A Wylie reader will want Jennifer's new story
Today I'm going to look at Jennifer Wylie's story Banished, which is the first in the Tales of Ever series published by Echelon Press imprint Quake. Quake caters for the young adult audience who want to read but "Don't want to read THAT!" In other words, Quake publishes easy to understand, accessible sagas of linked novellas aimed at audiences bored of Twilight clones and dumbed-down formulaic YA money spinners.
As the opening section of Mischa Rathburn's adventures in the land of Ever and an exploration of her coming to terms with possessing pyrokinetic powers Banished fares well. Despite the large amount of exposition to be handled Wylie keeps the story moving constantly so that there is never time to grow bored of the plot. Concisely written, the ebook stands at 50 pages – plenty of time to establish characters, introduce key concepts and even to fit in some action with carniverous plants. These pages are used well; although slow starting the plot builds over time as Mischa adapts to her surroundings and learns what is necessary for survival, not just on Earth but in Ever too.
At times Wylie's choice of language can seem a little basic – I know Banished is written for the still developing minds of young adults but it wouldn't hurt to challenge their reading abilities a little bit with some more complex sentence structure once in a while. On the other hand, this clarity and simplicity of writing works to the story's advantage as the language used does feel natural for the age of the protagonist.
Throughout the story there is recurring evidence that being different does not make you wrong or dangerous – people can be fearful of those that are different from themselves, but it is not the differences that should define us. Mischa is feared because she has powers that most women do not – but she does not want to harm others and tries her hardest to avoid doing so.
In all I enjoyed Banished – there was enough of a story to keep me interested throughout and the cliffhanger is sufficient to make me want to read the second part, Fire Girl, which is now available. If you would like to learn more about Jennifer Wylie then take a look at her website. Meanwhile you can purchase Banished from Smashwords and Amazon now.
