The Unwanted by Jeffrey Ricker

BSB-Unwanted_2Title: The Unwanted

 

Author: Jeffrey Ricker

 

Genre: Fantasy, Contemporary, Young Adult

 

Length: Novel (312 pages)

 

ISBN: 9781626390485

 

Publisher: Bold Stroke Books (18th March 2014)

 

Heat Level: Low

 

Heart Rating: ♥♥♥♥♥5 Hearts

 

Reviewer: Pixie

 

Blurb: Jamie Thomas has enough trouble on his hands trying to get through junior year of high school without being pulverized by Billy Stratton, his bully and tormentor. But the mother he was always told was dead is actually alive—and she’s an Amazon! Sixteen years after she left him on his father’s doorstep, she’s back—and needs Jamie’s help. A curse has caused the ancient tribe of warrior women to give birth to nothing but boys, dooming them to extinction—until prophecy reveals that salvation lies with one of the offspring they abandoned. Putting his life on the line, Jamie must find the courage to confront the wrath of an angry god to save a society that rejected him. 

 

Purchase Link: http://www.boldstrokesbooks.com/9781626390485.html

 

Review: Jamie has enough on his plate with Billy, the jock, bullying him at every turn, but now he has to deal with the mother he thought was dead turning up claiming she needs his help. Jamie isn’t sure what to believe… that his father has lied to him for sixteen years, that his mother really is an Amazon, that a prophecy says he will save his mother’s people or that there really is a winged horse eating the grass in the back yard!!! With strange things happening at school Jamie, along with Billy, and his best friend Sarah band together to face the wrath of a God.

 

Oh my, this is an incredible story that follows a young adult who discovers the truth of his parentage and discovers he will be the savior of an ancient race. Jamie is a wonderful sixteen-year-old boy who is being harassed and bullied at school; his bully is Billy a boy in his year who ends up being an important part of Jamie’s life. Discovering the truth about his mother leads to many more discoveries that have Jamie and Billy becoming close. And they begin an adventure that is fraught with danger.

 

The characters in this story are all brilliantly written, from the teenagers to the parents and from the power-hungry adults to the standoffish Gods who try to help, we are treated to an incredible cast. The storyline has everything you could want, it’s a blend of contemporary and fantasy with young love and filled with confusion, danger, power-hunger schemes and forgiveness. The writing is wonderful and flows smoothly, never lagging always leading us to the next scene perfectly. The story itself keeps you gripped as you wonder what will come next and it is never quite, what you expect.

 

I have to say that I loved this story. Watching as Jamie came out of his shell, the friendship/romance that develops between Jamie and Billy, the discoveries and plans, the grabbing hold of life and accepting the fate. After the final battle, I was both sad but hopeful and then I came to the end, and I have never before come across an ending that is both heart breaking and heart-warming before… I wanted to both cry and grin as I read the final pages. It truly was a bittersweet ending.  

 

I recommend this to those who love young adult stories, fantasy blended with contemporary, a blossoming young love, forgiving the past, accepting the future and a bittersweet ending that will have tears in your eyes even as you smile.