{Review} Ghost Hand (The PSS Chronicles) by Ripley Patton

ASIN #: B00AF1CM0A

File Size: 429 KB

Page Count: 386

Copyright: November 28, 2012

Publisher: Ripley Patton; 1st Edition

Book Summary:

(Taken from Amazon)

Seventeen-year-old Olivia Black has a rare birth defect known as Psyche Sans Soma, or PSS. Instead of a right hand made of flesh and blood, she was born with a hand made of ethereal energy.

How does Olivia handle being the girl with the ghost hand? Well, she's a little bit morbid and a whole lot snarky.

Her mother thinks her obsession with death, black clothing, and the local cemetery is a bid for attention. But when Marcus, the new guy in Olivia's calculus class, stares at her like she's a freak, Olivia doesn't like it. And when her hand goes rogue, doing things she never imagined possible, Olivia finds herself running for her life with Marcus from a group of men bent on taking the power of her hand for their own nefarious purposes.

Mandy's Review:

I'm not exactly sure how or where the author came up with the idea of PSS but I'm glad for whatever it was that inspired her. Ghost Hand is a unique paranormal YA story that will capture your attention and keep you engaged. Although this is marked as a YA book, I would recommend it for the older YA audience due to some of the language in the story.

Olivia is a teenager who is dealing with the tragic loss of her dad, which adds to her morbidity. She loves black and wears it as much as she can. Most of the time she can handle the idle curiosity her ghost hand brings. It's not until the fingers of her ghost hand elongate and enter into someone's back does she think she may not have control over it.

Marcus, the new kid in town, notices Olivia's ghost fingers enter into Passion's back. Instead of freaking out, he reaches over and helps her ghost hand return to "normal." Now that he's shown he's familiar with PSS Olivia is intrigued and wonders how he knew the maneuver that corrected her hand. Thus begins Marcus' and Olivia's acquaintance.

Throughout the course of the story, Olivia learns that there are lobbyists who aren't just politicians. They are after her, and others similar to her, for her PSS in order to extract it and use it for their purposes. Marcus and his band of misfits help Olivia learn who they are and try to stop them.

I actually loved this story, but it did leave me with quite a few questions that I hope will be answered in the last two books:

• How do people get PSS? I know they're born with it, but is it hereditary? If it's not hereditary, then how does it manifest in the mother's womb?
• Is Olivia's mother what she appears to be? Sometimes I think her behavior was an act and she's really mixed up with the CAMFers (the politicians after Olivia).
• Does "The Other Olivia," a painting done by Olivia's dad, have any special powers? It almost seems alive in the story, like it does have powers and is just waiting to be revealed.

This is definitely a story that I would recommend to you YA paranormal lovers out there. Ghost Hand is not your usual paranormal story and that is the reason why I think it would be a worthy addition to your personal library.

*An ecopy of this book was provided by the author in exchange for an honest review.