Discover: A Calypso's Journey Novel

by Isabella Gerborg

Calypso Gresham enters high school, expecting the life of a normal teenager. But when a shocking revelation is brought to light, she is suddenly forced to flee her hometown due to the terrible danger that lingers there. As Calypso battles new struggles and unravels secret truths from her past, she is tested in ways that will forever change her. She encounters a stranger on the street, Nate Thompson, who has more in common with her than meets the eye. As she is faced with these harsh twists and turns, will Calypso put her trust in the right people? This is just the beginning, but betrayal and war are already on the rise. What risks must Calypso take to survive?

184 pages, Paperback

Published February 6, 2024

Reviews

[Wolfburrito95 · Rating 1 out of 5]

DISCLAIMER: My rating is not final until I finish! Things are prone to, and will likely, change.

So, this is a book that I probably would not have picked up due to my preference of YA books, but I doubt I would’ve liked it as a YA. I would like to say that just because it's out of my norm doesn't mean I automatically did not like it. I tend to write about humans and their adventures despite reading about animals and their adventures (such as Erin Hunter's Survivors or Richard Adam's Watership Down).

The characters are rather forgettable. Our protagonist, Calypso is an average teenage girl. If I try to tell you anything more, I will be unable to, because that is where she starts and stops in my eyes. What is Calypso's traits? I guess she loves art, she's said it twice; there was also another hobby she said twice, but again, it was said, not shown. Well, what about her personality? Uh, teenage girl is a personality, right?

She isn't that defined. Granted, I'm not the best at character deciphering, but Calypso has little going for her. What are her positive traits? Negative traits? I really can't tell. She is our protagonist but feels like an NPC going through the motions. What she does is little more than life bending to her will. And all of this, I kid you not, extends to the rest of the cast-as-of-now.

Her friends? Impossible to tell apart. The only one I remember is Trevor, and that's only because in the fourth chapter, he and Calypso become partners. But, their lack of defined character makes the relationship as forgettable as the characters themselves. Do I feel the intensity of Calypso trying to ask Trevor out? No. Do I feel sad when Calypso has to leave her life behind and worry about her friends? No.

Her friends are a monotonous blob. They act the same, think the same, and the only thing they share is their age. All of the personalities they have are "hip teenagers". Before Calypso has to leave, they have plenty of time together! Heck, the most interesting thing before her disappearance is the fight she has with someone else (again, I can't remember who it was). I felt nothing; not good, not bad, not anything.

Now? Let's look at the other characters. They don't exist. Well, they do exist, but they play such a little role and blend into one another as bad, if not worse, than the friend group. Every friend, and Calypso herself, have bad parents. I think one of them doesn't, but the rest do. At least, from their perspective, they are bad parents. We never see them in action, nor do we hear anything outside of the kid's mouth. Thus, it has my care as much as them being dead. Which, if you don't know, is none.

As with any book about humans written recently, I have to give a quick mention to the pop culture references. Using them is something I don't particularly like, but that's my personal preference. References existing is not a reason for me to lower my star rating, and as of now, they seem to be kept in-check, so it's fine.

I also noticed that the prose can be clunky at times, but it was mostly in the beginning. I'll have to look through my copy to see what examples there are, but I know it was a tad distracting upon my first reading.

The pacing is the worst part. 25 pages into this 170 page book, which is roughly 14, almost 15, percent done, there is no conflict. Or any sort of motivation to keep on reading. Not a strand, not a mystery, just teenage friends talking about how much their life sucks or hanging out or some sort of romance. The first four chapters, bar a paragraph or two, could be rearranged and leave the story the same. Granted, things do pick up when Calypso and another student get into a fight, to which near the end, in a scene that I forgot until it was brought up later, we learn that she has powers.

Yep. Powers.

The pacing slows down here as we get introduced to a scene that made me put the book down and question everything. I bet that the following scene I will describe is a true piece of literature; something so above humanity that you need to get drunk to fully comprehend its glory.

