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Meridian (Fenestra #1)

by Amber Kizer (Goodreads Author)

3.75 of 5 stars 3.75 · rating details · 5,739 ratings · 521 reviews

Half-human, half-angel, Meridian Sozu has a dark responsibility.

Sixteen-year-old Meridian has been surrounded by death ever since she can remember. As a child, insects, mice, and salamanders would burrow into her bedclothes and die. At her elementary school, she was blamed for a classmate’s tragic accident. And on her sixteenth birthday, a car crashes in front of her famil...more

Hardcover, 320 pages

Published August 11th 2009 by Delacorte Books for Young Readers (first published July 28th 2009)

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Books with Angels, Gods, or Demons

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Aug 27, 2010 Kat Kennedy rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: the-great-shelf-of-meh, kat-s-book-reviews

Every now and again I write a review for a book and a random person comes in and berates me for how I felt about that book and insists that it was a fantastic piece of literature that I was not good enough to read. What they’re basically saying is I’M WRONG DAMNIT! HOW COULD I SAY THOSE THINGS ABOUT THEIR FAVOURITIST AUTHOR?!

I always marvel at this attitude as every review is going to contain a certain amount of bias. Each person experiences the same phenomenon differently, after all. However, I...more

24 likes · like · see review

Dec 06, 2011 Bry rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2010, urban-fantasy, young-adult

All those other YA books that claimed to be dark were sadly lacking (I'm looking at you Fallenand Hush, Hush), but this book - this is dark and delicious in every sense of the words.

Meridian is a Fenestra, a being who helps guide the souls of the dead into the afterlife so that they are not reincarnated and are able to meet up with their loved ones again on the other side. This is a family trait that passes down through the bloodlines but is not present in every generation. Her 16th birthday mar...more

12 likes · like · see review

Sep 26, 2011 Bonnie rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: pn-angels, fantasy, ya

2.5 stars

You can’t help but be intrigued by the summary: “As a child, insects, mice, and salamanders would burrow into her bedclothes and die.” Whaaaaatt??? Creepy right? I totally loved the introduction into the story, loved learning about her childhood and all that she had to endure as her parents never fully understood her.

On her sixteenth birthday when she witnesses a tragic car accident right in front of her house, her parents proceed to tell her that she must leave town immediately to sta...more

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Apr 22, 2010 Kim rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya, ebook, read-in-2010

I'm frowning... I liked about 3/4 of this book. Towards the end it all went way too fast and everything just... worked out somehow. They needed person A and poof there he was. Then they needed person B and lucky for Meridian the mother of person B already had a dream about Meridian needing their help, so they were already near where it all went down. But not without the help of a tame wolf who decided playing dead on the middle of a deserted road was the best approach to making them stop their c...more

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Nov 14, 2012 Jennifer Wardrip rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: trt-posted-reviews, trt-gold-star-award-winner

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 ano...more

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May 01, 2010 ~Tina~ rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: angels, young-adult, read-2010

(2.5-3Stars)

Death finds her for as long as she can remember. It was a way of life for Meridian, always finding dead animals scattered around. This was her normal. This was her life. For as long as she could remember death has followed her, always...

I wanted to like this one, really I did, but sadly I couldn't.
Meridian starts off with a mad rush pulling in the readers to it's wild storyline but I think that it was to fast and all at once. It ended to easily making it too neat and tidy that left m...more

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Jun 02, 2010 Nicola rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: arc, own

Reason for Reading: I was attracted to the angel aspect of the story as I enjoy paranormals involving angels.

When Meridian turns sixteen her family has planned for her to be whisked away to live with "Auntie" for an undermined amount of time. It is here that she learns that she is only half-human, the other half is angel. In fact she is a Fenestra, a window to the 'other side' that the dead seek out, if she is near, to make their passing easier. Auntie is also a Fenestra and Meridian has been br...more Reason for Reading: I was attracted to the angel aspect of the story as I enjoy paranormals involving angels.

