Review & Giveaway: Earth by Shauna Granger

I would first like to thank Shauna Granger for allowing me to review her book as part of the tour.   I really enjoyed reading Earth and plan to read the next two books in the series very soon. 

The first thing I loved about Earth, is that it’s not your typical young adult paranormal.  It has been overdone and isn’t full of clichés.  I really liked that the book is about elementals.  Another thing that makes Earth unique is that the three main characters Shay, Jodi, and Steven already know that they are elementals – so we don’t have to go through the standard “woe is me, I have suddenly developed all these crazy powers and I don’t know how to use them – and they’re messing up my life, etc.”  The trio of besties already works well together with powers they’ve been developing since childhood.   

I also think that the characters are well developed and believable.  Shay is a normal teenage girl, with the exception of her magic, which makes her easy to relate to and likable.  Jodie and Shay are best friends – but have the usual teenage disagreements and insecurities over who is prettier.  Steven is the perfect balance to the two girls and attempts to keep peace.  He also adds a lot of humor to the story.   In the end, despite disagreements, they are all there for each other when they need each other.

Another thing that I liked about this book is the lack of a love triangle.  I am so sick of love triangles.  They are so overdone lately.  Anyway, there is no love triangle – and the love interest for Shay is Jensen.  Shay struggles with whether or not she can trust him – he being a mysterious newcomer and all.  The relationship isn’t all googly-eyes and sappineness either.  Shay doesn’t let the relationship distract her from the situation at hand.

I also like that these teens are conscientious, mature, don’t wine – and the biggest of all – they ask for help when they need it, don’t know something or in over their heads.  There are so many YA books out now where I’m wanting to smack the characters for not asking an adult for help when they are obviously in way over their head. 

This book addressed two big ticket issues for me, that I thought was great.  Domestic violence doesn’t just happen to married people – or people living in the same household.  Dating violence is a big problem that many teens aren’t informed about or prepared to deal with.  These types of situations, set the stage for the relationships a teen will seek out in adult life – if not dealt with.  I want to give props to Shauna Granger for writing about a topic most people don’t feel comfortable discussing.    The other issue which wasn’t as major was the compassion these teens showed to one of the homeless in their community bringing him food and blankets. 

Overall, this was a great read and I can’t wait to start book 2.  I hope that we get to know Jensen a little better.

To follow Shauna Granger for the rest of her tour and read reviews of Air and Water:

Enter for a chance to win

• 7 ebook copies of EARTH
• 3 ebook copies of all three books
• 2 sets of print copies of all three books
• 3 swag packs that include bookmarks and magnets from all three titles and a small WATER poster 

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