Book Review: Fathom (The Chronicles of Crescent Moon Bay #1) by Merrie Destefano

Summary: 

Everything is changing . . .

Turning sixteen can be hell, especially if everyone in town thinks your mother killed herself and your sister. All Kira Callahan wants to do is swim, hang out with her best friend, Sean, and ignore the kids who torment her at school. That is, until one day when she gets invited to a party. For three minutes her life is wonderful—she even kisses Sean in the driveway. Then somebody spikes her drink at the party and some girls from out of town lure her into the ocean and hold her underwater.

Kira soon discovers that the group of wild teenagers who have come to visit Crescent Moon Bay are not as innocent as they seem. In fact, nothing is as it seems—not the mysterious deaths of her sister and mother, not her heritage, not even her best friend. And everything seems to hinge on the ancient Celtic legends that her mother used to tell her as a child.

Release Date: October 30, 2012

Age Group: YA

Source: Review copy from author

Review:
Fathom was such a good read!  I started Fathom book having no expectations (something which I enjoy doing) and was surprised at how much I enjoyed it.  The book starts with Kira seeing what she thinks is the ghost of her mother.  I almost stopped reading right then---because you know I don't do ghosts in any way, shape, or form---but after emailing the author to verify that there were no ghosts in this story, I was able to continue reading.  And I'm really glad I did because I would have hated to miss out on this great read.  

I loved Fathom's focus on Celtic legends.  It gave the story some weight and depth.  Parts of the book were almost haunting, they were so emotionally written.  I loved that Kira deals with her emotions by writing---what a positive outlet for negative emotions.  I also enjoyed that the reader is in the dark right along with Kira as to what's going on with her and her family.

There was a great surprise at the end of Fathom, which left me so impatient to read the next book in the series.  I loved the unique paranormal aspect, but most of all, I loved Destefano's writing style.  Her characters' emotions just jumped off the page, they were so vividly written.  There were several interwoven story lines, which I really enjoyed.  I hope that book two is written from Kira's perspective, but I would enjoy reading from another character's perspective as well: Destefano made me care about all of the characters, not just my favorite ones.  

I recommend Fathom to fans of contemporary and paranormal YA.  I look forward to book two in this new series!