Review: Gateway (The Gateway Trilogy Book # 1) by Christina Garner

Title: Gateway(The Gateway Trilogy Book 1)

Author: Christina Garner

Published: May 17, 2011

Format: ebook,  185 pages

Goodreads Summary:

Ember has always known she doesn't belong in this world. But when she tries to correct the mistake, she wakes to find herself in a mental institution. 

She's soon drawn to Taren, the mysterious boy with hazel eyes. He's not what he seems, but what is he?

When chaos erupts, they are forced to flee the institution together, and the secret that Taren has been keeping brings Ember closer to understanding her own. And leads her to... the Gateway.

My Feelings:

I found this book on Pixel of Ink's young edition free from Amazon.  I wasn't expecting much but I was definitely surprised when this exceeded all of expectations.  

As usual, ya'll know how I am, I want to talk about the cover.  I guess I am a visual kind of person because a great cover can make or break a book for me.  Sometimes.  

This cover looks like it was drawn with a charcoal pencil by someone doing a silhouette of our main protagonist, Ember.  The girl in the cover looks withdrawn and lonely, but more importantly, hopeless.  I think this is one of those covers that shows us more of the book in the simplicity of it all.  

Okay, I am done raving about the cover.  

The story is pretty darn amazing too!  Don't get me wrong it is a dark story that starts out with Ember swallowing a bunch of pills hoping to just go to sleep but instead waking up in a hospital psych ward.  But she is so far from being your typical depressed teenager.  Ember is much stronger than she looks or gives herself credit for.  

At first when I was reading it,  I thought this story was going to be about Ember facing her inner demons in a more metaphorical sense but Garner really throws in the action and fantasy almost like it feels like you are there with Ember experiencing the terrifying creatures that come to visit.  

Garner writes an engaging character in Ember who grows as she realizes who and what she really is.  I would have to add Ember to a list of female characters that I find pretty incredible!  

There is a love interest in this story but it doesn't overtake the plot at all.  In fact, it ties into it more than anything like it was predestined more to me.  But that is just my opinion.  

Taren is a pretty cool guy but he seems to be more cliche with the whole gorgeous tortured soul type that is typical in the YA novels.  

Kat is  a  refreshing character in this story as well.  At first I thought she was going to be the snobby girl that only thinks of herself and resents the main character but she wasn't at all.  Yes she is gorgeous but didn't take away from the story.  In fact she creates more diversity that could help this series become even greater.  

I was completely enthralled in this story that I had a very hard time putting it down.  It does have similarities to The Mortal Instruments but not annoyingly so.  I also couldn't help thinking of Sam from Supernatural a little too.  

I really fell in love with this story and I can't wait till I get my hands on the other two books in the series!

Had to give it five hearts!