Introduction Events

by W.T. Meadows

One night, in the west Texas town of Serimessa, a girl awakens on her ceiling. The next day, after football practice, a boy walks into the showers and steps out onto an unforgiving desert. Across town, another school's football practice ends in disaster after a routine tackle results in two players engulfed in flames. These kinds of events look like clickbait nonsense to most people, but catch the eyes of rival clandestine academies where the superhuman is the norm. Two recruiters converge upon Serimessa to investigate and cover up the suspicious activities of three suddenly advanced teenagers. Is it safe to learn to control surprising (and potentially dangerous) powers at home where you can be supported by your family and friends? What if those closest to them are the very thing that caused a lose of control in the first place? Three teens, whose lives weren't simple in the first place, now have surprising and dangerous new abilities to make everything that much harder. They must decide who, if anyone, to trust with their new abilities and making the most of their new lives.

404 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 11, 2023

Reviews

[Alexandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

The concept of this novel was excellent. Teens discovering they have special powers in their small West Texas town? Yes. Absolutely, yes. And the diverse and intersectional approach was also refreshing, because even if marginalized groups are sometimes lower-key (for better or worse) in these sorts of homogeneous areas, they're definitely still there.

The degree to which the author fleshed out these characters was also delightful--they were fully 3D, and were distinct from one another. I never once found myself getting them mixed up. It was clear that the author loved world building and spending time with them. Which, in turn, made me love spending time with them. I kind of wish I could spend even more time with them. I feel like this novel would work even better as a trilogy (or even a graphic novel series, but a girl can dream), which would give the last third of the novel room to stretch and breathe more. I would love to see what it's like for these characters to come into their powers and attend a school with their unique new peers. (Especially Matthew--what becomes of him and his divergent path from Peyton and Leigh?)

In conclusion, just a really fun YA fantasy journey written by someone who clearly *loves* fantasy, sci-fi, and nerd culture. What could be better?

[Zan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent YA read, covering many topics teens deal with in their lives.
Characters were interesting, and showed growth and development over the course of the story.
I was concerned initially that the concept would be too derivative of X-Men and other stories of teenagers with unusual 'powers', but the take was different from others in this genre. I liked how they solved many of their teenage problems through normal interaction and didn't default to using their powers.
Being a native Texan, I didn't necessarily like the depiction of the small-town thinking and behaviors, but it is unfortunately true of many parts of Texas.

[Jeanne Graham · Rating 4 out of 5]

The characters speak for themselves in this well-paced story of three teenagers discovering and coping with superpowers.

Each chapter features the voice of one of the various teens or adults in the story. From the characters, we learn the past and present challenges for each and how their lives overlap and conflict.

This is a can’t-put-it-down novel. The young adults deal with situations many teens face such as bullying, alcoholism and poor self-image. We see how the teens rely on each other and, ultimately, choose their futures.

The author pulls the characters’ stories together for a satisfying ending. I have a yen to read the next book in this series.

[Christine Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great read! This book has a great premise and a compelling storyline (think superhero origin stories but make it small town Texas), but the shining star of this book is definitely its characters. You can feel the love and care and thoughtfulness the author put into the creation of our main characters. It makes you feel the pain of their lows and the celebration of their highs.

If you're looking for a solid YA read with some characters to fall in love with, choose this one.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very well written YA book. The start was a bit slow and felt like treading water. I think teens would love it, issues of High School, rumors, reputations, broken homes. Not many great men, a couple of relatable women.