Fifteen-year-old Jacob Lau is pulled from the wreckage of a car with only a hazy memory of how he got there. With his mother missing, and his father already dead some years earlier, Jacob is packed off to stay with his only remaining relative, an uncle he didn't even know existed. Jacob struggles to settle in and lashes out at those around him. This results in him having to work for the beautiful, yet scary woman who lives across the road. It turns out that she is not what she seems, but then neither is Jacob, who discovers an ability to control water. The woman tells him he is a Soulkeeper, and his destiny is to protect human souls. She offers to help him find his mother, but only if he agrees to submit to her training regime. He agrees, but doesn't really believe half of what she says. Needless to say, things do not go terribly smoothly and he loses what little trust he had in those around him. This is a coming of age story with mystery, supernatural beings and a bit of romance thrown in for good measure. The Soulkeepers is a bit of a page-turner, with some good set pieces, and I did warm to a few of the key players, however, I felt that it was a little on the superficial side and I would have liked to have seen a bit more depth to the characters, some of whom are very one dimensional and predictable. Maybe that will come in the remainder of the series (this is the first of a set of six by G.P. Ching). By no means an unpleasant way to spend a few hours, but it didn't grab me enough to make me really want to seek out the rest of the books. However, as I am not the target audience for this book (young adult), this may come as no surprise! Overall, a bit of light adventure that would make a good holiday read.
My STAR rating: THREE.
Length: 312 print pages.
Price I paid: free.
Formats available: print; audio download; ebook.
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