When Meridian turns sixteen her family has planned for her to be whisked away to live with "Auntie" for an undermined amount of time. It is here that she learns that she is only half-human, the other half is angel. In fact she is a Fenestra, a window to the 'other side' that the dead seek out, if she is near, to make their passing easier. Auntie is also a Fenestra and Meridian has been brought here to learn how to open and close the window properly without getting sucked in herself. But time is short and their evil opponents, the Aternocti will do anything to destroy Auntie and Fenestra before the information can be passed on.

The premise of this story is very exciting and I feel the book could have been so much more than it was. The only character I really connected with Meridian herself, even though there were plenty of times when her behaviour didn't quite ring true. I'm of two minds when it comes to this book. I feel as though my words will make the book sound worse than it was because I really did enjoy the story, became quite caught up in the plot and read the book quickly.

Besides the lack of fully developed characters my main irritant with the book were the religious issues. The author went to great pains to repeatedly let Meridian know that in (the book's) world their is no Christianity. Meridian would ask questions about Heaven and would be given answers like religions have many names for it. She'd ask about God and be told "the Creators are known by many names". This type of thing is mentioned so much you are hit over the head with it. And yet, the bad guys are masquerading as Christians. We are told once at the beginning of the book, before we meet the bad guys, that they are a cult, after that they are simply referred to as Christians. However, throughout the entire book all the detailed descriptions of this group, their practices and church celebrations are all based on The Old Testament. The self-styled preacher quotes Biblical phrases often and there are notes for the reader to look them up (all Old Testament). There is no mention of Jesus or Christ, except once when someone mentions they voted to keep the Christ in Christmas. This just really irked me. The two issues together come across as being anti-Christian. This isn't the first I've run into this. If an author wants to make the bad guys a group of Christians, so be it, but at least have them follow the The New Testament where Christ is found i.e. the term "Christian". As far as I would say, 'Christians' who only follow the Old Testament would actually be Jewish.

Back to the story, remember I did say that overall I did enjoy it. It has a very strong beginning and the Fenestra creation, with the other mythos created around it is unique and interesting. The book ends satisfactorily but the two main characters are ready to set off for their future, making a sequel more than obvious. I would read a sequel should one be written. (less)

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Dec 11, 2012 Amanda rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: bored-me-to-tears, use-as-paperweight, wish-i-could-unread, pretty-cover

This book was all sorts of terrible. The premise for the book was interesting, I'll give it that. I wanted to see where it'd go. The book interested me with the basic idea that a girl was surrounded by death all the time. I didn't expect it to turn around into some long, drawn out boring, dull romance (if you can even call it that).

The entire beginning was too buoyant--very very slow then sped up too quickly--not enough time to develop any characterization. You are barely figuring out how Meridi...more

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Sep 18, 2011 Janus Vielle (The Blair Book Project) rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: owned-paperback

This book has its perks: the premise sounds so intriguing, it has a great cover, and the story itself was catchy. However I felt that it wasn’t fully developed.

I guess it needed more work. Let’s set aside the issue of Christianity and/or religious beliefs because in Meridian’s world, it has a different perspective so I totally understand that. But I think the flow of the book might have been overlooked. The establishment of the characters’ lives was an okay phase for me; the training of Meridian...more

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Dec 12, 2009 Trish rated it 2 of 5 stars

I'm not going to re-cap the events of the book, everybody else has already done it. Let me start off by saying this wasn't a bad book. I thought the premise was original and very interesting.

My problem was that I never actually connected to it and I'm not sure why. It felt like I was listening to the story, but not LIVING IN the story (if that makes sense). My favorite books are the ones that I fall completely into, where the world of the story becomes MY world while I'm reading, and this one ju...more

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Apr 02, 2013 Khanh rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: angels, high-school, tstl, religious-spiritual, ya, demons

My thoughts running through the majority of this book is that man, Meridian's got some shitty people in her life. Her family is of no help at all, I mean like the least useful people ever. If your daughter was a foreordained Fenestra/window of death thingy with people coming after her and trying to kill her when she comes into her full powers, WOULDN'T YOU WANT HER TO KNOW ABOUT IT? No! Hell to the no. They stick their heads in the sand like a couple of ostriches; being raised by animals who eat...more My thoughts running through the majority of this book is that man, Meridian's got some shitty people in her life. Her family is of no help at all, I mean like the least useful people ever. If your daughter was a foreordained Fenestra/window of death thingy with people coming after her and trying to kill her when she comes into her full powers, WOULDN'T YOU WANT HER TO KNOW ABOUT IT? No! Hell to the no. They stick their heads in the sand like a couple of ostriches; being raised by animals who eat their young would probably give Meridian a better survival rate, actually.

