Review: Auracle

Auracle by Gina Rosati
Release Date ~ August 7, 2012
Roaring Brook Press ~ Macmillan
ISBN13: 9781596437104
E-galley received from publisher
Goodreads Synopsis:
16 year old Anna Rogan has a secret she's only shared with her best friend, Rei; she can astrally project out of her body, allowing her spirit to explore the world and the far reaches of the universe.

When there's a fatal accident and her classmate Taylor takes over Anna's body, what was an exhilarating distraction from her repressive home life threatens to become a permanent state. Faced with a future trapped in another dimension, Anna turns to Rei for help. Now the two of them must find a way to get Anna back into her body and stop Taylor from accusing an innocent friend of murder. Together Anna and Rei form a plan but it doesn't take into account the deeper feelings that are beginning to grow between them.

Auracle ended up being one of my most surprising reads of the year, at least thus far. I didn't have much of an idea of what to expect at all, besides a fairly typical paranormal YA. I think it was because of this that I ended up being SO surprised by it and thoroughly enjoyed Auracle.
There are very few things in Auracle that I would consider typical - so it's a great choice for those readers looking for osmething a little bit unique and different in their paranormal reads.

1. Childhood friends grow up:
   
   I get a little bit tired of the new "mystery boy/girl" appearance, and a story about two childhood best friends as they grow up doesn't seem to be as common anymore. But it still holds a special place in my heart. I love it because we really get to see and understand WHY Anna and Rei care about each other so much - and so it makes sense when they're both willing to risk so much to help each other out.
2. An interesting premise:
   
   I really wasn't familiar with the concept of astral projection before reading Auracle, but I have to admit that it was a fascinating idea. And I loved that Auracle really explored some possible downsides to it, instead of making it seem simply great and amazing. Plus, this defintely made it a different sort of paranormal read and I loved reading about different ideas.
3. A backwards sort of mystery:
   
   There's a certain mystery element to the plot, but the difference is that Anna (and the reader) already knows exactly what happened - the difficult is proving that without the knowledge that Anna can astrally project herself. So there's a backwards sort of approach to picking up the pieces and trying to work things out. But it definitely made things interesting, in their own way.

The one thing I really didn't love about Auracle was Taylor - she just seemed so nasty and mean for no apparent reason. I just didn't feel that there was enough development given to her, so Taylor ended up feeling rather one dimensional to me and wasn't the most effective villain because of this.

I have to add though that I really did love Rei! He was just so sweet and thoughtful, and I loved seeing the way Anna began to realize that things were changing between the two of them. He's one YA guy to watch out for - different from the norm, but a keeper for sure! <3

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