The Seven Rays

Author: Jessica Bendinger
Rating: 5/5 Stars
 Summary: You are more than you think you are.

THAT IS THE ANONYMOUS MESSAGE that Beth Michaels receives right before she starts seeing things. Not just a slept-through my-alarm-clock, late-for-homeroom, haven't had-my-caffeine-fix kind of seeing things. It all starts with some dots, annoying pink dots that pop up on and over her mom and her best friend's face. But then things get out of control and Beth is seeing people's pasts, their fears, their secrets, their desires. The images are coming at Beth in hi-def streaming video and she can't stop it. Everyone thinks she's crazy and she's pretty sure she agrees with them. But crazy doesn't explain the gold envelopes that have started arriving, containing seeing keys and mysterious tarot cards. To Beth, it all seems too weird to be true. You are more than you think you are? But here's the thing: What if she is?(From Goodreads.com)

I've been waiting to read this book for ages and when I finally finished it, it didn't disappoint. I was intrigued from the first page of this book. I felt like I read a huge whopper of a book in just a few hundred pages. That's how fast the pace was. I was never bored. I was always trying to figure out what would happen next, and it was hard to because I've never read a book like this before. Other reviews I've read on this book called it weird and odd, but that just made me love it even more! First I was caught up in Beth's new romance, then when she started seeing things, and then she fought with her best friend, all the while trying to figure out what secrets her mom was keeping from her. The list goes in, but I don't want to summarize the plot for you. But while the book was a whirlwind of events, I still connected with the characters; they were very well developed.
    I also loved the main character, Beth. She was pretty much a clone of me, haha. She was just going with the flow, even if people thought she was crazy. She was impulsive, but all the while kept her eye on what she wanted. I really connected with her, and that's something I rarely do with main characters, because they're usually shy and timid at first, but then break out of their shells a little, but not much.
     Another reason why I loved this was because the events that happened felt like they were unfolding like a journey, and that's exactly what it was. The first half of the book was completely different from the second half, but they were so perfectly woven together I didn't even notice the change until I looked back on the story.
    I think fans of action and adventure books will really like this book. I thought that the writing and the way the plot played out reminded me of Libba Bray's Going Bovine and James Patterson's Maximum Ride series. By the way, here is the book's website. I really like the playlist; I think it captures the book's events perfectly. And just because I feel like it, the new Coldplay song, Every Teardrop is A Waterfall captures the whole book perfectly, if you're into playlists for books. Here's the link: http://www.thesevenrays.com/