Prism: The Color Alchemist Book One –by Nina Walker

Fiction / YA Fantasy

338 pages / 2953 KB

4 Stars

LEGALITIES FIRST: I received a free eCopy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

According to the Source of all Knowledge (ie, the world wide web), the age range of young adult books varies between 12-18 or 15-20s. Keeping those ages in mind, I agree this is a YA novel, on the younger side of the continuum. The heroine, Jessa is just 16, while the hero, Lucas, is 18. While many adults read YA books, I think this will appeal far more to the teenybopper crowd. (Did I just date myself?)

As an adult reader, I could have done with a little less angst and a lot more explanation of the color alchemy. As a teen reader, it is probably perfect. The use of color is an intriguing concept, and that alone makes it worth the read.

Jessa comes into her powers considerably later than most, and is accused of hiding them. Actually, she thought they belonged to her kid sister, Lacey, and did try to hide them, as she did not want Lacey taken from the home and trained; never to be seen or heard of again. Instead, Jessa, whose only dream is to dance ballet, and is finally dancing a solo in front of a huge audience, including the King Richard and Prince Lucas, becomes so enraptured with her dance, she inadvertently shows the whole world her powers. Fortunately, no one was injured, and instead of Lacey being taken, Jessa is. To no good end, we may rest assured. She is too old to buy into the usual brainwashing, and or be trained as a child. Her powers are also dangerous.

King Richard wants to control her, and her magic, to control his subjects. Prince Lucas just wants her—he's in love with her, and he neither loves nor respects his father. The Resistance just wants to eliminate the Royals and return to a democracy. Oh, yes, there is lots of conflict and some mystery to go along with all that angst.

The story is told in alternating chapters, by either Jessa or Lucas. It is a book I think the younger teen girls will enjoy no end.  And many adults will read as brain candy. (Think chocolate and no calories.) A solid 4 Star debut novel. Job well done, Ms. Walker!