Book of the Month: Smokeless Fire

And here we are again with another book of the month.  This is the first in a series of four books by Samantha Young.  It's about Ari, a seemingly normal girl whose world is flipped upside down when she learns she is one of the Jinn.  Jinn as in Genies.  Her guardian, Jai, and best friend, Charlie, are in on the secret, too.

Let's all take a moment to marvel at this gorgeous cover.

The book is split into two parts.  Part one is, in my opinion, a lot better, although not as interesting as, part two.  The characters seem fresher and the plot moves smoother.  Part two is where all the paranormal stuff starts to happen, but I almost feel like that's all being forced.  Like a bad musical number is moving the plot along rather than actual plot.

The characters are all endearing.  Ari is a great main character, Jai is just smoking (and totally book-crushable), and Charlie is pretty awesome, too.  There's certainly tragedy in the story (all the characters have some sort of family flaw) but those things don't completely overwhelm their lives (besides Charlie, who's totally got that right).  The characters seem well thought out, although they don't particularly stand off the page.  Where the plot not as unique as it is they probably wouldn't at all.

Speaking of the plot, it's really cool.  You don't see to many stories about genies, especially in YA lit.  If nothing else, this is a total draw to the story.  Everyone's using used ideas (OK, not everyone) and this refreshing NEW idea will make hard-core readers happy.  I wish more time had been spent in the realm of the Jinn, but as it is, I'm happy with the originality.
I'm giving this book 4 stars.  It's by far, though, my favorite BotM (book of the month) so far!  I hope you all give it a chance and read it (if you haven't already) because it's certainly worth it.