Review: Shattered Dreams

Author: Ellie James

Publication Date: December 6, 2011

Publisher: Macmillan

Pages:352 pp

Audience: 14-18

Received from: Netgalley

Sixteen-year-old Trinity Monsour wants nothing more than to live a normal life. But that isn’t as easy as it seems. Trinity is different. She is special. She sees visions, and for those she’s seen, it’s already too late.
Trinity arrives on her aunt’s doorstep in New Orleans with virtually no knowledge of her mysterious heritage. She begins settling into life at a new school and even starts making friends. But all too quickly her dreams accelerate; twisted, terrifying visions of a girl locked in a dark room. And when the head cheerleader, Jessica, goes missing, Trinity knows she has no choice but to step forward with what she’s seen.
But people believe that Trinity has information about Jessica’s disappearance not because of a dream, but because she is involved. She is kind-of dating Jessica’s ex-boyfriend, Chase, and Jessica did pull a nasty prank on Trinity. Revenge seems like the likeliest scenario.

Nothing prepares Trinity for the dark odyssey that ensues while searching for Jessica, including the surprising romance she finds with Chase, or the shocking truths she learns, not just about the girl who has gone missing, but the past that has been hidden from her.

This book has an interesting concept with the psychic setting being in New Orleans, and it seems there is a meaning in that choice. This story was a mystery in a lot of aspects with the storyline, the characters and the symbolism. Maybe I am looking too closely at the symbols but I noticed that the James went to great detail to mention the cross that Chase was wearing around his neck, the dragonfly that Trinity wore, her name is a symbol. The thing I would have liked to know is what it all means to the story, if nothing at all. I must admit this story left me wanting for more as much was left unsaid, and then I found out it was going to be a new series, which I was excited to learn.
What we do know is Trinity has psychic abilities that allow her to see and feel what will and is happening to someone. What we don't know is who are all the people that surround her, such as Chase the boy she likes; he is the typical jock crush, possessive, brooding and strange but there is something dark about him that doesn't feel right. Dylan, the son of a friend of her mothers', is mysterious and intriguing. It's the beginning of a love triangle but not quite yet, I will root for Dylan if it happens. All the characters have potential to be great and it would be nice for a some more development to make them richer.
Lastly, the plot was full of twists, turns and dead ends. As soon as I had an idea of who took Jessica, something changed and I was back to guessing. Even the end of the book made me wonder, when we do find out who took her(Jessica) everything happened so quickly.There was a lot said that left more questions. Hopefully, James will address some of the mysteries within her mystery in the next installment, which I look forward to reading.Overall, I liked this book and it was an interesting read for the beginning of a series and I would suggest this to anyone that likes paranormal mysteries.