For those of you who love realistic fiction or somewhat sci-fi fantasy-like stories, you may want to check this one out. It's a fantastic beginning of what i sincerely hope will be a successful book series. It introduces the abstract, yet often revisited topic of immortality.
These teens have access to an alchemist, who starts this whole thing. Though this story begins in 1349 and spans until modern times, the main characters still go through the same romances, drama and rebellions as most teens do today.
Our main character, Seraphina, takes on the archetypal role of shape shifter--literally. Once we understand what Cyrus did to Sera, we begin to think something is amiss in their relationship. Slowly, we also see that Sera is not wanting the "normal" routine that her friends have followed for 600 years.
I love how the author gets so into Sera's head. It shows how sensitive she is, and just how much each of her own decisions affects her. We all begin to fall in love with the relationship that Sera builds between her incarnation, Kailey, and the boy next door, Noah. We are soon swept off our feet as Sera realizes that she doesn't need to think in life-changing situations--only feel--and she'll be fine. She also learns to accept love into her incarnation's life, although she still worries about how it will affect her. I think it's a nice touch that Sera makes her decisions centered around her new life as Kailey Morgan.
All in all, this book is a must-read if you are even remotely interested in books. It teaches many lessons--both obvious and hidden. You just have to pay attention to the details from the beginning.