REVIEW for Prism

Another shout-out goes to Melissa for sending me this YA, written by authors Faye and Aliza Kellerman.







TITLE: PRISM

AUTHORS: Faye and Aliza Kellerman

GENRE: YA

RATING: 3 Stars

I am not normally a fan of sci-fi/fantasy, but I do like (most) of Faye Kellerman's books and I do enjoy a good YA so I thought I would give Prism a try. I really liked the premise of this book. We find three lost souls (aka as Zeke, Joy and Kaida are all going on a school trip, but as luck (or fate) would have it, they will be stuck together on this field trip - and end up in a cave. That is all Kaida remembers when she wakes up in her own bed - yet, the world around her has completely changed and she can't quite get a grip on what is happening. Western medicine is now taboo and even mentioning 9-1-1 gets her in deep trouble, Kaida hooks up with Joy and Zeke and they realize that they are in a world that has completely changed in an instant - a world where only "natural" medicine is acceptable and that death is all around them.

They must find a way back to their own world - but how? The authors do a nice job of fleshing out the main characters and we get an idea, early on, of each of their strengths and weaknesses. However, its the basic storyline that actually delivered quite a lot of suspense, especially since this is somewhat of a hot topic - "natural vs western medicines" and the growing interest in a more natural, simpler way of life. This subject is of personal interest to me actually and I thought it interesting that this type of issue would be addressed in a YA novel.

What removed from the enjoyment for me a little bit (and that is where the 3 stars come in) is that I find the set up was not really all that well done. I am not clear as to why western medicines could not be incorporated into the storyline as a secondary means of treating the illness. There is such a hatred directed towards this philosophy, but yet the authors did not do a great job, in my opinion, of explaining or even convincing me of their arguments against the whole western medicine thing - especially as people are dying.

It felt to me as though there was a piece of storyline or informatin missing and I felt it as a thread throughout most of the book.