Failing Test (The Shadow Series #1) - J.M. Pierce
My Rating: 3/5 (***)
Published: 2010
Genre: Fantasy, Paranormal Romance
Synopsis: “You know him, but you can’t remember his name. He is the one that is always there, in the background, all but invisible to those roaming the hallways. What if he had a secret? What if it was a secret that even he didn’t know?
Test Davis has always been a blur to those around him. He’s a shadow like a million other kids–not smart enough for the academic team, not beast enough for the football team, not extroverted enough for the drama crowd. In all things Test is just…not, which is why no one ever notices him.
But what happens when someone does notice him– Nicole Paxton, a cheerleader, no less? What happens on the night that Test finds out there’s nothing average about him and that a powerful gift has been hidden within, secretly waiting to be set free and alter his life forever? The question is, will that power save him and those he loves or tear them apart?“
I didn’t like Failing Test as much as I thought I would, based on the synopsis. It definitely had its moments, but overall I just wasn’t very impressed with the book.
The biggest problem I had with the book was the reaction of the law enforcement when they hear about Test’s powers. For instance, he accidentally reveals his powers to a bunch of his classmates when he defends his girlfriend from some of her old friends, who weren’t happy about her leaving their clique to date Test. He smashes up a car, and levitates two jocks, then melts a fiery log into a puddle of goo. He runs off, and naturally, the classmates call the police to report the attack.
Here’s my problem – a bunch of incredibly drunk teenagers call the police and report that one of their classmates has magical superpowers that he used to attack them…and the police don’t think twice about it. Their reaction isn’t to laugh at how ridiculous the story is. They don’t stop to question the source at all. The very next day, the front page declares Test a national threat who definitely has magical powers. And when the police see Test for the first time, they open fire on him immediately, without even waiting for him to prove if he has the alleged powers or not. So drunken teenagers are a completely credible source in this world. I’d hate to deal with their legal system.
And that’s another thing. Why did Test keep using his powers against the police? If he had never used them to attack the police, he could have just looked at the police and said, “Really? A bunch of drunk kids told you I had superpowers?” He laments that if he’d taken a bat to the kid’s car instead of mind-crushing it, he wouldn’t be in trouble. Then why not tell the police that that was what happened, then? He could have saved himself and everyone else a lot of trouble.
But, I suppose the book would have been a lot shorter if that had happened. Suspension of disbelief is one thing, but there’s only so far you can suspend that disbelief in what is supposed to be such a realistic world.
Another problem I had was how Heather and Chad acted. People don’t act like that. Popular cliques are one thing, but Heather and Chad were completely hostile. They had to “protect their Alpha status”. Really? It just felt like the book tried way too hard to make them the villains. Once more, it might not be such an issue if the book wasn’t going for normalcy.
Finally, Nicole’s reaction to the whole glowing thing was confusing. Her boyfriend can levitate things, destroy cars, and fly? No problem. His hands start glowing? GOOD LORD, IT’S TOO HORRIFYING! She faints because his hands glow. Flying is not an issue, but his hands lighting up like a lite brite is faint-worthy?
I think Cliff was my favorite part of the book. He was definitely a fun character.
