Review: The Secret of Ka by Christopher Pike

So, things in my life are changing, and it seems like over the next few months, I'm going to be having quite a bit of free time. . .at least for the months of February and March. And I'd really like to take that free time to get back into book blogging. . .so I'm hoping to take the month of January to ease into it, and I figured I'd start with this lovely little book I read a while ago from Net Galley. Enjoy! And say hi! :-)

Title: the Secret of Ka

Author: Christopher Pike

Rating:

Who Should Read It?
I've always thought of Christopher Pike as a horror author. If you've never really been into that aspect of him, you could still love this book. It's a beautiful, wonderful mystery style YA book that's got a little something for everyone! As long as you can deal with the occasional discrepancy.

What I Have to Say:
The Secret of Ka reminded me of the 80's, and for those of you wondering, that's a good thing. A great thing, even. I used to love R.L. Stine and Christopher Pike and the Babysitter's Club and Sweet Valley High, and this book somehow managed to feel to me like all of those things combined while reading it. It's a lovely, somewhat fluffy, magical mystery, with bored teenagers, love, and magic carpets.

So it was good, a super fun read! Unfortunately, that's all it was. I don't feel like we really got to know Sara and Amesh, the two main characters, all that well. They were lacking in dimension, and I didn't really like what I did learn about them. And I never really understood why they came to like each other. . .they somehow just didn't seem like a good fit to me. Also, I felt like, since the author decided (seemingly at random) that the story was to take place in Turkey, I felt like he could have done a little bit more research on Turkey itself.

The thing is, though, it didn't have to take place in Turkey, as so much of it was in this beautiful, fantasy place of Pike's creation. I almost felt like it would have been better if the entire thing had just been in some fictive place or even some place totally boring and plain, like Montana. I'm not entirely sure why Turkey had to even come into the picture.

All of this aside, I really did enjoying reading. It was a quick, light read with lots of twists and turns and enough action and thinking to keep you turning the pages right up to the very end. Final verdict - I liked it, despite the bad things I have to say about it!

Summary: One minute Sara's bored on vacation in Istanbul. The next, she's unearthed a flying carpet that cleverly drags her to the mysterious Island of the Djinn—or genies. By her side is Amesh, a cute guy she has a crush on but doesn't yet trust. When Amesh learns the secret of invoking djinn, he loses control. He swears he'll call upon only one djinn and make one wish. The plan sounds safe enough. But neither Sara nor Amesh are any match for the monster that that swells before them. It hypnotizes Amesh, compelling him to steal Sara’s flying carpet and leave her stranded on the island.

Discovering the carpet has sparked a new path for Sara, one that will lead her to battle creatures even deadlier than djinn. In this fight, Sara can save mankind, herself, or the boy she cares for. Who will she be forced to sacrifice?

Cover Story: Love love LOVE this cover! It's absolutely GORGEOUS with the dark blue night sky and the stars twinkling in the sky. And then Sara majestically flying on the carpet. Just lovely!

Disclosure: I received this book for free via net galley. This in no way affected my review.