The Seventh by S.D. Wasley

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SKU 978-1-77233-187-5
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Sixteen year old Mimi Alston has company. No less than three ghosts follow her around, and only she can see them. At her last school, she was known as the girl with imaginary friends. Now Mimi’s starting fresh in a new town, where she’s determined to make some real friends and fit in for once. She’s ready for a normal life...except Mimi never counted on her fascination with troubled goth-boy, Drew. 

When she’s invited to join the elite Gifted Program, Mimi discovers she’s not the only one at the school with an unusual talent. Maybe being normal isn’t even an option anymore.

14+ due to mild violence and adult situations

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Excerpt:

My final class was English. Drew was there. He looked terrible, like something had broken him. I couldn’t help but stare and he looked back into my face with those green eyes. I thought about my face smiling and sparkling in the mirror and realised I was actually conscious of how I looked when it came to Drew. That wasn’t like me. Did he have some kind of compulsion towards me, like Gabe had said? Maybe I just had a compulsion towards him.

There was only one seat left, possibly because I had been examining myself in the mirror for too long at break. It was next to Drew. I took the seat with a mixture of delight and dread. He stared at his notebook when he saw me coming his way. Our lesson was on characterisation, and the teacher was explaining archetypes, protagonists and antagonists. I found it hard to concentrate but then suddenly it was time for partner discussions. We were supposed to decide which roles the different types of characters fulfilled in our assigned novel.

I looked at Drew. He was staring down at his file and drawing another of his black ink vortexes on a blank sheet of paper.

“So, err, are we going talk about protagonists?” I asked.

“Are you serious?” he replied without looking up.

I was relieved. “Cool. I didn’t really want to either. But it would look weird to Mr Cambridge if we didn’t talk at all.”

Drew scribbled more furiously. I waited. Eventually the pen stopped and he looked into my face. My heart just about stopped. My mouth went dry.

“What is with you?” he hissed angrily.

I shrank away. So much for a compulsion, Gabe, I thought bitterly, turning my face away as tears threatened to flood my eyes. More like revulsion. I flicked through my textbook blindly, hoping the teacher would figure I was trying to work out his characterisation problem.

But after a few more moments Drew spoke again, his voice devoid of anger and bitterness.

“Sorry, Mimi,” he said. “Just … sorry.”

Ugh, the tear spilled onto my cheek. Lame. I pretended to brush my hair back and swiped past my cheek, removing all evidence.

“What’s your problem?” I said coolly, still flicking through my book.

“You shouldn’t let yourself get sucked in by them,” he said, his voice low and so desperate that I turned back to look into his eyes again, forgetting the fear of showing my tears. “It’s bullshit … all bullshit. None of this gift crap is real. She’s encouraging our delusions.”

Now I got angry. “Screw you,” I said, my voice shaking with the effort to stay quiet. “Do you know how long I’ve believed I am insane? I just found out I’m not and you know what? I’m glad. It’s not fun to think you’re nuts. You can wallow in it all you like, but I just got released from the psycho ward and I can’t wait to get my life back.”

Drew dropped all pretence of being tough, or cool or whatever. He stared at me with his mouth open. I glared for a few moments and then looked away. It was hard to keep gazing angrily at his face without being distracted by the extraordinary beauty there. Even the thick white makeup and black painted lips couldn’t hide it.

“You don’t know anything about it,” he said in my ear after a pause. “You just wait.”

It sounded like a threat. I raised my hand and excused myself. I went straight to my dorm room after making a brief appearance in the nurse’s office to claim a migraine. She took my temperature and peered at me for a moment, but seemed to believe me and told me to go lie down.

I lay on my bed, my mind buzzing. I tried not to think about Drew because I felt bad whenever my mind went there. I had been completely honest with him––I wasn’t crazy, and I was celebrating. I could hardly wait until the next time I could sit in that roomful of gifted kids and find out more. I was okay. I had a gift. These three ghosts who silently joined me as I lay on my bed, one on my swivel chair and two sitting on my floor, were ghosts … not figments of a psychotic imagination. For me, no matter what Drew thought, that could only be good news.