So, Calypso and her friends discover an article in the school newspaper. This article- which calls her out by name and is there for everyone to see- is mentioning to the whole school that she has powers and is being hunted by guys in suits. And it mentions her being a danger that could destroy the world. Y'know, in this public school's newspaper, which calls Calypso- a girl with a one-of-a-kind name- out.

AM I THE ONLY ONE SEEING THIS?!

Don't schools check over papers before sending them out or something?! You can't tell me that the entire printing team let that slide. That is so cartoonish that I think the book could've went into YA just because of that scene alone. What's next? The CIA is going to fly a helicopter to her house? After all, you gotta be discrete about these things. You don't want anyone else to know, after all!

Oh, it gets better. Apparently, Calypso's sister is involved and is trying to get Calypso taken by these guys, who are a part of the organization Do and Deal. Eh, for evil organizations, I'll let that name slide. By searching the organization followed by her name, a whole thing about her murdering and being powerful appears. Something about the whole thing feels like a cartoon, I swear.

After following her sister as she leaves the house, Calypso finds the tents which make up the Deal and Do base, but flees thinking it's a trap. The Deal and Do chase after her, but she successfully gets away, and finds herself with another person in the same situation, Nate. Nate takes her to an abandoned barn and gets her acquainted with life there.

Now Nate, you see, has more personality. How? He's reluctant, he's clearly down on his luck and expresses that through anger... He feels like a character. His backstory is an overused trope, but if it serves for a greater narrative, then good for him. My biggest concern is that the book will dig him out of his dump and he'll become another boring mess indistinguishable from the rest of the cast.

I want to clarify that I don't want everyone to be an angry, hostile being. Heck, if one character was a bubbly beam, then that would be refreshing! Each character should be distinguished. I would recommend the author create character sheets or write a bit about each character before touching the paper. That way, the characters have their ideas written down. This character is So-and-So, whose gender is yada yada, whose backstory was living in a lake, whose personality is being kind but reserved due to a traumatic past, etc. etc..

The whole idea of the character is to be someone who influences the story. What difference would it make if any of Calypso's other friends had powers and were chased down instead of her? Think of it that way. If Trevor was in Calypso's position, what would he have done? What if the other friends went into her position? How would they survive? Would they choose to run or enter the Do and Deal camp?

Again, this review is bound to change, so I shall keep on reading to determine the true quality of Discover: A Calypso’s Journey.

[Jo Bahdo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was lucky enough to win her book in a giveaway: it came with cute notes and insights about the book ☺️

This book is the first of a series that takes the reader on a journey of self-discovery, unexpected adventures, plot twists, romance, friendship, and superpowers. The whole is presented in short chapters.

I am curious about what will happen next and I’ve grown to care for the characters. I find it impressive how Georg has been able to bring in so many topics and characters giving each of them a certain depth and enough space in the story in less than 200 pages.

I have wished for the book:
to be a bit slower
to have a bit more plot development
to have more vivid descriptions of the places
to be a bit more precise on some things which aren’t quite obvious

I give it 3.5 ⭐️

[Ally Amaya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really Enjoyed This book! Coming from someone who isn’t the biggest reader and finds it hard to find a good book, this book definitely kept me interested and intrigued the whole time.

[Haley Valenta · Rating 4 out of 5]

Discover is a great read that had me continually wanting to know more. It's a wonderful start to a series, and I can't wait to find out what happens next!

[Lydia Marie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm really only giving two stars for the courage of publishing this book and it being the first. In reality, I wasted a week struggling to finish this book.

[Jasalyn King]

Picked up at local book store. Sweet young author!

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a classic tale of a young woman finding out about the powers she’s had all her life but didn’t know about, what that means for her now, and how it turns her world upside down. The whole novel feels like a long journal entry in Calypso’s diary.

Anything I saw as stiff dialog or questionable choices on the characters’ part, I could easily chalk it up to high school drama brain lol I had to put myself back into my preteen/teen shoes in a refreshing way.

There were certain aspects of the plot that I had wished were more thought out and went into more detail, which I feel would help the reader understand more. But overall this novel is the kind of short and sweet book that you can read start to finish in a day!

I can’t wait to read more work from Gerborg in the future to see how she grows as a writer.