The loving parents 1) act like they're disgusted of Meridian because she attracts dead things, 2) give her no clue as to what she is so she at least knows what she's facing, 3) give her no survival skills whatsoever so she can fight back, 4) literally toss her onto a bus with no idea where she's going when people are trying to kill her.

The loving aunt is not much better. For someone who needs a successor, she didn't really do much to help Meridian survive. That scene where Meridian's abandoned at the bus stop? She is a braver girl than I. If I were left in a foreign place, in the middle of a snowstorm, tossed out by my parents, not picked up by an aunt whom I hardly knew existed, I'd be a sniveling, crying mess. When they finally meet, Auntie is horrified at the lack of information Meridian's parents gave her. Um, HELLO? For 16 years, all you did was send her quilts, lady. Was a visit too much to ask?

/takes deep breath

The plot was very Christian-centric. I get that it's not trying to be preachy, and this was, after all, an angel-based story, but I didn't really like the evil guys being Christian evangelists, and the accident on the train was a bit overreaching. The plot was a bit of a mess, they talk to people, they get preachy, they meet neighbors, they save people, it didn't feel like there was much centralization to the plot. I didn't like Tens either (what the hell kind of a name is that, anyway? This is an YA fantasy book, give me a sexy name! I don't need to learn to count). He comes off as completely patronizing and rude to Meridian when she first arrived in Colorado; considering that he's supposed to be her protector, he could have been a leetle bit nicer and less of a douche.

Meridian herself is the victim of the people around her, her parents, aunt, Tens, they've all resulted in her being a weak, scared little girl. Not that I blame her, I'd be worse in her case, but the book did not set her up to be a very good main character, and I find that I didn't care much for her at all. Man, this was a hard book to finish.(less)

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Jan 28, 2013 Paul rated it 1 of 5 stars

I'm glad that this book was available to read through my public library, as I would have berated myself for buying the book.
It might be sad to say that I couldn't get past the sixth chapter. This coming as an avid reader, someone who can for the most part read and comprehend lawyer speak, and taxation. I generally read a book within 12 hours of starting it, this one I seemed to keep putting back in its place.

First I want to say that the idea behind the novel was great, the fact that animals and...more

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Jan 16, 2013 Chelsea rated it 1 of 5 stars

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. This book was a mess. I really wanted to like it. Really. Honestly. But the problems for me started right at the beginning, with the bizarre family interactions.

After reading the book, you know that Meridian's mother knows all along the basics of what's going on with her daughter. But instead of sitting her down and explaining it, she sits by while her daughter is ostracized, becomes sicker and sicker, and feels more and more like a freak. Not that we really get a good sense of any of this. We'...more This book was a mess. I really wanted to like it. Really. Honestly. But the problems for me started right at the beginning, with the bizarre family interactions.

After reading the book, you know that Meridian's mother knows all along the basics of what's going on with her daughter. But instead of sitting her down and explaining it, she sits by while her daughter is ostracized, becomes sicker and sicker, and feels more and more like a freak. Not that we really get a good sense of any of this. We're just told, not shown any of it to make it real.

Then we move on at breakneck speed to Auntie's, where the 'mysterious' Tens is waiting. No. Not mysterious. Weird. Because he has no set character. It's as if Kizer has this idea in her head that a teen romance has to have a brooding hero, so Tens is brooding. Then the hero has to thaw, so there's a train wreck (literally and figuratively) that makes him thaw. Suddenly there's kissy time all over the place. What?

Then there's Auntie, who knows she's dying, but parcels out her important information to Meridian about what she is and what she does like there's all the time in the world.

