Showing 1-4 out of 49 reviews. Previous | Next

• Clarity is a great debut novel that will have you drawn in right from the beginning. Filled with mystery, a great strong snarky female lead and plenty of boys, Clarity is filled with fun.The best thing about Clarity is the characters. All the characters are AWESOME!! Clare is definitely one of my favorite characters EVER. She is so full of spunk. Clare is such a strong character and she has to be being from a family of “freaks” and bullied about it at school. Clare can really hold her own against everyone else. And she is full of snark. I LOVE SNARK! I would have been fine just reading a story about Clare’s everyday life even if nothing happened because she is just entertaining. Clare had me laughing out loud at times too. She’s pretty kick-ass. I really loved Clare’s brother Perry too. While Perry has his flaws and is a player, he still has this loveable characteristic. Clare and Perry’s relationship was spot on too. They truly felt like brother and sister, you could feel the love between them and the need to protect each other, and I loved that.While Clare and her family has special abilities, the supernatural aspect from their abilities did not dominate the story. I really liked that abilities was not the center of the story. Instead, the characters and the relationship between the characters was what I felt was center of the story. Also the mystery WAS GREAT! I literally did not know who the murderer was. I would suspect it to be one person but find out it wasn’t. I thought the murderer was like four different people and in the end I WAS WRONG! I had not clue who the murderer was. That’s great a feat to completely blind side the read with who the killer is. I really liked that.I really loved how Kim wrapped up this book. The ending wrapped up everything nice, but still left things open enough for the next book. Especially with Clare’s boy situation. I really cannot decide if I want Clare with Justin or Gabriel. They both have their own flaws and own charms so I cannot pick!Overall, Clarity was a great fun read. I loved Clare, she was such a strong, confidant, spunky character. She is definitely one of my favorite characters of this year. I cannot wait to read the next book because it is sure to be AWESOME!!

  5.00 out of 5

  danijohns

• ***As originally posted on my blog Ticket to Anywhere***I fell in love with Clare and her family from the very first page. Clare is so filled of snark that she had me giggling allowed and cheering her on when people tried to make her feel less than who she was. Clare is a really strong character, she is proud of who she is and doesn't try to let anyone change her. She is a girl that anyone could look up to and admire. Although I am not sure that I would want her gift as it does have some negative consequences. As much as I sometimes wonder what other people are thinking...there are times in which I really don't think that I want to know. I definitely wouldn't want to find out some of the secrets that Clare finds when she touches people she knows.I also loved how Clare's mom was actively involved in her life. It is so rare in YA books to even SEE a parent and then when you do they are usually distant - both physically and emotionally. But in Clarity her mom is right there bugging Clare and her brother Perry about all the usual mom things. What makes Clare's mom even more fun is her particular psychic gift. I can just imagine all the things that Perry would try to get away with only to be quickly brought down by one look from her. Starla was a lot of fun, she is unique and involved but nor overbearing. She cares for her children and is struggling to make ends meet and isn't your typical mom all rolled into one. Perry, Clare's brother...well...he's pretty much a man whore. Which means that he's your typical teenage boy in a tourist town just trying to leave it up and be carefree before the weights of the world settle on his shoulders. Perry was a great character and he genuinely likes his little sister. I also really like Perry's friend Nate, I hope that we see more of him in the sequel.My favorite character though was Madam Maslov. If you've read the book then you probably know why and if not then you are in for a treat. Madam Maslov is this wild, over the top character that just makes you laugh and groan and wish that she was real. She is a thorn in the side of Clare's mom but I think that given time the two could become good friends and cause serious shenanigans in their small Cape Cod town. lolThe writing of this book was solid. It was tight and no words were wasted. I liked this as it meant that every word mattered and I wasn't losing myself in needless dialogue or descriptive scenes. I am from the area and so I loved how it felt like I was on Cape Cod as I was reading the book. I also loved the mystery. I can't even begin to tell you how much. I won't say much about it as I don't want to give anything away but Kim is great with the twists and turns and keeping the reader guessing. I read a TON of mysteries so I did figure some things out before the reveal but I didn't get everything. I LOVED this. It is so rare that I am surprised by a mystery so while I was frustrated that she "got" me I was also pleased. Clarity is also the first book in which I am unable to chose the boy that I think Clare should end up with. Usually when there is a love triangle I am pretty solid on one team right from the start and I don't waver. But in Clarity I kept shifting allegiance. Both boys as so utterly real. For me this means they are flawed. They aren't perfect, they don't try to be. In fact they are both stubborn and even when I am telling them not to do something (yes I do talk aloud to books) they just blunder right in and do it any way. Then they wonder why Clare gets mad at them. *sighs* They also don't always learn from their mistakes either....or at least it takes them some time to learn. This was so refreshing as usually the boys in YA are freakishly perfect or just so over the top creepy that it can be so hard to relate to them. Or to hope that the MC ends up with one or the other.To say I loved Clarity is an understatement because I more than loved it. I loved the world and the characters and the mystery. The only issue that I had with it was this one scene with Clare and one of her tormentors in school. As a bully she worked but there was this one scene in which she tried to come across as sympathetic and say that it was all Clare's doing that she wasn't a popular girl and if she just tried a little harder everything would change. I remember furrowing my brow and going huh? This from the girl who took every moment previously to try and torment Clare? I just didn't buy it and so that scene just felt a little rough to me. But other than that the book was a total love fest. If you've spent any time on my blog you know that I am honest to a fault in my reviews and if I didn't like the book I would tell you so. Therefore, you can trust me when I say that this is a book that you'll want on your bookshelf. Its a smart, snarky read and great for fans of Veronica Mars. I'm already counting down the days until book 2, Perception, is available because I can't wait to see what happens to Clare and company next!!***As originally posted on my blog Ticket to Anywhere***

