The Carafers (Powerless #5) [NOOK Book]

Great continuation of the series...

I can't wait to read the last book to find out how Mira and her friends fare. I have had a great time reading about the growth of these naive kids into pretty impressive young adults. I will be sad to finish the series, but look forward to reading more from this author.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Great series, a must-read

This and the other 2 books that are out right now are great. I "stumbled" upon Jason Letts when I saw that Amanda Hocking had edited the first in his "Inevitable" trilogy. I became a huge fan of Amanda Hocking when I first got my nook, and promptly read all of her books that were available. Once I read "Inevitable", I went searching for more of his work, and I found the Powerless series. Being a fan of the paranormal genre, I found this book refreshingly different from other books of the same genre, and I could not put it down. I read all three available books in this series in 3 days, and I anxiously await Book 4, which should be out any day now.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Highly Recommend

If you are into paranormal, magic, etc this is an amazing series to read. The author is tremendous and creates characters many would never think of.

Amazing!!

I love this book! The only thing i didnt like was the ending. It was rushed and kind of hard to keep up with. But otherwise its a great book!! Great characters, plot, everything. I totally recomend reading it!! And 99?? Cant beat that(;

Amazing Series

I love love loved these books. They are well written and kept me interested the whole way through. Mira and the gang are all very interesting characters. Kudos to Jason Letts on his unique storyline.

Great ending to an awesome series

I was sad for it to come to an end, but I was very satisfied with the conclusion. This series has followed several young men and women on a journey of self-discovery, friendship, and love. I highly recommend the Powerless series. But be warned, once you start, it's almost impossible to stop :)

Love this series

I've gotten very attached to the characters as well, and can't wait for the next book. I'm hoping it won't be the end of their story, it's a great series. A joy to read.

The Shadowing

Part two of The Powerless series, The Shadowing continues the struggles of Mira and her cohorts. The Shadowing follows the training process of the children as they prepare themselves for battle, though Mira has a different goal in mind.

I really enjoyed the format and how the book bounced back and forth between different characters, showing their progress and setbacks as they explored the limits of their powers. The action was exciting, the plot engaging and overall a fun read. Book three just moved up near the top of my long list of to be purchased and to be read books.

Thanks Jason for the ride. I look forward to the next adventure!

Brave New World

I recently read Powerless: The Synthesis on my Kindle for iphone app, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I will admit up front that I am a sucker for all things superhero. Flying people? Let me at it! Super-human strength? I'll read it! Telekinesis? Yes, please! Uncontrollable sweat with the consistency of Crisco? Um... Control and mastery over grubs and earthworms? Yikes!! No, this is not your typical comic-book superhero storyline. Jason Letts (who, by the way, is an immensely funny guy and a blast to chat with online) has created a world where EVERYBODY receives a super power upon birth. Some are lucky, and get the "nifty" powers like strength, speed, or mind control. Many get not-so-nifty powers like really bendy thumb or the ability to communicate with grapenuts. Still, the main character, Mira Ipswitch, is the unluckiest of all. She has NO power whatsoever. Because of this, her parents had kept her sheltered from the rest of the world for her pre-teenage years. Finally revealing the truth, they let her attend her Senior year of school, where she has to use her intelligence and natural abilities to fit in with her suspicious classmates. All of this is set in a world that seems very primitive. You would think with everyone having superpowers, there would be teeming metropolises, mega-transportation centers, and an intricate governing body. Instead, the world Mira is awakened to consists of an outpost, little more than an encampment, really, governed by one town elder who hears all. This is book 1 in a 5-part series, and the ending does indeed set the stage well for a second act. Anyone looking for a fun new Young Adult series would do well to check out Powerless. Especially since it's only 99 cents on the Nook!

Superpowered sequel, full of action and character growth

At 16, Mira Ipswich is used to overcoming the odds. Everyone in her world has a special comic-book-hero-style power--some impressive, some mundane--but Mira has no powers at all. Still, she's so intelligent and innovative, she managed to beat out all the superpowered kids at her school for their Final Trial before graduation. Now, Mira is under more pressure than ever because she has learned about her twin sister who was stolen at birth and is now a captive in enemy territory. Mira feels compelled to save her sister Clara, but to do so, she'll have to become even stronger and wiser. All the graduating kids at Corey Outpost are dispersing to becomes shadows (apprentices) to adults who can show them how to develop their powers, but Mira has no powers to develop, so she decides to develop her intellect instead and seeks out Flip Widget, a science genius, to be her mentor.

As Mira and some of her friends leave for the city of Darmen to begin their shadowing, Mira learns that they'll be meeeting up again in a few months for the Autmnal Equinox and the Rite at Shadow Mountain, a gruelling race which often proves deadly. Though she bested them all only a few days prior, some of her friends still underestimate Mira's ability to tackle such an obstacle, but Mira insists that she'll be able to win the race.

Mira finds Flip Widget and after much persuasion, he agrees to be her mentor. It looks like she's finally found a teacher worthy of the name, because he starts her on a brutal training regimen. Mira gets used to staying outdoors and working with her environment, and she also learns more about science and even takes part in a carefully designed raiding expedition. She's put into life-threatening situations, but the training isn't about being safe--it's about learning to survive in sink-or-swim situations, and it's important for her growth because though she might have been the leader of her class, the other kids they weren't very bright, and she has to learn what to do what she faces an enemy who is both powerful and intelligent.

Speaking of the other kids, they get about as much pagetime as Mira, and their challenges as shadows really add to the story. Seeing training sessions from Vern, Aoi, and Will's POVs gives the reader more insight into the various powers and how they can and can't be utilized, and really showcases the worldbuilding. The other kids also get exponentially more savvy, not just about their powers, but about the world in general, and they ask themselves tough questions about the war they're soon going to go fight. The superpowered kids realize how much they all need Mira, and they see her as a rallying point and a source of strength and unity, despite her disability.

The Shadowing is good sequel material, with bigger challenges, loads of character growth, and a change of scenery. Mira has relied on her parents int he past, and now she has to fend for herself and deal with a major betrayal. Action, intrigue, and some very disturbing Big Reveals await, and Mira, a naturally buoyant kid, gets hit by some experiences from which she may never fully recover. By the novel's end, our heroine's in a tough place, mentally, physically, and emotionally, and we're left with one doozy of a cliffhanger.

A Great Twist!

This book is about a girl who lives on a world where everyone has a power... except for her. Mira has to rely on her brains, rather than some supernatural power. I enjoyed reading how she got herself into scrapes and then figured out how to get herself out of them. The book was well written, my only complaint was the point of view switching. Sometimes it was hard to figure out whose head we were in. But that was the only thing I didn't like. The author painted the world in detail, and I enjoyed getting lost in this story.

Solid coming-of-age story

Not all superpowers are created equal. For every soaring Superman there is an Aquaman, ordering the starfish to do his bidding. Four of Captain Planet's planeteers get elemental powers, while one has the nebulous power of "Heart". But in a world where every known person has some extraordinary gift on the sliding scale of usefulness, Mira Ipswich has no powers at all. For almost her whole life, her parents have kept her sequestered in Cloud Cottage so that none of the other superbeings crush or maim her by accident. But finally when Mira's fifteen, her parents decide to let her out into the world, and though they think it'll be a miracle if she survives for any length of time, they're tired of forcing her to live a lie. She's got to live on her own power, however limited that might be.

Mira's a Hermione sort of character, with a bit of action heroine thrown in. While she lived inside the cloud shield, Mira's mom taught her at home and Mira herself read science textbooks and manuals on mechanics for fun. As a result of her study, she's a million times smarter than the superpowered kids she meets when she enrolls at Dustfalls Academy. At first, she just answers all the teacher's questions (and gives him some information even he didn't know), but soon she's really putting her knowledge to work in various challenges that pit the students against each other in skill matches. Mira has a surprising advantage over the other students simply because they're so used to relying on their powers, it makes them highly vulnerable to anybody who thinks outside the box. Mira later realizes that she can use her smarts not just to defeat the others, but to show them how to improve themselves and maximize their powers.

I only had a few difficulties with the story. The mix of genre styles was interesting, but at times it could be distracting: there are contemporary names (Mira's parents are Kevin and Jeana) and the language used is pretty current, but the townships have a slightly medieval feel, and the superhero-style powers shown could belong to either an alternate present or futuristic story. The omniscient POV helps show a major subplot with Mira's dad trying to find out who's trying to hurt Mira and why, and allows insight into other characters' actions, but I liked it best when it was focusing on Mira, since she's the heart of the story.

I appreciated the thought-provoking subject matter of The Synthesis. In a world where everyone is special, does that mean that no one is? In some ways, yes, but there are always going to be some gifts that are flashier than others, and those people are valued more-Mira's teacher even labels the kids as "good" or "bad" students based on their ability to beat other kids at power challenges. Mira throws the social dynamic off-kilter and introduces some new ideas. Early on, I wondered if interacting with only her parents for ten years might have done unusual things to Mira's personality, and it sort of has: she has trouble connecting and making friends until she tackles the lack-of-friends issue like she would handle any other problem and works out the possible solutions.

With strong family themes, action scenes involving superpowers, a war being fought in the distance, and a heroine who doesn't back down even when she feels defeated, The Synthesis is a creative story that should work well for younger teens and fans of Harry Potter.

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