The idea was great. I wanted to love it. Kizer's writing is very poor and it's a bit distracting while reading the book.

Share/Like this Review?

Reviewed by Bibliophile's Bestiary Blog at bibliophile-bestiary.blogspot.com

Ehh....not really a good book. The beginning was great, and the idea of the story was intriguing, but the author just couldn't pull it off. It was like reading parts of several books thrown poorly together into one. It starts out explaining who Meridian is and what her life has been like. All of a sudden, she is sent away to a distant relative that she has never met. She learns about what she truly is and what her role in life is. The characters changed so dramatically and without cause midway through the book that it was hard to keep up. It seemed like things were forced to happen, otherwise nothing would. The ending picked up a little, hopefully promising more (better) things to come in the 3 additional books planned for the series. In my opinion, not worth the read. 2 out of 5 stars.

Share/Like this Review?

from my blog Reader's Enchantment at http://readersenchantment.blogspot.com/:


With a slow start, Meridian can be hard to stick with, but it's so worth it!

Meridian Sozu is a teenage girl who has always had things die around her. Ants, turtles, rabbits, all seem to come to her to die. She and her family avoid taking about what is going on, until suddenly, on her 16th birthday, she is sent from her home and family to live with an Aunt she hardly knows. It turns out that Meridian is a fenestra, a window to the afterlife, that souls pass through. She is not Death (which is what she was afraid of all along) and she is one of a dwindling number of fenestras in the world. As with everything else, there is a bad side, an evil side, that wants her to join them in the destruction of life. With her aunt's help, Meridian must learn to control her powers, and she has just a few weeks to learn how to allow souls to move through her without taking her with them.

This is the first book in a series, and it's easy to see: a lot of world building happens in this book. However, the next book in this series is not coming out til Fall 2011! That's a long time to try to keep readers, especially young adults, interested. That's pretty much my only complaint about this book. The last 50 pages or so is when the action really heats up, and of course the book ends just when things really get good. I give Meridian 4 stars for its unique storyline. In the meantime, you can check out Meridian's website at Meridian Sozu.com (Interesting note: the cover to the Turkish edition of this book has Amy Lee, the lead singer of Evanescence, on it.)

Share/Like this Review?

Reviewed by Breia "The Brain" Brickey for TeensReadToo.com

Meridian is a teenage girl who has seen a lot of death in her almost sixteen years. It has been a constant companion for her and she has no idea why - even small animals seem to die when they are near her. She spends most of her young life being feared by the kids around her, but that all changes as her 16th birthday nears.

On her way home from school, a tragic accident happens and she is forced to flee. She goes one way and her family another. She is sent to live with her namesake, an aunt whom she only knows from the quilts that she sent for all of Meridian's birthdays.

Once there she meets Tens, a mysterious boy who also lives with her aunt. Meridian is told that she is Fenestra, a descendant of Angels who sends souls on their way to the afterlife. She must learn to control her ability, because there are those who would use it against her.

Let me first say that I thoroughly enjoyed this book. The mythology of this story was entirely new for me as a reader. I felt that it was well thought out, had interesting characters, and kept me enthralled for the entire book. While I did enjoy everything about this book, I wish there had been more back-story on Tens.

I read that there is another book coming out and I hope it turns into a series, because it would be a definite auto-buy for me.

Share/Like this Review?