Manifest by Artist Arthur

Title/Author: Manifest by Artist Arthur
Publisher/Date published: Harlequin, August 1st 2010
How I got this book: I got it from the publisher through NetGalley
Why I read this book: same reason I read any book: I wanted to.

Goodreads summary: "When fifteen-year-old Krystal Bentley moves to Lincoln, Connecticut, her mom's hometown, she assumes her biggest drama will be adjusting to the burbs after living in New York City.
But Lincoln is nothing like Krystal imagined. The weirdness begins when Ricky Watson starts confiding in her. He's cute, funny, a good listener — and everything she'd ever want — except that he was killed nearly a year ago. Krystal's ghost-whispering talents soon lead other "freaks" to her door — Sasha, a rich girl who can literally disappear, and Jake, who moves objects with his mind. All three share a distinctive birthmark in the shape of an M and, fittingly, call themselves the Mystyx. They set out to learn what really happened to Ricky, only to realize that they aren't the only ones with mysterious powers. But if Krystal succeeds in finding out the truth about Ricky's death, will she lose him for good?"

Life was going just fine according to Krystal, right up until the point her mother told her she was leaving Krystal's father and they were moving back to her hometown: Lincoln. Sure, Krystal was hearing voices of dead people even before then, but otherwise life was just peachy.
And now she has to live in a small town where she has no friends and also has to deal with her mother's annoying new husband, who she thinks hates her.

Krystal has big issues with her family life right now, she's angry at her mother and as the ghost Ricky describes it 'has a doom and gloom attitude'. At the start of the story, she's very self-obsessed, thinks she doesn't need anyone and because of that, she's not really inclined to help Ricky. He's been murdered and needs Krystal to find his killer so he can get closure and move on.

I thought Krystal's reaction was more realistic than someone saying 'Sure, I have my own stuff to worry about, but I'll drop everything just to help you out!' That said, I could understand her reaction to what was happening, but she did wallow in her self pity, which isn't very attractive. She treats her mom very badly. I'm happy to say that in the end she redeems herself somewhat in all these aspects by stepping up and trying to make things right. She gets a major reality check and manages to learn from it.

Though I don't like the way Krystal handled the situation with her mom throughout a huge part of the book, I don't approve of her mother's actions either. You don't tell teenagers it's 'grown-up business' when you turn their life upside down without any kind of explanation.

I really liked Jake, I hope that he and Krystal will develop some kind of relationship in the books to come. I thought he was really sweet and a great character. Some of the ghosts creeped me out, but I think Arthur handled them really well. I hope to see Krystal developing her powers in the next book.
I saw who killed Ricky coming, but it wasn't that obvious, maybe I'm just good at guessing.

I enjoyed this book very much and thought it had one of the best opening lines ever (even before the first chapter). The connection between storms and people getting powers that may date back to Salem is really intriguing!

My rating: 4 stars