Book Review: Haven by Kristi Cook.

Product details:
Publisher: Simon Pulse.
Hardcover, 416 pages.
Release date: February 22nd 2011.
Rating: 3½ out of 5.
Ages: 14+
Source: Simon & Schuster Galley Grab.

One month into her junior year, sixteen-year-old Violet McKenna transfers to the Winterhaven School in New York’s Hudson Valley, inexplicably drawn to the boarding school with high hopes. Leaving Atlanta behind, she’s looking forward to a fresh start--a new school, and new classmates who will not know her deepest, darkest secret, the one she’s tried to hide all her life: strange, foreboding visions of the future.

But Winterhaven has secrets of its own, secrets that run far deeper than Violet’s. Everyone there--every student, every teacher--has psychic abilities, 'gifts and talents,' they like to call them. Once the initial shock of discovery wears off, Violet realizes that the school is a safe haven for people like her. Soon, Violet has a new circle of friends, a new life, and maybe even a boyfriend--Aidan Gray, perhaps the smartest, hottest guy at Winterhaven.

Only there’s more to Aidan than meets the eye--much, much more. And once she learns the horrible truth, there’s no turning back from her destiny. Their destiny. Together, Violet and Aidan must face a common enemy--if only they can do so without destroying each other first.

Kristi Cook’s debut novel Haven is a quick, fun read and a total page turner, with a feisty female protagonist and lots of surprising plot twists to boot. Boarding school paranormals are a great weakness of mine, and when they come equipped with a hot love interest, then I’m pretty much sold. While this one contains all the elements you know and love from boarding school paranormals you’ve read in the past, Cook adds an element of surprise that allows this one to stand on its own. I also found Cook’s writing style a joy to read. The prose flows effortlessly, making this one a total page-turner. Haven is a fast paced read, and contains a great bunch of characters that I loved getting to know. Certain characters also struck me as being a little more mature than those I usually encounter in YA fiction, which adds to the crossover appeal of the book.

Winterhaven is a boarding school with a difference. For one, only pupils who have psychic abilities are accepted at Winterhaven, and these pupils are drawn to the school by some strange, unexplained means. In effect, the school chooses them, and that’s how Violet McKenna finds herself enrolling as a student at Winterhaven. Violet has a pretty tragic past, and has always felt like an outsider amongst her friends and family because of her psychic ability. This comes in the form of prophetic visions which allow her to foresee mostly bad things that are going to happen to the people closest to her. While she finds it hard to relate to people in the outside world because of this, she soon forms a close group of friends at Winterhaven, each with a very special gift of their own.

The girls that Violet meets at Winterhaven, and the friendships formed were realistic and easy to relate to, and were my favourite aspect of this book. Violet’s various friendships were well developed and while there are a few teething issues between Violet and some of the girls there is no jealously or bitchiness and the typically mean-girls element so often present in boarding school books is notably, and refreshingly absent here.

While at Winterhaven, Violet also meets the mysterious and elusive Aidan Gray, the brooding hero of the piece. To say that Aidan is a tortured soul is an understatement. While the guy is undeniably hot, he’s definitely got issues! Nevertheless, Violet is instantly drawn to Aidan, and the feeling is definitely mutual. What these two don’t immediately know is that their destinies are inextricably linked, and not in a good way either! Even though their connection is explained through the story, Aidan and Violet didn’t totally work as a couple for me. Their relationship is tumultuous to say the least, and yet these two totally and utterly fall in love very quickly indeed. For me, the chemistry between them was a little off, and I found it difficult to warm to Aidan, but then he is harbouring some big secrets, which made me wary of him right from the start. And, when I say big, I mean it in a pretty huge! When Aidan’s secrets are revealed, the book definitely takes off in a direction that I wasn’t expecting.

With this one set to be the first in a series, there are a couple of unanswered questions here and things are set up very nicely for the next book. While I definitely had a couple of issues with this one, I  very much enjoyed it overall, and I’m really looking forward to seeing how Aidan and Violet deal with the major obstacles lying ahead of them. This one is a fun, entertaining read, and a great debut!