Review: Chasing Power by Sarah Beth Durst

Title: Chasing Power
Author: Sarah Beth Durst
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Release Date: October 14, 2014
Sixteen-year-old Kayla was born with the ability to move things with her mind-things like credit cards and buttons on cash registers-and she has become a master shoplifter. She steals to build up enough money for her and her mom to be able to flee if her dad finds them again . . . which would mean grave danger for them both.

When she's caught stealing by a boy named Daniel-a boy with the ability to teleport-he needs her help and is willing to blackmail her to get it. Together, they embark on a quest to find and steal an ancient incantation, written on three indestructible stones and hidden millennia ago, all to rescue Daniel's kidnapped mother. But Kayla has no idea that this rescue mission will lead back to her own family-and to betrayals that she may not be able to forgive . . . or survive.

My Review

You can read Kayla's review HERE.

After reading the synopsis and with my previous experience with Durst's The Lost, I expected an Indiana Jones-type adventure with some special powers thrown in and possibly more than a little magical realism. And that's exactly what I got. There were a few small issues, but for the most part, I was thoroughly entertained by Chasing Power.

In some ways, Chasing Power felt like a long exchange of banter, with Kayla bantering with other characters, and Durst inserting tongue-in-cheek lines that had me grinning. Durst used some of my favorite tropes: treasure hunting adventure and magical powers. She also used other overused tropes, BUT she acknowledges this throughout the book. At one point Selena, Kayla's best friend states that she is the usual smart side kick and that there were already cryptic old ladies helping on the quest.

Kayla's and Selena's relationship was one of the best parts of Chasing Power. They have a true friendship and support each other throughout the book. Even when Kayla is in the middle of a crisis, she still tries to help Selena with her boy and parent issues. However, other than Kayla, the rest of the characters, even Selena to a certain degree, weren't fleshed out very well. I also didn't really like any of the other characters.

There were a few twists, some of which were surprising, not the least because I didn't really like, or trust, most of the characters other than Kayla and Selena. The "bad guy" isn't obvious as there are several shady and/or cryptic people with their own agendas, so it's hard to tell who is on Kayla's and Daniel's side.

I wasn't a big fan of the romance between Kayla and Daniel, mostly because Daniel was either being a jerk or didn't have much of a personality. I wish that the two treasure hunters would have been Kayla and Selena, now that would have been an awesome team, but it would also have been a completely different book. Kayla called Daniel out when he was being a huge jerk, so at least there was that.

Once the treasure hunt started, the story started to get a little jumpy, probably because Daniel and Kayla were literally jumping around the globe. It may have been a little less jumpy if there had been more historical background added in. I loved seeing some "explanations" for some events that happened in Ancient Rome and Central America when it was inhabited by the Maya.

I would recommend Chasing Power to anyone who wants a light adventure story with a mix of a little magical powers and historical facts.

- 3.5/5 Stars -

Buy Links
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To satisfy FTC guidelines, I am disclosing that I received an advance copy of the book from the author through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.