If science is right, then I am crazy. And crazy is dangerous.Tess Eckhart has always felt things nobody else can feel. Then the Ouija board incident happens at a high school party. Her complete freak out sends her family across the country–next to a nationally-renowned facility for the mentally ill. Worried Tess suffers from the same illness that tormented her grandmother, her parents insist she … grandmother, her parents insist she see a psychiatrist.
Tess is more concerned about fitting in at her new school, and hiding the fact that she’s seeing a therapist at the Edward Brooks Facility. She’s used to whispers and stares, but when it comes to Luka Williams, a reluctantly popular boy in her class, she’s unused to a stare that intense. Then the headaches start, and the seemingly prophetic dreams that haunt her at night. As Tess tries to hide them, she becomes increasingly convinced that Luka knows something–that he might somehow be responsible.
But what if she’s wrong? What if Luka Williams is the only thing separating her from a madness too terrifying to fathom?
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When you buy the next two books in the series that speaks volumes. A great storyline; I could not stop reading. I love a series that starts and ends well.
I really enjoyed this novel and give it 5-stars because of the story, the plot and the characters. It’s a YA book and has all the excitement and coming of age that you’d expect in a good YA, laced with the fantasy and mystery of what is happening to Tess, Luka, Pete, and more. I was reminded of many themes in this book, like mental health, paranormal, religion, romance, the challenges of being a teenager, & family, and the story itself was very good, easy to read, with believable dialogue and a good ending that I won’t spoil. Excellent writing style and I think this was a fantastic YA, coming of age, fantasy novel.
For YA fans, this trilogy beginning with the The Gifting by K.E. Ganshert is enthralling and top notch. One of my absolute favorites! Don’t miss this!
An excellent beginning to a new world order…..
This is a page-turning young adult book for teens, but I still enjoyed. It leaves you hanging, so if you can’t wait, you’ll need the next book.
As I read so many books, my way of figuring out how much I liked it is in the memory of it. I DO REMEMBER THIS ONE. As our heroine is sometimes not in sink with her life, this story can actually be taken as a metaphor for our own personal journey thru life.
The story turned out to be not what I expected. However, I did like the characters very much. I read the whole trilogy and for some reason, trilogies are becoming too long for me. It’s just me, I know, because the story remained good, loved the characters all the way through, happy ending and surprises. I just found myself wanting the story to be over before it was. But the three books were very good and I did like them.
Well written and kept my interest the whole way through.
This was a compelling read, and I kept reading to find out what was going on—even though dark stuff with demons isn’t really my thing. Luckily, that was minimal and the romance didn’t seem to be tied into the supernatural element, where the hot guy ends up being an angel or a fallen angel/demon. By the end, I still wasn’t sure what was going on, since it’s a series and questions were left unanswered for the next books. Are Luka and Tess some kind of gifted humans who help angels and defeat demons? I assume there will eventually be some explanation as to why that gift (or whatever it is) appears in some people and not others. Anyway, it was an interesting future dystopian setting, and I enjoyed seeing Tess navigate her relationships with Luka, her friends, and her parents. It was well-written and engaging, although there was one constant grammar error (using lay in present tense when it should be lie). I liked the conflict of whether or not Tess was going crazy, and having creepy things appear when she least expected them.
The Gifting isn’t a book found in one of my usual genres, but I read this book based on a friend’s recommendation and wasn’t disappointed. I found the plot about a teenage girl, Tess, who fears that she is suffering from psychosis, captivating. Like her grandmother before her, she has prophetic dreams at night and hallucinations during the day. The story is set in a dystopian society where being different might mean being locked up in an insane asylum for the rest of her life. All Tess wants is to be “normal” but she is plagued with inner demons and self-doubts. The plot thickens when she meets a love interest, Luke, who has similar hallucinations.
I want to read the next book in the series, The Awakening.
This book has good characters and makes you think about how the nation could change if certain laws were enacted.
Enjoyed the author’s style of writing. Interesting read.
Currently reading and can’t put it down
All I can say is wow!! I cannot even begin to describe how I feel about this book. This is Mrs. Ganshert’s debut into YA lit but she executes it like a pro. I loved The Gifting! It is the perfect combination of dystopian, paranormal, and romance without one overpowering the others. The book starts off a little slow, but then I couldn’t put it down. The plot is full of surprises and I was definitely stunned at how fast it ended. I inwardly screamed at the end. And after reading book 2’s preview. And after realizing the next book doesn’t come out for another month. Also, I loved the characters and am still struggling to stop thinking about them. Luka is sweet and protective of Tess. And Tess is awesome. Other than the crazy, paranormal part and the family dynamics, I found Tess highly relatable. She’s just a sweet, shy, ordinary girl struggling to fit into a world where crazy doesn’t exist. Her inner monologue had me smiling at times and I frequently grinned during her interactions with Luka. Correction: I couldn’t stop grinning. I can’t wait to see what happens in the second book! All this to say, if you love The Hunger Games or Divergent, this is the book for you!
If twilight and divergent had a baby….this book would totally be it.
Amazing book! Very good read, I couldn’t stop reading this until the end. It’s captivating
There is truly nothing like sitting down to read a book full of insanity, maybe-angels, Ouija boards, teenagers breaking the law, a brilliant shrink, and even a dash of romance.
Perhaps I should mention the government first. Luka and Tess live in a slightly futuristic United States where most medical facilities are controlled by the government, those who have disabilities are never born, and being different singles you out. (It’s really unique and I quite like it as a backdrop.)
This is of course not the ideal living circumstances for Tess and Luka who see things that nobody else can.
Yeah, I thought this was an interesting book, and I thought that the characters, especially Tess, were realistic. If you enjoyed The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer then I think you will also enjoy this.
Good read…loved it!