BLOG TOUR: Mara by Veronica Bane

Title: Mara

Author: Veronica Bane

Genre: YA Fantasy

Release Date: August 3rd, 2013

Purchase: Amazon (Paperback)

For years, Mara Tucker has used her power of manipulating flames to punish those who have done her wrong. But things are changing in the town of Jericho. Rampant disappearances have forced Mara to seek out others with special powers. In a story that confronts the violence and turmoil of adolescence, Mara and a group of other “unusuals” like her grapple with new alliances and the villains pressing in all around them.

“A tale of teenage rebellion in the tradition of classics ranging from The Outsiders to The Hunger Games, Veronica Bane’s fantasy novella explores the timeless themes of growing up, finding one’s inner strength, and discovering where one belongs. The titular antiheroine and her flawed-but-lovable band of “unusuals” are characters that will resonate with teen audiences and older readers alike.” –Ashley Heaton, Editor

When I started reading Mara I had no idea what to expect. To be honest, I am not a big fan of novellas so I was really wary of reading Mara. But I thought, “Hey at least I should give it a try.”

The story revolves around Mara—obviously—and she has this power to summon and control fire. She lives in this town called Jericho. At first Mara thought that she is the only one who has that kind of power. And then later on she meets other people her age who also has the ability to summon other elements like thunder and water. One of them can even control stones and boulders. It was really cool to see those characters and their unusual abilities.

And let’s not forget the bad guys. Some of the people in Mara’s town are mysteriously disappearing and turns out there are people—bad people—who want to get rid of the Unusuals—that’s what they call people like Mara.

My favorite character is definitely Mara. She has a very strong personality and she is very brave. I think her ability to summon fire suits her personality. Miyuki is also a very likeable character, she has the power to control water. I like how each character’s personality fit the element that they can control and summon.

The plot of the book was great. It wasn’t like what I expected it to be—which is a good thing. But with it being a novella and given the word count, I thought the story lacked a little backbone. I expected to have a clearer and longer background story as to how those characters gained their abilities. I would have liked a little more back story but overall it was fine. The book is good and I really like it. It’s a quick read but was also very good and satisfying, I think.

Author Info

Veronica Bane grew up in San Diego, California and spent her days writing in local coffee shops and at the beach. Her writing was and has always been fed a healthy diet of chai tea lattes and film scores.
Veronica studied Creative Writing at Chapman University and now lives in Los Angeles. 
Author Links
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