Book Review: Riser by Becca Smith

Title: Riser

Author: Becca Smith

Paperback: 368 pages

Publisher: CreateSpace (June 5, 2010)

Ratings:

★ ★ ★ ★

My thoughts:

I enjoyed this book very much. The author wove a unique futuristic storyline that definitely grabbed my attention. I think writing a futuristic storyline can be hard as there are so many things to consider. 

In this book, in the year 2020, anti-aging pill or Age-pro was invented and by taking this pill anyone could be eighteen forever. You can actually  determine whether a person is rich or poor by their looks since Age-pro is quite expensive. People who had money can start taking the pill at eighteen while those people who had less money, they usually start taking the pill at the age of thirty. The story is unique too because the lead character, Chelsan has the ability to raise or re-animate every dead thing within the four-mile radius. Reminds me of Anita Blake, the lead character in the Anita Blake Series who's main job is to raise zombies. Such an interesting power to have. 

I would have rated this book 5-star if not for the following reasons:

First, all three guys here are drooling over Chelsan and Nancy. To be honest, it was a little bit annoying to read. I would really prefer guys do not drool over girls.

Secondly, the story became predictable when the killer was known right after Chelsan's mother was murdered. So there's nothing much to think about except the revelation of Chelsan's mom and pop's love story.

Overall, it was a great book. If you are looking for a nice refreshing story, you might want to pick-up this book.

About the book:

Black swirling holes churning madly in the center of every corpse. This is how eighteen-year-old Chelsan Derée sees the deceased. Her ability to connect to the black spinning holes allows her to control every dead thing within a four-mile radius. But that's the least of her problems. It's 2320 and Chelsan Derée has to survive another year of high school, which for her is pure and utter torture, mainly due to the fact that her schoolmate Jill Forester's favorite activity is making Chelsan's life a living hell. If that isn't enough, Chelsan's impossible crush on Ryan Vaughn makes her brain do somersaults on a regular basis, especially since she is positive he doesn't know she exists. And being eighteen Chelsan has to deal with the pressure of whether or not she should take a little pill called Age-pro, which cures aging, making the world eighteen forever and highly over-populated. When Chelsan's mother, Janet, is brutally killed, along with everyone else in her trailer park, Chelsan finds out that she was the intended target. Chelsan must use her power to raise and control the dead to save herself, protect her friends and take down the man responsible for murdering her mother. - Amazon

About the author:

Becca C Smith received her Film degree from Full Sail University and has worked in the Film and Television industry for most of her adult life. Becca wrote and illustrated Little Family Secrets, a graphic novel based on the true story of her great aunt who was famous for murdering her husband. Becca is also the co-author of the teen graphic novel Ghost Whisperer: The Haunted. She currently lives in Los Angeles, CA with her husband and two cats Jack and Duke. - Amazon

Note:


I received a review copy of this book free from the author, Beccaa Smith. The review posted above is based on my personal thoughts while reading the book.