Introverse

by Jeanine Lipp

Alternate Cover Edition for ASIN: B015TXPRMS
Wake up
This simple text is an invitation that will change Indigo’s young life forever and bring into question everything she believes to be real. She must reclaim the Gift that was taught to her as a child and use it as a key to unlock the Introverse within her. There she must navigate a place both magically beautiful and lethal; the power and beauty of Paragon Tower hides a dark purpose, the ethereal forest harbors blood-thirsty creatures that take wing in the night and anthropomorphic vines that pull innocent victims beneath the ground. Throughout her journey Indigo forges deep bonds with the people who dwell in this strange world, a handsome archaeologist and his ungainly dog Bones, a girl who must hide her multi-hued skin from the world, and a tall, dark stranger who appears in Indigo’s dreams night after night until she awakens to find that he is all too real.
Indigo discovers that the Introverse is the place within her where past and present unite to reveal her unique destiny and who, or what, she really is.

305 pages, ebook

First published September 25, 2015

About the author

Jeanine Lipp is an author, art educator, and artist who lives in the natural beauty and breathtaking grandeur of the Pacific Northwest. An avid fan of fantasy, horror, and speculative fiction and an admirer of fantastical art, she hunkers down in her studio to create with paint and canvas, with laptop and printer, and with two dachshunds curled at her feet.

Reviews

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved my journey with young Indigo. It's a lovey coming-of-age story through tragic and metaphysical beginnings . Filled with lively and interesting characters that interweave with Indigo on her journey. I find Jeanine Lipp's writing to be very descriptive and paints a multifaceted picture in my mind.

[Allie Cresswell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like many popular YA novels these days, this one centres on a young woman with unusual powers; Indigo has the ‘gift’ of being able to travel to an inner landscape or ‘Introverse’ where adventures are had, friends are made, enemies recognised and life-lessons learned. The writer has created a palpably real world of pseudo-medieval towns, lakes, forests and caves. She inter-mingles the known world with some curious imaginary animals, fruits and phenomena; there is no doubt that the Introverse is a vibrantly interesting, exciting and intriguing place to be. I think YA lovers of fantasy will lap this up.
Which is no accident. This semi-allegorical novel is specifically and carefully aimed at YA readers, particularly those who are coming to terms with bereavement, the consequences of past choices, remorse or other emotional trauma. The scope of possible issues is wide (too wide?), and the novel, commensurately, is quite long and rather complex, with stories-within-stories, sub-plots, back-story and a fully-realised geo-political landscape that Indigo gets lost in and where readers might, too.
Paragon’s ruling council insists on perfection in appearance, economy, efficiency, commerce and obedience, coming down very hard on those who fall short of these impossibly high standards. In their unyielding laws and cruel punishments we are encouraged to see the pointlessness of blaming ourselves for things we cannot help, how a constant sense of failure stifles personal growth and social compassion. Other characters and relationships - both healthy and unhealthy - explore the dead weight of self-blame and unforgiveness as well as the liberation and healing which come from compassion and personal acceptance. Truly there is much here to discuss and from which to draw important lessons. I think this book would be great for parents/carers and teenagers to read alongside each other, garnering insights as they go. Indeed I’d recommend that it is read that way. I think that, for some readers, the symbolisms and parallels will be a tad impenetrable, confusing minds already troubled.
Unfortunately I found the writing at times far too simplistic, at other times rather laboured. As a heroine, Indigo is very passive. Lists of rhetorical questions became wearisome after a while.
My overall impression of this book is that it has thrown its net out a bit too wide. Slimmed down, or divided into several more focused volumes I think the lessons could be easier to learn.

[T.S. O'Neil · Rating 4 out of 5]

Introverse - I received this book in exchange for a fair review. I like the book as it's written well, designed with thought proving chapter titles and the characters are interesting, and the plot moves at a steady pace. Technically, the book is well edited, with nary a missed quote or other grammatical error. I think it’s a beautiful book for the Young Adult audience. The plot involves a young college student named Indigo ( cool name, that the author obviously put some thought into) struggles with her life in the aftermath of an automobile accident that injured her and killed her mother. The author writes about the joy of a good cheeseburger, in this case, an In And Out Burger, and I like that. My feeling is that so few authors write to appeal to all the senses, and I believe that to be a mistake. I instantly care about the character because she's interesting. The daughter, mother and grandmother are all able to travel inward and tap into a vast body of knowledge called the Introverse, also referred to as "the gift." Indigo is told by Gigi, her grandmother that she must go on a journey into her Introverse to maximize her potential and find her mother. A quest, you say? Yes indeed, our young protagonist is on a quest to find herself and her dead mom, who apparently is living in a house by the sea. Well, there is certainly more to it than that. For one, there is a gas that robs people of their drive and replaces it with apathy—it sounds like what’s plaguing the youth of today. There are also certain groups vying for Indigo’s attention, the Brothers of the Braid and the Sisters of Paragon. It’s all good fun. I would say the plot is similar to The Chronicles of Narnia, in that Indigo travels to an alternative universe. I'll give the author this; her writing is descriptive and emotive in that her prose made me feel a bit like I was watching the action in the alternative universe unfold and that I grew to like and care about the characters.

[Melinda Brasher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Introverse is a creative adventure with some very cool details and characters with interesting backstories.

The writing needs some polishing, however. It slips in and out of tense. Numerous phrases like "she noted, she knew, she saw, she noticed" weigh it down. Along with various typos, there are many, many errors with commas. Yes, comma rules are quite subjective. But not all of them. For example, the vocative comma is pretty cut and dry (Let's eat Grandpa vs Let's eat, Grandpa). Some readers won't care about all this, but the combined overall effect is distracting—and distancing—for people like me.

MINOR SPOILER ALERT

The coincidences are a little hard for me to swallow, but then again, if it's all in Indigo's head and nothing is really real, maybe that makes sense.

Unfortunately, I feel like Indigo isn't quite an active-enough participant in her own adventure. She is rescued over and over. She's also led everywhere by different people, messages, and signs. Because of this, I wonder if she really makes enough decisions and does enough to save herself to truly achieve the inner strength and self-discovery that she claims. Even near the end, when Baxter is trying to haul Reese up out of the cave during an earthquake, Indigo just sort of peers over the edge, waiting for Baxter to save him. It takes forever for her to start helping pull him up. If all the other characters are just facets of herself, then she does show a lot of initiative, but I still would have liked to see her core character develop more.

END SPOILERS

The novel shows a lot of creativity. The stories of Coral and Jade Rose are engaging, and the world has a nice feel.

There's also some really enjoyable banter, especially between Reese and Indigo. Here's my favorite: "You don't have to do this for me." "Don't worry. I'm doing this for me." And the way he calls her "mosquito"…priceless.

*I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review.*

[Marco Peel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Indigo blames herself for the accident that killed her mother. Using a special gift she inherited, she journeys to another world within herself to find her mother and ask for her forgiveness.

A captivating fantasy with vivid, memorable scenes and well rounded, colorful characters, and a rather convoluted odyssey towards self-discovery. Introverse has that mixture of wonder and darkness of a Grimm fairy tale.

The only thing that annoyed me was the perpetuation of the idea that when a girl’s heart catches fire, her brains melt to mush. Probably because I don’t think I’ve never managed that effect on them...