  5.00 out of 5

  Irisheyz77

• <b>Summary</b>: Clarity “Clare” Fern is a psychic—kind of. By touching objects, she can see where they’ve been and who has touched them last. Clare uses her ability to help with the family business—her mom can hear people’s thoughts and her brother can talk to dead people, making them the kitschiest tourist attraction in town. But when a young tourist is murdered, Clare is roped in to help with the investigation. Though the detective on the case and his hot son don’t believe in psychics, they’re willing to take a chance on Clare’s ability. Will she be able to solve the case before more people are killed?<b>My thoughts</b>: Clarity pretty much represents everything I love about young adult literature. It has a likable heroine, believable love interests, and an engaging story. Mad props to Kim Harrington!The best part of Clarity, I think, is the mystery. Clare’s abilities make for extremely interesting sleuthing, and I really enjoyed trying to figure out the identity of the killer. And let me tell you—I couldn’t guess! Usually I’m able to predict whodunit, but with Clarity I was completely blindsided. I love unpredictability! The mystery was developed really well; Kim Harrington is definitely a writer to watch!Another awesome aspect of Clarity is the titular character herself. Clare is funny, intelligent, and someone I would love to be buds with. She doesn’t take anyone’s crap and is almost completely comfortable with herself (she dumped a friggin’ soda on a mean girl. I literally shouted in triumph!). Her quirky personality really made the book really fun—I loved reading the murder mystery through her perspective.Though Clare is usually sassy, the moments when she let her softer side show were great, too. I definitely couldn’t say that Clare was a one-dimensional character—she was very dynamic, and I could easily feel every feeling she felt.Let’s talk love interests. Clare is seriously fending off dudes with a stick, the lucky girl—she has two serious love interests and one sort-of love interest. Usually I’d call that overkill, but it really worked in Clarity. Justin, Clare’s ex, was a really sweet dude, and though he made a big mistake in the past, I still found him adorable. Then there’s Gabriel, the sexy boy detective (an oxymoron? Nay!). I loved his banter with Clare. It was so difficult for me to choose who to root for! I wasn’t too happy with where the book left off in terms of Clare’s love life, but I can’t wait to see what happens in book two!I’d recommend Clarity to anyone. I’d consider it a good gateway book for those uncertain about YA—it proves that yes, teens have decent murder mysteries, too! Seriously, guys, you need to pick up this book. Go! Get thee to a bookstore! I can almost guarantee that you’ll love Clarity as much as I did.

  5.00 out of 5

  renkellym

• I gobbled up Clarity in a day. It was impossible to stop and take my eyes off the page--I couldn't do it no matter how hard I dared myself to...not that I wanted to. I was just sucked into Claire's world and I didn't want to leave no matter how creepy, mysterious, and suspense building it was.Clarity had me within the first few chapters and I was laughing my butt off at Clare's witty and sarcastic remarks. I loved Clare from that moment on and I knew for sure I would be enjoying this book all the way. I did enjoy it and more!Kim Harrington had a way of capturing me with her captivating world, writing, and humor--not to mention her totally gorgeous and hot boys, Gabriel and Justin. I guess you could add Clare's older and womanizing brother, Periwinkle "Perry" Fern to those list of gorgeous guys. He added to the guessing game of "Who killed Victoria Happel?" and made it even harder to slow down on reading.I wish the book had been longer, but yet at the same time I was positively fine with the length and how it ended. I'm definitely sure that I can't wait for more and that Clarity climbed up and earned a spot on my favorite list. So if you haven't read it yet--you better or I may just have to use my own freaky powers on you! (Do I have them? I'm not telling you...)

  5.00 out of 5

  TheRandomGirl

Reviews provided by Librarything.

No reviews here.