Clarity by Kim Harrington

Clarity by Kim Harrington

Release Date: March 1, 2011
Publisher: Point
Pages: 242

When you can see things others can't, where do you look for the truth?
This paranormal murder mystery will have teens reading on the edge of their seats.
Clarity "Clare" Fern sees things. Things no one else can see. Things like stolen kisses and long-buried secrets. All she has to do is touch a certain object, and the visions come to her. It's a gift.
And a curse.
When a teenage girl is found murdered, Clare's ex-boyfriend wants her to help solve the case - but Clare is still furious at the cheating jerk. Then Clare's brother - who has supernatural gifts of his own - becomes the prime suspect, and Clare can no longer look away. Teaming up with Gabriel, the smoldering son of the new detective, Clare must venture into the depths of fear, revenge, and lust in order to track the killer. But will her sight fail her just when she needs it most?

I definitely enjoyed reading Clarity and it's a great debut for author Kim Harrington! Clare's a great character; she's a bright, funny girl with the occasional sarcastic quip! Clarity was fast-paced, fun read! I found the mystery part a bit predictable by the middle, but the novel was well-written and by no means dragged out, so it was still an enjoyable read!

What I really liked was how Clare and her entire family had 'gifts' so their interactions were quite amusing at times but it also allowed them to support each other since they understood what it was like to have abilities that, as Clare put it, caused tourists to flock to them but also caused the locals to scorn them. The focus of the novel, therefore, wasn't about Clare trying to find acceptance within her family; they already knew who she was, she just had to find herself in the outside world.

One small issue I had with the novel was Gabriel, one of Clare's love interests. He seemed like your typical stock mysterious, handsome guy. I think he was supposed to thicken the mystery a bit but he felt a little bit like a cookie-cutter character to me. His character does get a bit better during the last bit of the novel though. That said, it's only a minor thing I was a bit disappointed in--nothing to stop anyone from reading the novel of course!

Overall: 4 out of 5
Plot: 3.5 stars
Characters: 5 stars
Writing: 4.75 stars
Cover: 5 stars (love the light colors! beautiful!)