What I’m Reading Wednesday – Order of Seven

While I look forward to the end of homework and packed lunches and crazy schedules, summer vacation also means the end of order as I know it. Soon, my quiet time to read and write will go hand in hand with the kidlings’ time spent with the Disney Channel or the X-Box.

With that in mind, I’ve been doing even more reading than writing because I have so many great books stacked on the side table and lined up on my Kindle. One book read in record time is this week’s pick for What I’m Reading Wednesday: ORDER OF SEVEN by Beth Teliho.

Reading the blurb on the back of the book, my daughter commented “that sounds like a really interesting book, Mom”. I agreed that the description did sound interesting.

What an underwhelming, generic word that turned out to be.

I’ll be honest: the blurb did no justice to what I found in between the covers of Beth Teliho’s debut novel, Order of Seven.  I don’t even know what shelf in the library I’d put this on – paranormal, romance, suspense –  because it has all three in spades. Telihlo has also woven an abundance of mythology and ancient culture into the intricate plot, one which forced me to slow down at times and process what exactly was happening or being said.

I picked up the book late one afternoon and it completely sucked me in, keeping me up until the wee hours of the morning because I had to see how it ended – I simply couldn’t predict the ending on this one.

The book is the story of 18-year-old Devi Bennett and her brother Nodin, both adopted from South Africa when they were very young. Raised in Texas by their adoptive parents, they know very little about their biological parents; Devi’s only memories from that time in her life are held in a recurring dream of an African tribal ceremony. Teliho brings a strong, clear voice to Devi – she is the impulsive 18-year-old, brave, blunt, and strong.

Devi and her brother Nodin possess psychic abilities. As Devi’s begin to grow stronger, she meets Nodin’s friends Baron and Ben, whose own abilities seem entwined with hers. As the story progresses, other really captivating characters are introduced and together they work to solve a mystery  – and as it turns out, the world.

Teliho’s writing is smart, engaging – and poetic. Literally: interspersed in the novel are poems attributed to Devi that are beautiful and telling. And the epilogue not so subtly hints that we will see more of Devi and her Order in the future.

I can’t wait to see what she brings us next.