The Shadow Prison by K. A. Parkinson

Sixteen-year-old Macy is not your average teenager—she’s a member of the Chosen, an elite group of gifted and magically talented children responsible for protecting humans from the monsters of the Hidden race. But when the Shard of the Ninth Chosen arrives at her Watcher’s door with the deadly Shadow Wraiths in hot pursuit, her world is shaken. The Ninth is to lead the Final Battle against the evil forces of the Dark. And when the Ninth turns out to be Tolen Parks, a clueless seventeen-year-old who has no idea he’s anything other than a freak, she figures the world is a goner. The two of them are swept down a dangerous path that tests everything Macy is ... and brings out everything Tolen can be. Amidst monsters and Radia Warriors, the pair must discover who they really are and face the heart of darkness in order to find victory ... and their destinies.

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MY REVIEW

I have enough difficulty with my own (familiar) world, so I am always seriously impressed when someone comes up with an entire 'other' world.  'Other' is in quotes because, as you begin to read The Shadow Prison (Book 1 of The Ninth Chosen Series) by K. A. Parkinson, it becomes apparent that while the book is set in the Utah and on the West Coast, it's a 'whole 'nother world' out there.  (In there?)

There are forces of the Light and of the Darkness.  There are humans and the Hidden.  There's a lot to take in...and I'm just reading.  Poor Tolen (the titular character) - he's thought all his life he was just a weird human.  Just before high school graduation, he finds out not only is he not human, he's got this whole destiny-to-save-humankind thing going on that his mother has neglected to mention to him.

Thank goodness there is a lexicon of Light words at the end of the book!  It's a pretty language (assuming I was pronouncing everything correctly, of course) that looks like some kind of cross between old Irish and something you might find in LOTR.

I'm always curious when and author name a book after one character and then starts out with a lot of activity from and information about a different character.  For the first chapters, I thought Macy (also one of the Chosen) was the main character.

When you start a book, let a lone a series, that is set in a whole other place and/or time, with its own laws, customs and languages, there is of necessity a lot of exposition, which made the beginning seem a teeny bit slow to me.  But as the story progresses, things definitely heat up and by the end I did not want to put my Kindle down!

I was a little disappointed at the ending - it was a little too abrupt for my taste.  I understand there are more stories to come (yay!), but Tolen and Macy had just been to h.e.double-toothpicks together (or pretty close to it).  They hugged, they relaxed.  I swiped my finger and saw "The End".  I may have wailed.  But there was an excerpt from Book 2 (The Keeper of the Last), which is, I believe due out this month, so I wasn't left completely hanging.

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MEET THE AUTHOR

(photo by Suzie Q Photography)

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K.A. is the mother of two incredible boys and has been married to her high school sweetheart for nineteen years.Writing and making up stories is something she has enjoyed doing for as long as she can remember.

As a child, she spent summers borrowing books from the Book Mobile, and hiding under her bed with a bag of cookies and a flashlight to enjoy great literary adventures. Some of her all-time childhood favorite books are, The Chronicles of Narnia, and The Lord of the Rings. She has always been a huge fan of fantasy and science fiction.

As an adult, she spends her days chauffeuring her boys between work, art and music lessons, running a household, and reading and writing every chance she gets.

She has spent many wonderful years working with girls ages 12 to 18 through her membership in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It is because of the experiences with these amazing young women, and their love and support, that she finally decided to pursue her dream of publishing clean and entertaining books for young adult audiences.

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(Disclosure:  I received this ebook from the author and publishers via EBookforReview.com, in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.)