Review: Vesper by Jeff Sampson

Released: January 25, 2011
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Rated: YA
Series: Deviants, Book 1
Buy: Amazon

Emily Webb is a geek. And she’s happy that way. Content hiding under hoodies and curling up to watch old horror flicks, she’s never been the kind of girl who sneaks out for midnight parties. And she’s definitely not the kind of girl who starts fights or flirts with other girls’ boyfriends. Until one night Emily finds herself doing exactly that . . . the same night one of her classmates—also named Emily—is found mysteriously murdered.

The thing is, Emily doesn’t know why she’s doing any of this. By day, she’s the same old boring Emily, but by night, she turns into a thrill seeker. With every nightfall, Emily gets wilder until it’s no longer just her personality that changes. Her body can do things it never could before: Emily is now strong, fast, and utterly fearless. And soon Emily realizes that she’s not just coming out of her shell . . . there’s something much bigger going on. Is she bewitched by the soul of the other, murdered Emily? Or is Emily Webb becoming something else entirely— something not human?

As Emily hunts for answers, she finds out that she’s not the only one this is happening to—some of her classmates are changing as well. Who is turning these teens into monsters—and how many people will they kill to get what they want?

What I thought

Vesper was a really interesting novel. I have to admit, I was intrigued the entire time trying to figure out what exactly is happening to Emily. The mystery was interesting and not easy to figure out right away, making this book just about impossible to set down.

I liked how Jeff Sampson didn't spoil the mystery for us. I can get pretty annoyed when an author spells everything out right away instead of leading the reader through everything and surprising them. We don't know what is going on and neither does Emily. She's struggling for answers and the reader is left on the edge of the seat, waiting to find out what is going on.

The only thing that brought this down a bit was the ending. There is a gap. I'm hoping this gap is explained in the next one, because I want to know how she ended up where she did. We get transcripts throughout the novel, where Emily is answering questions, we are assuming, in interrogation. I wasn't so sure I'd like that at first, but as the story progressed, it didn't give anything away. Instead, it seemed to heighten the anticipation of things to come.

My Rating

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