Oh, and then there's my biggest complaint about the book, the one that had me throwing my book down in frustration halfway through reading, not sure if I even wanted to continue. The big bad guy is a charismatic preacher. Except not really because he's an 'immortal' bad guy who wants the world to fall to chaos. Or something. It's not clear. But Kizer uses the world of Christianity to paint her baddie picture by taking verses out of context and giving us an extreme example of a cultist leader- which no one points out. There is no talk of this guy being an extremist, or insane, or what's going on in the congregation- no talk of mob mentality or the dangerous game of following the leader to avoid consequences. No, just a feeling that the congregation went insane when this guy showed up. Because they're Christians and that's what Christians do lolol hahaha crazy Christians.

So okay, then at the end, the baddie manages to find them in their totes convenient Anasazi cave and is about to kill them, when NOT TO WORRY a random character from the beginning of the book shows up, talks in incomplete sentences, and turns the immortal baddie into nothing. Then disappears. WHAT?

This book was a big old pile of nope.
(less)

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Oct 31, 2012 Sarah Jordan rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: jugendliteratur

Schon immer wusste Meridian, dass sie anders ist. Jeden Morgen, wenn sie aufwachte, lagen tote Tiere neben ihr. Als sie ihrer einzigen besten Freundin einst davon erzählte, weil deren Hamster in Meridians Hand starb, wollte sie nichts mehr mit ihr zu tun haben. Denn sie dachte, was danach alle dachten: Sie bringe den Tod. Doch an ihrem 16. Geburtstag, soll sich diese Anschuldigung für sie in Luft auflösen, denn ihre Eltern schicken sie nach einem schrecklichen Busunglück zu einer weit entfernten...more Schon immer wusste Meridian, dass sie anders ist. Jeden Morgen, wenn sie aufwachte, lagen tote Tiere neben ihr. Als sie ihrer einzigen besten Freundin einst davon erzählte, weil deren Hamster in Meridians Hand starb, wollte sie nichts mehr mit ihr zu tun haben. Denn sie dachte, was danach alle dachten: Sie bringe den Tod. Doch an ihrem 16. Geburtstag, soll sich diese Anschuldigung für sie in Luft auflösen, denn ihre Eltern schicken sie nach einem schrecklichen Busunglück zu einer weit entfernten Tante, die sie bisher nur durch ihre Steppdecken kannte, die sie ihr zum Geburtstag schickte. Denn dort lüftet sich das Geheimnis um ihr Schicksal. Sie tötet keine Menschen. Sie ist eine Fenestra und hilft den Sterbenden auf die andere Seite. Als wären diese Dinge für Meridian nicht schon verwirrend genug, bringt sie dieses Schicksal auch noch in tödlichste Gefahr...

Meridian ist ein tolles Mädchen. Sie ist von Anfang an einfach normal, sehr angenehm, sehr authentisch. Ihre Handlungen sind im ganzen Buch sehr realistisch und vor allem schon sehr erwachsen. Ich hatte keinen Moment das Gefühl, dass ich jetzt mit pubertierenden Jugendlichen unterwegs bin.
Auch die Tante ist eine liebenswerte Person mit ihren Eigenarten. Tens ist ein Typ, den man nicht gleich durchschauen kann. Und dazu halten sie auch noch eine Wölfin als Haustier, Custos.
Im ganzen Buch hatte ich wirklich das Gefühl, dass diese Menschen leben, dass sie neben mir stehen, dass sie echt sind. Jeder hatte einfach so viel Persönlichkeit und Wiedererkennungswert. Ich konnte mich endlich mal wieder richtig in eine Geschichte vertiefen und alles um mich herum ausblenden.

Der Stil ist ähnlich wie in jedem Jugendbuch. Er ist sehr flüssig, sehr spannend, ab und an auch ruhiger. Immer so, dass es die gewählte Situation eben passend beschreibt und hervorhebt. Für mich war es ein Stil, in dem ich mich sehr wohlfühlen konnte, mit dem ich die Abende richtig genießen konnte. Noch dazu passt dieses Buch wunderbar in die Winterzeit, da es ebenfalls an Weihnachten spielt.
Der Stil hat Atmosphäre, der Stil erweckt die Geschichte und die Charaktere wirken darin nicht wie Marionetten, sondern wie lebendig. Einfach schön. Und noch dazu gibt es ein paar wundervolle Weisheiten in dem Buch aufzuschnappen.

Ich habe damals, das ist nun schon etwas länger her, einiges Negative über das Buch gehört. Es sollte nicht so gut sein, man hätte sich mehr erwartet. Ich kann das absolut nicht unterschreiben, ich hatte sehr viel Spaß mit dem Buch und ich könnte mir in den Popo beißen, dass ich es nicht schon früher zur Hand genommen habe. Ich habe es immer vor mir hergeschoben, das werde ich mit dem zweiten Teil nicht tun, der nun ebenfalls vor Kurzem im Handel erschienen ist. Dieser heißt 'Flüsternde Seelen'.

Nun wünsche ich euch viel Spaß mit dem Buch. Kauft es euch vor oder nach Weihnachten, damit ihr diese Atmosphäre im Buch einfach noch viel besser genießen könnt. (less)

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Aug 04, 2012 Heartykiss rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Beschreibung:
Meridian ist 15 Jahre alt und so ganz anders als die anderen Mädchen in ihrem Alter, denn sie teilt ihr Leben mit dem Tod. Bereits im Kindesalter sammeln sich Tiere um sie, welche kurz vor dem Tode stehen.
An ihrem 16 Geburtstag ereignet sich in ihrer Nähe ein Autounfall. Als sie die Schmerzen ihrer verstorbenen Klassenkameraden fühlt, bringen sie diese fast um. Ihr Vater erklärt ihr daraufhin, dass sie eine sogenannte Fenestra, ein Engel ist. Ihre Eltern beschließen, dass sie nicht...more Beschreibung:
Meridian ist 15 Jahre alt und so ganz anders als die anderen Mädchen in ihrem Alter, denn sie teilt ihr Leben mit dem Tod. Bereits im Kindesalter sammeln sich Tiere um sie, welche kurz vor dem Tode stehen.
An ihrem 16 Geburtstag ereignet sich in ihrer Nähe ein Autounfall. Als sie die Schmerzen ihrer verstorbenen Klassenkameraden fühlt, bringen sie diese fast um. Ihr Vater erklärt ihr daraufhin, dass sie eine sogenannte Fenestra, ein Engel ist. Ihre Eltern beschließen, dass sie nicht mehr sicher sei und schicken sie daraufhin zu ihrer Tante Merry. Dort angekommen, lernt sie Tens kennen, welcher der Diener ihrer Tante ist. Ihre Tante erzählt ihr, dass sie etwas besonderes sei und die Gabe besitze, den Seelen der Verstorbenen zu helfen, in den Himmel zu kommen. Doch auf Meridian lauert Gefahr. Die sogenannten Aternocti, welche die Seelen in die Hölle begleiten, trachten nach ihrem Leben..

Eigene Meinung:
Als ich das Buch zufälligerweise in meiner Bücherei entdeckte, den dazugehörigen Klappentext laß, wusste ich, dieses Buch muss ich lesen! Schon am Anfang beim lesen des Buches, musste ich ständig an die Mystery Serie - Ghost Whisper denken. Vermutlich, weil die Hauptdarstellerin den Verstorbenen ebenfalls hilft, auf die andere Seite zu gelangen. Die Geschichte hat mich von der ersten Seite an gepackt. Ich habe mich sehr gut in die Geschichte hineinversetzen können und habe sowohl bei Krisensituationen der Hauptdarstellerin als auch bei glücklich Momenten, mitgefühlt. Die Autorin hat es geschafft, dass ich mich beim lesen fühlte, als wäre ich Teil der Geschichte. Oft konnte ich mir vereinzelte Szenen nahezu bildlich vorstellen. Hätte ich mit dem lesen des Buches nicht spät Abends angefangen, was zusätzlich für eine düstere Atmosphäre sorgte, hätte ich es sicher in einem Rutsch durchgelesen. Es war so spannend, dass ich es kaum aus der Hand legen konnte.
Ich persönlich, fand es gut, dass die Beziehung zwischen Tens und Meridian nicht in den VOrdergrund gestellt wurde. Jenes hätte meiner Meinung nach, dem Buch das gewisse Etwas genommen.

Fazit:
Ein Buch, was ich jederzeit wieder lesen würde. Oft lese ich ein Buch einmal durch und danach nie wieder.
Doch bei diesem hat mich die Handlung so gefesselt, dass ich es sicher nocheinmal lesen würde.
Der Schreibtstil der Autorin hat mich von den ersten Seiten an, angesprochen, ebenso die dazugehörige Handlung.

Das Format des Buches finde ich übrigens echt klasse! Es liegt total gut in der Hand und hat die ideale Größe. Das musste an dieser Stelle mal erwähnt werden ;)

Ich freue mich auf die Fortsetzung des Buches, welche im November 2011 erscheinen wird und hoffe, dass noch weitere Bücher von ihr erscheinen werden!
(less)

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Mar 06, 2012 Anna rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: horror, ya

Really, this is another variation of the "I am an outcast among teens but instead of being secretly a dork, I am secretly powerful and awesome" trope that is so common in current YA, complete with the requisite love interest. The twist in this particular version is that instead of kicking butt and taking names, Meridian's abilities involve surrounding herself with the dying. Obviously, this makes the story necessarily dark, but the death themes never extend to anything involving suicide. Murder...more

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Dec 29, 2011 Hyde rated it 3 of 5 stars

If it wasn't because it was a fast read and not boring, I would have given this book two stars.
I liked the idea of the story, but I felt that the characters were too two dimensional.

I didn't feel a connection with any of the characters. Meridian was too whiny and cowardly. She acted like she was just finding out about her powers. She knew things died around her, so when she found out why that was happening she should have tried embracing her powers (or at the very least cooperate without excessi...more

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Nov 01, 2011 Colleen rated it 4 of 5 stars

Meridian is a half human, half-angel. Otherwise known as a fenestra, Meridian’s life has been nothing but sickness and death. This is because Meridian helps souls travel to the other side, however, when a soul tries to use her to transition it causes her to have a violent reaction leaving her sick for days. On her 16th birthday, her parents finally reveal to Meridian her true nature. On the day that she learns this truth, her parents hastily send her to her Aunt’s home in Revelation, CO. Meridia...more

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Aug 04, 2011 Amanda rated it 4 of 5 stars

For as long as Meridian can remember, things seem to die around her for no explainable reason. After barely surviving a car crash on her sixteenth birthday, Meridian's life is suddenly changed forever. Her family is forced to go into hiding and Meridian is sent to live with her eccentic Aunt in middle-of-nowhere Colorado. Meridian soon learns the truth of her strange life -she is what they call a Fenestra, a half-human, half-angel who is meant to help the dying get to heaven. Armed with this new...more For as long as Meridian can remember, things seem to die around her for no explainable reason. After barely surviving a car crash on her sixteenth birthday, Meridian's life is suddenly changed forever. Her family is forced to go into hiding and Meridian is sent to live with her eccentic Aunt in middle-of-nowhere Colorado. Meridian soon learns the truth of her strange life -she is what they call a Fenestra, a half-human, half-angel who is meant to help the dying get to heaven. Armed with this new knowledge, Meridian must learn how to manage her Fenestra duties and battle the evil forces who want her dead or worse...

Written in a clear and entertaining voice, Meridian is a great new YA paranormal novel with a funny, real, compelling female lead and a surprisingly original plot. The ideas of heaven and hell in this novel are refreshing -really, no werewolves or vampires! There is a small romance subplot, but it's completely devoid of the angsty, forbidden melodrama romances in many YA and adult paranormal novels (which I found enjoyable). Amber Kitzer does a phenomenal job of bringing the reader into her world while balancing great characters with an interesting plot.

The plot, surprisingly, is much deeper than I expected. The main antagonist is part of a zealous, religious cult, and while the use of Christian religion in this novel may bother some religiously sensitive readers, the novel does not portray Christianity in a negative light, nor does it set out to turn readers away from it. Instead, Meridian uses a very adult concept of religion to create a haunting villian and interesting conflict.

I enjoyed reading Meridian more with each page. Even though the pace slowed down at a few points, the story was well-written and clear, had a compelling female character that readers will want to cheer for and a fascinating new paranormal world rich with detail and potential. This seems like it may be the first book in a new series, and I'm eager to see what happens in future installments. (less)

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Jun 20, 2011 Anna rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: paranormal-romance, whatever-catches-my-fancy, urban-fantasy, young-adult, finding-alovelyromance

When I first picked up Meridian I avoided it, in fact I returned it twice before I actually took a second look at the thing. I am no fan of death, its cruel, neccessary I suppose but cruel for the loved ones left behind. It causes pain, and destruction of innocents, so however neccessary death may be in the grand design I have trouble accepting it.

Meridian was at some places rather dull, it starts out with a normal teenager attending a private school only when a bus full of he fellow peers smack...more

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Jun 19, 2011 Lalaine ( Ficbookreviews ) rated it 5 of 5 stars

Meridian grew up surrounded by death and grief, that she thinks she causes deaths around her and feels pain inside her that she didn't know where it came from. when she turned sixteen, it is time.....an accident happened in front of their house, suddenly shed seen life of each person flashes through her mind and felt unbearable pain. her mother had been afraid to tell her whats happening to her and their running out of time,She needed to be away to her family and set off to find someone, the onl...more

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Apr 07, 2011 Melanie rated it 4 of 5 stars

I enjoyed this book a lot, it wasnt action packed or full of romance but more of a girl trying to learn about her gift before her only teacher, her auntie passes on. I dont really want to say too much about it because it is an unusual gift that Meridian has and for the 1st 16 years of her life wasnt aware of in the right way. When her life is put into danger she is separated from all she has ever knew and made to go stay with her Aunt and her helper Tens who then put her on a crash course to mas...more

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Apr 03, 2011 Tracy rated it 5 of 5 stars

I was intrigued by Amber Kizer's story Meridian because the main character was so unexpected. This is a paranormal book the likes of which I had not seen before.

Meridian spends most of her life surrounded by death. From the time she was a baby to the present, insects and animals have come to her to die. Not knowing why and feeling like an outcast at home as well as at school, she tries to lead as normal a life as possible. After a car accident kills several kids right in front of her and she get...more

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Mar 18, 2011 Alan rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult, angels

ATOS Book Level: 4.0
Interest Level: Upper Grades (UG 9-12)
AR Points: 9.0
Lexil: HL590L
Word Count: 64984

For me the romance in this story works but little else does. Ok so you've got these Fenestra,they are 1/2 angel and 1/2 human. The Fenestra are needed in order for a soul to successfully be transported to "the light" or heaven or whatever, and if there's not one around the person's "energy" just get's reincarnated, unless one of the Aternocti happens to be near, in which case the persons "energy...more

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Mar 17, 2011 Christina rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: teen-fiction

Meridian has been surrounded by death since she was born. At first it was tiny bugs that seemed to seek her out to die in her crib. As she got older, the creatures became bigger until she reaches her 16th birthday. An accident happens outside her home and she feels the pain of those who die rip through her. It is with this event that her parents send her away to her namesake, her Great-Aunt. It is there that she learns that she is a Fenestra - the light and the window that helps the dying souls...more

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Feb 21, 2011 Maria rated it 4 of 5 stars

Meridian.
This book really surprised me; for some reason I thought it was not gonna be.. the way it turned out, which is awesome. I like how it gave us a background story, on how all her life animals died around her. But it also explained why in the later chapters. I didn't think there was gonna be a lot of action, but again i was pleasently surprised. The car crash, the Cecilia search, the train crash, they were all there but in the mean time, they had to deal with their close-minded small town...more

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Feb 07, 2011 Kelly Bryson rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: ya-fantasy

Another Teenage Angel book. This one had some really different concepts and the writing was good, so I gave it four stars since I can't give it 3.5. Unfortunately I have angel fatigue, a variant strain of vampire fatigue syndrome.

Meridian wakes every morning to find dead things near her. She thinks that she's causing things to die, but she's really a fenestra, an angelic human being whose soul can open a window to the light and allow souls to pass into heaven instead of their energy being recyc...more

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Dec 30, 2010 Karissa rated it 4 of 5 stars

I got this as an ARC (advanced reading copy) through the Amazon vine program. I was really excited when this was offered to me because I had it on my wish list already. Overall it was a very good book. It seems to be more of an opening to a series than a stand alone book, but all in all it was creative and a good read.

All her life Meridian has been surrounded by dead things; they seem drawn to her. After being involved in a fatal car crash she is sent off by her parents to her Aunt's house. It i...more

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Oct 05, 2010 Charlene rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: young-adult

The Good
- Meridian and Tens
- Um, being a Fenestra would be really weird. I don't think I would sleep at night.

The Bad
- So, Meridian was there to learn about becoming a Fenestra but there really weren't a lot of learning happening. Lots of hot cocoa, though.
- Weird, cultlike people trying to do a modern day witch hunt was a bit much.
- So... what happened to the Sangre?

The bottomline
I liked Meridian, it was fun to read. I thought it made the notion of death pretty lighthearted. I liked the fac...more

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Sep 11, 2010 YA Reads Book Reviews rated it 4 of 5 stars

On Meridian’s sixteenth birthday, life takes an unexpected change. Imagine waking up only to be told that you’re not normal – not even human, in fact. Fenestra is not a word that she’s familiar with, but when she learns what they are, things suddenly start making a whole lot of sense. She’s like the window to the other world, people (and things) need the Fenestra in order to pass from this life into the next.

So that’s why things have always died around her… she’d always thought that there was so...more On Meridian’s sixteenth birthday, life takes an unexpected change. Imagine waking up only to be told that you’re not normal – not even human, in fact. Fenestra is not a word that she’s familiar with, but when she learns what they are, things suddenly start making a whole lot of sense. She’s like the window to the other world, people (and things) need the Fenestra in order to pass from this life into the next.

So that’s why things have always died around her… she’d always thought that there was something cosmically wrong with her, that they were dying because of her. It is comforting for Meridian (in a creepy kind of way) to learn that they don’t die because of her, but because they need her. Helping people cross to the other side is dangerous stuff, though, and Meridian must learn how to harness and control her powers. Nothing would suck more than getting dragged into the other world by a soul who doesn’t know how to let go…

And now, more than ever, Meridian has reasons to stay in this world.

Meet Tens. He’s Meridian’s assigned protector. It’s his destiny, his purpose in life, but what he doesn’t tell Meridian is that if he dies trying to protect her, she dies too. This is a relationship of an entirely different calibre. They’re going to be spending their entire lives together, trying to keep each other alive, so it’s a good thing they seem to be falling deeply in love with each other, too. I can’t imagine having to spend my whole life with someone that I didn’t love… can you? It’s not all roses and candy, though, and learning to trust someone with your life doesn’t come so easily.

How will Meridian cope with her new responsibilities as a Fenestra, and will she be able to carry the torch after her mentor is dead and gone?

Upon arriving at her Aunts house, considering her circumstances, I thought she learned to trust her new friends all too quickly. While I understand that Auntie is the kind of character that makes people feel comfortable immediately, I thought Meridian could have spent a little more time questioning her motives. She was, after all, ripped from her family and told she may never see them again. Her relationship with Tens develops at a nice pace, though. Readers are kept waiting just long enough to incite a bit of a frenzy within.

Meridian has all the elements of a good supernatural story. Readers both young and old will love this one! I’m interested to hear what you guys think about this one!(less)

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About Amber Kizer

Amber Kizer is not one of those authors who wrote complete books at the age of three and always knew she wanted to be a writer. When she faced a rare chronic pain disorder her freshman year of college, she knew she was going to have to learn to live outside the box. After one writing workshop, she fell in love with telling stores and she’s still going strong. Her characters tend to be opinionated,...more

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Books by Amber Kizer

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Quotes from Meridian

“Everything changes. Everything is temporary, except for the sky. When you find yourself caught up in the horrors or heroes of a lifetime, look up. Don't look down. That which is beneath our feet is liquid, but the sky, the sky is solid, constant, ever ready and ever hopeful that the sun will rise in the morning and the moon will rise at night. They don't really set, you know. They're always rising, just rising for someone else.” — 89 people liked it

“Love is the greatest act of faith.” — 47 people liked it

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Meridian (Fenestra #1)

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