I read an early excerpt of Brigid Martin’s Totally Psychic through Bookish First and was very intrigued as well as charmed by the main character’s enthusiasm for her abilities. The rest of the story lived up to my earlier positive feelings about it.
Totally Psychic was delightful with plenty of supernatural hijinks alongside such themes as change and making new friends amid growing up and into one’s own. Set against a backdrop of a significant move from Miami to Rancho Cucamonga, California, as well as ongoing tension between Paloma Ferrer and her parents.
I liked Paloma as a character. The story spent enough time in Miami with her family and friends that I got a sense of how they interacted with one another—and the ground rules about how mediums used their abilities in the story— which helped with understanding Paloma’s sadness about the move. After all, she wanted to be just like her abuela, a famous medium that was a big deal both in and outside of her family. But her love of her powers and desire to follow in her abuela’s footsteps was an area of consternation with her mother. And that particular relationship reminded me of another book I read in July called Holly Horror. It was a very different story of course, since it was a young adult novel with a darker tone. However, in that review, I mentioned how Evie Archer’s backstory made her susceptible to supernatural trouble. That same sort of situation was here as well, with Paloma keeping secrets and trying to solve everything on her own when the situation went wrong, rather than reaching out more to the adults in her life for help. But a big part of the story was Paloma’s character growth, and her journey involved learning the cost of being irresponsible with her powers as well as realizing that she needed better communication with those in her life.
So Totally Psychic had a good balance between the supernatural aspects and the personal conflicts within the lives of the characters. It was, all around, an enjoyable read.
Disclaimer: this copy of the book was provided by the publisher (Inkyard Press) via Bookish First in exchange for an honest review, thank you!
Totally Psychic was delightful with plenty of supernatural hijinks alongside such themes as change and making new friends amid growing up and into one’s own. Set against a backdrop of a significant move from Miami to Rancho Cucamonga, California, as well as ongoing tension between Paloma Ferrer and her parents.
I liked Paloma as a character. The story spent enough time in Miami with her family and friends that I got a sense of how they interacted with one another—and the ground rules about how mediums used their abilities in the story— which helped with understanding Paloma’s sadness about the move. After all, she wanted to be just like her abuela, a famous medium that was a big deal both in and outside of her family. But her love of her powers and desire to follow in her abuela’s footsteps was an area of consternation with her mother. And that particular relationship reminded me of another book I read in July called Holly Horror. It was a very different story of course, since it was a young adult novel with a darker tone. However, in that review, I mentioned how Evie Archer’s backstory made her susceptible to supernatural trouble. That same sort of situation was here as well, with Paloma keeping secrets and trying to solve everything on her own when the situation went wrong, rather than reaching out more to the adults in her life for help. But a big part of the story was Paloma’s character growth, and her journey involved learning the cost of being irresponsible with her powers as well as realizing that she needed better communication with those in her life.
So Totally Psychic had a good balance between the supernatural aspects and the personal conflicts within the lives of the characters. It was, all around, an enjoyable read.
Disclaimer: this copy of the book was provided by the publisher (Inkyard Press) via Bookish First in exchange for an honest review, thank you!