, a very Harry Potterish school is thrown in, and all this somewhat detracts from the main story. The story is a bit too long and could be edited also.
I liked the characters, although there’s a lot of them, and sometimes they’re hard to follow. I thought the concept for the book was original, but parts (the school scenes for one) seemed more of an afterthought and, although they were fun to read, didn’t totally fit with the story.
The author also puts in a lot of footnotes at the end of each chapter. While these footnotes are interesting to read, they do detract from the story in that they stall the reader, making it easy to lose track of the storyline.
Parts were great to read though, and with a little tightening up and editing, I think this could be a terrific book. I just don’t think it’s quite there yet, in this form.
Nik's Picks Book Reviews
www.nikki-bennett.com
(The author provided me a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.)
This story is good unto itself—but then fantasy creatures are added, a very Harry Potterish school is thrown in, and all this somewhat detracts from the main story. The story is a bit too long and could be edited also.
I liked the characters, although there’s a lot of them, and sometimes they’re hard to follow. I thought the concept for the book was original, but parts (the school scenes for one) seemed more of an afterthought and, although they were fun to read, didn’t totally fit with the story.
The author also puts in a lot of footnotes at the end of each chapter. While these footnotes are interesting to read, they do detract from the story in that they stall the reader, making it easy to lose track of the storyline.
Parts were great to read though, and with a little tightening up and editing, I think this could be a terrific book. I just don’t think it’s quite there yet, in this form.
Nik's Picks Book Reviews
www.nikki-bennett.com
(The author provided me a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.)
December 20, 2013
Magic, Science, and History
Dark Flame Rising is a young adult fantasy novel about a fourteen year old girl, Keegan, a computer geek with a curious mind. Living with her grandmother after her parents’ death, moving from place to place without explanations, Keegan ends up solving the mystery in the small, desert town of Turtle Springs.
During Keegan’s quest for answers, she learns magic is real. The results from her pursuit open up unimaginable dangerous places, and facts she never knew about her parents. Keegan plays a major part in bringing together four magical objects from a society that practiced magic, to restore the balance of earth, water, wind, and fire to the world.
J. A. Pedersen adds a copious amount of historical notes after each chapter, which was a favorite part of the book.
Readers of all ages who like captivating fantasy will enjoy Dark Flame Rising, packed with magical adventure, science, and history.
Dark Flame Rising is a young adult fantasy novel about a fourteen year old girl, Keegan, a computer geek with a curious mind. Living with her grandmother after her parents’ death, moving from place to place without explanations, Keegan ends up solving the mystery in the small, desert town of Turtle Springs.
During Keegan’s quest for answers, she learns magic is real. The results from her pursuit open up unimaginable dangerous places, and facts she never knew about her parents. Keegan plays a major part in bringing together four magical objects from a society that practiced magic, to restore the balance of earth, water, wind, and fire to the world.
J. A. Pedersen adds a copious amount of historical notes after each chapter, which was a favorite part of the book.
Readers of all ages who like captivating fantasy will enjoy Dark Flame Rising, packed with magical adventure, science, and history.
November 30, 2013
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and I looked forward to finding a time every day to read a few chapters. The characters were well developed and the plot was fascinating with unexpected twists. I really liked how the author included knowledge about historic events, people, and legends. This book was an entertaining book to read and I hope the author plans on releasing a Book Two to The Keegan Crowe Chronicles.
November 12, 2013
Exciting and Imaginative!
This novel gripped me from the start to the finish. Keegan Crowe, a young teenager, moves to the small town where she was born and spine tingling legends, myths, and horrifying creatures come into her life. I found the plot moved along at a great clip. The characters were well developed. A great read!
This novel gripped me from the start to the finish. Keegan Crowe, a young teenager, moves to the small town where she was born and spine tingling legends, myths, and horrifying creatures come into her life. I found the plot moved along at a great clip. The characters were well developed. A great read!
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews