Harbinger

by Sara Wilson Etienne

Overview

Plagued by waking visions and nightmares, sixteen-year-old Faye thinks she’s going crazy. Fast. She can hardly blame her parents when they ship her off to the prison-like Holbrook Academy for treatment. On her first night at Holbrook, she feels strangely connected to the school, like she’s come home. But when strange and terrifying things start happening to Faye and her newfound friends, Faye knows she’s the reason, but what does it mean? The handsome Kel helps her unravel the mystery, but Faye is certain he’s also trying to kill her—and maybe the rest of the world too.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781101559819
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	02/02/2012
Sold by:	Penguin Group
Format:	eBook
Pages:	336
File size:	768 KB
Age Range:	12 Years

About the Author

Sara Wilson Etienne (www.sarawilsonetienne.com) lives in Los Angeles, California.  This is her first novel.

Editorial Reviews

Gr 7–10—In a bleak future time when the Earth's resources are depleted, six-year-old Faye has a mysterious incident on a beach resulting in strange behavior, hallucinations, nightmares, and ostracism. Ten years later, 16-year-old Faye is taken to Holbrook Academy, a boarding school for teens "struggling to cope with reality" on a coastal Maine island. After taking the required sleeping pills her first night, she escapes her room and cannot shake the fuzzy memory of music, drums, and chanting; nor can she shake the feelings she develops for Kel, with whom she bonds in a neighboring solitary confinement cell the next day. Faye's "family" unit includes her roommate, Maya; Kel; and three others, all plagued each morning with red-stained hands, while Faye and Maya also awake with red symbols painted on their floor. As Faye searches for the meaning of the symbols, she discovers that she has a purpose of apocalyptic importance. Etienne manages to pack a lot of popular YA story elements into this debut novel, such as dystopian societies, romance, teen misfits, and a boarding school, and she mixes many genres including mystery, thriller, paranormal, and fantasy. While the plot moves quickly, the story line is disjointed and the flow of the narrative is choppy. The accompanying Holbrook Academy map and tarot cards are a welcome addition to the book, and the cover is visually appealing.—Adrienne L. Strock, Maricopa County Library District, AZ

School Library Journal

Set in a near-future United States where the oil crisis has resulted in food rationing and energy restrictions, Etienne's debut is a dark, dramatic, but uneven call for ecological balance. Sixteen-year-old Faye Robson suffers from hallucinations, nightmares, and insomnia, and she can see secrets in people's minds by touching them. Her parents send her to Holbrook Academy on a Maine island, a school promoted as a caring place for troubled youth, which is actually a harsh and violent prison where the teens are mentally and physically tormented for the slightest transgression. When Faye and her assigned "Family" wake up every morning on the floor with their hands stained red and no memory of what's happened, she begins to connect current events to recovered memories of her childhood. Clues lead her to a century-old prophecy written in blood that predicts the coming of the Harbinger, a force that will wash the world clean, prompting Faye's resolve to stop the destruction of humanity. Tense and well-paced, Etienne's novel effectively draws in readers, but melodrama and mysticism lead to an overwrought and puzzling climax. Ages 12–up. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

"Heart-wrenching, terrifying, hot, and un-put-down-able!" — Tamora Pierce

"Intricate, suspenseful, completely absorbing. Harbinger is masterfully done: complex and layered with extraordinary clues that will keep you awash in fear, suspicion, and questions until the rich and satisfying end." — Lisa McMann, author of the NYT bestselling Wake Trilogy

"Powerful stuff." — BCCB Reviews

The plot twists and pace should keep the pages turning." — Booklist

From the Publisher

"Powerful stuff."

BCCB Reviews

"Intricate, suspenseful, completely absorbing. Harbinger is masterfully done: complex and layered with extraordinary clues that will keep you awash in fear, suspicion, and questions until the rich and satisfying end."

Lisa McMann

"Heart-wrenching, terrifying, hot, and un-put-down-able!"

Tamora Pierce

Debut author Etienne's novel tells the story of Faye Robson, a 16-year-old girl plagued by mysterious "episodes" and shipped off to Holbrook Academy by her parents, ostensibly for her own good. Thus betrayed by her family, Faye quickly connects with a small group of fellow students, bound together by mysterious happenings at the school. Desperate to uncover the secrets of her past, the source of her visions and the truth behind the frightening goings-on at Holbrook, Faye and her new "family" risk serious and painful consequences in their quest for answers. The novel has its share of plusses. Faye is an artist at heart, and the first-person narration, even when relaying the darkest and most gruesome aspects of the story, reflects Faye's vivid and sensuous view of the world. It also lends itself to an interesting perspective on Faye's internal struggles, particularly with regard to her love/hate relationship with her terrifying visions. Unfortunately, the resolution feels forced, the author having spent too much time reveling in dark, gory details to the detriment of the story. It's unfortunate that the more positive aspects of the novel are diluted by a confusing plot that takes too long to work itself out and has the potential to leave readers scratching their heads at the end. (Fantasy. 14 & up)

Kirkus Reviews