When a visit to the Tower of London triggers an overwhelmingly real vision of a beheading that occurred centuries before, Cole Ryan fears she is losing her mind. A mysterious boy, Griffon Hall, comes to her aid, but the intensity of their immediate connection seems to open the floodgate of memories even wider.
As their feelings grow, Griffon reveals their common bond as members of the Akhet—an elite group of people who can remember past lives and use their collected wisdom for the good of the world. But not all Akhet are altruistic, and a rogue is after Cole to avenge their shared past. Now in extreme danger, Cole must piece together clues from many lifetimes.
What she finds could ruin her chance at a future with Griffon, but risking his love may be the only way to save them both.
Full of danger, romance, and intrigue, Transcendence breathes new life into a perpetually fascinating question: What would you do with another life to live?
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C.J. Omololu's sophomore novel, Transcendence, has very little in common with her debut Dirty Little Secrets... except for the fact that they're both captivating reads.
Omololu's debut is about a girl dealing with her mother's uncontrollable urge to hoard - think along the lines of the A&E's Hoarders - and is very much a contemporary YA titles. In comparison, Transcendence is, at times, a contemporary novel and, at others, historically set. Some of the novel deals with very real issues, like crushes and familial relationships, while other scenes deal with the idea of reincarnation and a collection of people that can remember the past lives they've lived. In short, Omololu's sophomore novel brings many different elements to the table.
Transcendence took awhile to fully capture my attention. It wasn't until Cole and Griffon started interacting more regularly and Cole finally understood the reason for her visions that I felt fully invested in the novel's events. Even then, there were times when I wasn't sure what direction the novel was taking. I found the Akhet and the idea of reincarnation really interesting, but I didn't really know what the novel was supposed to accomplish. Eventually, it was established that a villain was somewhere in the mix and things sped up.
I sometimes took issue with Cole's behavior. I understand that she was expected to accept a pretty big idea in a relatively short amount of time, but I wanted more from her at times... There is a point in the book where Cole refuses to speak to Griffon and acts like a complete child. In the end, Cole's reaction is what set some other necessary events into motion, but I wish that Omololu could have achieved this another way. Griffon's maturity and Cole's immaturity just felt odd to me... Most of the time, I accepted that Griffon was falling for Cole, but, at times like this, it almost felt wrong... Like he was a man and she was just a child. Awkward...
Still, most of my issues with Transcendence took place near the middle of the novel and I was well-hooked by the end. In fact, after how this first book ended, I'm really looking forward to the next installment. I'm really interested to see what other things Cole will uncover about her past lives (has she ever been a parent or has she always died young??) and to see what other characters are Akhet... and if their lives have overlapped with Cole's in the past as well!
Omololu's debut is about a girl dealing with her mother's uncontrollable urge to hoard - think along the lines of the A&E's Hoarders - and is very much a contemporary YA titles. In comparison, Transcendence is, at times, a contemporary novel and, at others, historically set. Some of the novel deals with very real issues, like crushes and familial relationships, while other scenes deal with the idea of reincarnation and a collection of people that can remember the past lives they've lived. In short, Omololu's sophomore novel brings many different elements to the table.
Transcendence took awhile to fully capture my attention. It wasn't until Cole and Griffon started interacting more regularly and Cole finally understood the reason for her visions that I felt fully invested in the novel's events. Even then, there were times when I wasn't sure what direction the novel was taking. I found the Akhet and the idea of reincarnation really interesting, but I didn't really know what the novel was supposed to accomplish. Eventually, it was established that a villain was somewhere in the mix and things sped up.
I sometimes took issue with Cole's behavior. I understand that she was expected to accept a pretty big idea in a relatively short amount of time, but I wanted more from her at times... There is a point in the book where Cole refuses to speak to Griffon and acts like a complete child. In the end, Cole's reaction is what set some other necessary events into motion, but I wish that Omololu could have achieved this another way. Griffon's maturity and Cole's immaturity just felt odd to me... Most of the time, I accepted that Griffon was falling for Cole, but, at times like this, it almost felt wrong... Like he was a man and she was just a child. Awkward...
Still, most of my issues with Transcendence took place near the middle of the novel and I was well-hooked by the end. In fact, after how this first book ended, I'm really looking forward to the next installment. I'm really interested to see what other things Cole will uncover about her past lives (has she ever been a parent or has she always died young??) and to see what other characters are Akhet... and if their lives have overlapped with Cole's in the past as well!
Bloomsbury, June 2012, Hardcover, ISBN: 9780802723703, 336 pages.
This post is part of the Transcendence Blog Tour organized by Bloomsbury.
