In Which I Review... The Veil by Cory Putman Oakes

 

 Seventeen-year-old Addison Russell is in for a shock when she discovers that she can see the invisible world of the Annorasi. Suddenly, nothing is as it appears to be -- the house she lives in, the woman who raised her, even the most beautiful boy in town all turn out to be more than what they seem. And when this strange new world forces Addy to answer for a crime that was committed long ago, by parents she has never known, she has no choice but to trust Luc, the mysterious Annorasi who has been sent to protect her. Or so he says . . .

Paperback, 288 pages

Published November 1st 2011 by Octane Press









The Veil. Wow! I loved this novel.

Firstly, let me start off by saying, I wasn't planning on reviewing this novel. With my review pile being so incredibly long, I snuck in Oakes' book as a pleasure read. I mean, here I was drinking out of this mug daily that says, "Caffeine gives me Annorasi powers", eating Ghiradelli chocolates and wondering how the heck they related to The Veil, drinking some amazing coffee (Illy coffee, to be exact, that is amazing and way out of my price range for coffee), and looking at these stickers that state "I &heart* Luc" and I had no idea who Luc even was! (I actually won all of this The Veil related stuff via a Cory Putman Oakes giveaway on the lovely Cynsations blog - the blog of author extraordinaire, Cynthia Leitich Smith.)

So suffice it to say, my curiousity was getting the best of me, so I snatched up the book and warily, I began reading. I mean, you'd probably feel the same. After anticipating it for so long, I was scared that I'd be let down immensely, and end up staring mournfully at the mug and stickers, never the coffee and chocolates though. Fortunately for me, The Veil left nothing to mope about. I was thoroughly, thoroughly satisfied and all I could think was why wasn't people screaming about this book!

The Veil takes on a subject I have never seen taken on, a veil between two worlds- the one we live in and another very extraordinary world few can see- these few being the people of this world- The Annorasi.

The Annorasi are a paranormal entity of their own. I couldn't say creature, monster, nothing, because besides their ability to see between and travel between the worlds and their "otherworldly" powers (get it?), they seem completely human. Well, most of them.

I would recommend this to anyone searching for something different in the YA world. The Veil is a novel set apart from the rest, and Oakes' manipulation of words created something spectacularly special. This is one book you will not regret reading.

I give The Veil 5 shining stars, and yes, I now do love Luc. In fact, I carry one of my "I *heart* Luc" stickers in my binder for the world to see.