Golden

GOLDEN tells the story of Lissy James, who has just moved from California to Oklahoma and struggles with the unexpected social hierarchy of Goldens versus Nons at her new high school. To make matters more complicated, Lissy's also dealing with ever-growing Aura Vision, which is sure to brand her a freak, an uber-popular cousin who seems bent on making Lissy's life miserable, and a new teacher who may or may not be evil. Barnes does a good job of blending the supernatural and real-world elements of the story in a natural and meaningful way. She wrote this novel as a teenager, which may be why the drama of the high school world rings more true than in most novels with similar settings. Also, unlike most young adult authors, Barnes doesn't seem to think that teenagers are completely stupid, shallow, and self-obsessed. Her characters have more to them than meets the eye, and they don't fall prey to the disease many young adult characters do in which they describe every aspect of their designer wardrobes in excruciating detail. The characters are smart, and the contrast between Lissy's snarky, sarcastic inner thoughts and her somewhat more meek outward demeanor is very relatable.

When Lissy James moves from California to Oklahoma, she expects her new home life to be exceedingly boring. After all, what is even in Oklahoma? When she gets to Emory High, however, she realizes it is going to be anything but boring. The social structure -- Goldens vs. Nons, is both extremely prominent and hard to understand. Lissy is even more worried about Emory High discovering her Aura Vision, which is growing stronger all the time and sure to label her as a freak and a Non for life. The more time she spends there the more she realizes that the may not be the only one with "powers" and that not even her aura vision can help her know at all times who is good and who is not. Readers will cheer for Lissy as she battles evil, some in the form of her school's alpha female, some much more dangerous. This new-girl tale has far too many supernatural elements to be completely familiar, yet girls everywhere will relate, and the characters are realistic enough that you may start to wonder when you'll receive your powers.

Lissy James comes from a long line of ladies who possess the Sight, a supernatural sense or ability of some kind. She can see people's auras, with different shades indicating different personalities - and good or bad intentions. The women in her family - especially her younger sister Lexie, who has yet to acquire a Sight of her own - think she should be proud of her Aura Vision and hone her skill. Lissy would rather not broadcast her gift to her classmates. Before her family moved, Lissy told herself that Oklahoma wouldn't be the same as California, but she had no idea how different it would truly be. At her new school, the popular crowd decides who is hot (or, as they say, Golden) and who is not (Non). Lissy watches as the popular girls work their charms on the boys and realizes something out of the ordinary is going on. Before she knows it, she's swept up in a power struggle not only between social classes but between good and evil. Jennifer Lynn Barnes' debut novel is sure to appeal to fans of modern-day supernatural stories set in high school. With realistic dialogue, a good amount of twists and turns, and a rainbow of colors, the auras and characters of Golden shine.

Lissy moves from California to Oklahoma and finds herself in a social nightmare, facing two competing factions at school who vie for popularity in Jennifer Lynn Barnes's GOLDEN. But Lissy has something even more troublesome: Aura Vision, which is getting harder to hide as she sees beyond the average to get a sense of evil underlying the conflicts. Social and psychic tension are wonderfully done in this story of adjustments and changes.

GOLDEN, the debut novel by Jennifer Lynn Barnes, centers around the story of Lissy, a middle-of-the-road teenager with just one special characteristic: Her ability to see auras. When Lissy moves from California to Oklahoma, her gift of Sight starts to go all crazy, and she has to learn to deal, along with navigating an insane social ladder at the new school. This book is fun, intriguing, and just won't let go. I LOVE the fantasy element, even though I dont usually read fantasy/paranormals...it works SO well in this novel that you believe every page of it. You also never see the end coming-- and by the time it does, you wish the sequel was already out. Five stars for Jennifer Lynn Barne's debut, GOLDEN