Book Review: Welcome to Sortilege Falls

Welcome to Sortilege Falls (Grape Merriweather, book 1)

Author: Libby Heily

Published by: Fire & Ice Young Adult Books

Publication Date: 31 May 2016

Page Count: 250

Buy it at Barnes & Noble or Amazon

Source: e-book provided by author

Audience: Young Adult - Paranormal

When Grape Merriweather moved to Sortilege Falls, she was excited to be starting a new school and meeting new people, making new friends. She was popular at her old school, so why not here as well. But that's not what happened her first day. She was ignored by everyone, barely anyone spared her a glance. Then she met the "models," three guys and two girls, of the school and town, five gorgeous teenagers, all but one were horrible to her, treating her less than dirt, but for some reason it was hard to stand up to them or stay mad. Only one of the girls was nice to her.  Grape was devastated by her first day at her new school. The models had a strange sort of control over the people in her new town. They bent over backwards to please these five gorgeous teenagers. Grape seemed to have some sort of immunity, and she started hanging out with one of the models. Then tragedy struck, the models started getting sick, one by one. Grape and her new friend started looking into the sickness, trying to find answers the doctors couldn't provide. But at what cost will they go to find them?

I really enjoyed reading this book. The characters were well thought out and I enjoyed the story line. It was an intriguing concept. I also enjoyed the twists that were thrown in. You knew something was going on below the surface, but didn't know exactly what. It was an intriguing read.

The characters were all very well written, each "model" having their own personality, along with Grape's family. All the other characters were just mindless drones, which is appropriate for this book, with them all being so in love with the gorgeous teenage models. I am intrigued by Grape and her family, and their apparent immunity to the models. Grape has moments, but not nearly as drone-like as the rest of the town. It make me wonder if there is something special about them, or if it's just because they are from out of town and didn't grow up around the models. Sadly, that is not answered in the first book, but I'm hoping it may be answered in later books in the series.

The models themselves intrigue me, and how they got their gorgeous good looks and power over the townspeople. I am hoping in future books we will have more answers as to how they became that way. It's sort of answered in the book, but there are still a lot of questions surrounding it. I'm looking forward to the continuing story of Grape, her family, her town, and the models.

One Last Thought: The book was very well written. I was very impressed. I have a keen eye for grammatical errors, meaning I find them quite easily, and in this book I don't remember many at all. That makes me happier than I should be, I think.

Favorite Thing About This Book: I love that Grape and her family are slightly immune to the powers of the models. It's intriguing to me, and makes me want to read more and find out if there is more to it. I also have to say that I love Grape's name. I would never be brave enough to name a child that, but I love it just the same!

First Sentence: Grape's pulse slowed to a trickle.

Favorite Character: Grape

Least Favorite Character: Adam

Synopsis

Sixteen-year-old Grape Merriweather has just moved to Sortilege Falls and already she knows something isn't right. A small pack of teenage models, too beautiful for words, holds the town in their sway. The models have no plans on making Grape's life easy. But no matter how cruel they are to Grape and the other “Normals”, no one can stay angry with them for long.

Grape's life changes for the better, or so she thinks, when Mandy, the only “nice” model, befriends her. But that’s when the trouble truly begins. Mandy's friendship places Grape smack in the middle of a medical mystery that has the entire town on edge. One by one, the models fall ill from an incurable disease. Grape quickly realizes that the models' parents are hiding a secret, even as they watch their children die. To save her only friend, Grape will have to find the truth–and that means putting her life in danger.