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Product Reviews

Score: 4 out of 5 (based on 3 ratings)
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4/5
Hoping that this will be an ongoing series
Written by Night Owl Reviews on 19th Feb 2016

I felt bad for Mimi because I know what it’s like to be an outcast and have people judge you, even when they don’t truly know you. In Mimi’s case her situation is ghosts, as in she sees them. Since she was thirteen she has collected ghosts and she currently has three with her. She’s been transferred to a new school and realizes that she’s not a freak, she’s just special. Not only that but she’s the seventh person and completes the circle, hence the title of the book. I was so proud of her and it was so great to see her bloom, her little attraction to Drew was just adorable and it was made better because they were each other’s first. Not only that but she gets some cool friends too. I think it’s interesting and maybe a little scary to do the things they do, who wouldn’t want to control animals, see the future, conjure things out of thin air, feel people’s emotions, be the protector, and heal someone? Every person in the group has a purpose and as a whole, when they work together they can do some amazing things. I’m hoping that this will be an ongoing series, it was an easy read and I finished it in a couple hours. It had mystery, terror and romance all thrown in and made a nice read. Disclosure: Free review copy from the publisher/author for an honest review. Review by: Confusedagony

4/5
A Great Read
Written by Rachel @ The Rest Is Still Unwritten on 19th Feb 2016

The Seventh is S.D. Wasley’s debut novel and is a supernatural tale that weaves different elements of the paranormal together with friendship and romance in this first novel that kicks off Wasley’s debut series. The Seventh follows sixteen year old Miette "Mimi" Alston, a teenage girl who has spent the last three years of her life accompanied by three ghosts at all times. Known for her odd nature and the problems her ghosts can cause, Mini’s school life has been nothing but difficulties. So when her psychologist recommends Etherall Valley Prep, a school that focuses on managing problem children, a category Mimi falls into with her diagnosed delusions, Mimi takes a chance on EVP, unaware her life is about to change forever. Soon invited to participate in a Gifted program, Mimi is shocked to discover other individuals with abilities similar to hers and quickly discovers that having her gift isn’t necessarily the curse she believed it to be…… As far as storyline’s go, the one within The Seventh was quite solid. S.D. Wasley’s writing is easy to read and her main character easy to follow. From what I discovered in this first instalment I’m thinking The Seventh will be a part of a series and Wasley supports this by setting up many possibilities with where the storyline could possibly go. The Seventh sets the stage are far as storyline development and mythology are concerned, and while it’s a fairly basic storyline for now, Wasley clearly has a bigger picture in mind. Mimi is an easy enough main character to follow. She’s very normal despite the fact she has ghosts following her at all times and I enjoyed her developing relationships with the other characters. S.D. Wasley gives Mimi people who can understand where she’s coming and who have been insimilar situations in the form of Drew, Gabe, Mona, Ed, Cassie and Patience who are all a part of the Gifted program and who have different abilities of their own. Obviously there’s a romance between Mimi and goth-boy Drew that was actually quite sweet. They were endearing to be honest and I liked that they grew from a friendship, and that despite their obvious crushes on each other, they got to know each other first before a romantic relationship developed. S.D. Wasley ends this instalment of her debut series perfectly with enough excitement, development and revelations to leave me wondering what will happen next. Likable characters combined with a paranormal element make for an entertaining read.

5/5
Age Appropriate YA Fantasy, Romance & Intrigue! LOVED IT!
Written by Dii on 19th Feb 2016

Her parents thought she had emotional problems, her classmates taunted her for her imaginary friends. Her doctor said she was fine, but recommended a special school for children “like her.” Mimi and the ghosts who protect her are about to start on a new chapter in her life in a new school and just maybe she can make some friends. Invited to join a Gifted Program, Mimi discovers what she always believed in her heart, she is not crazy, she has a special gift and so does everyone in the program. Not everyone looked at their talents as gifts, Drew, with the striking green eyes finds his gift to be a curse and he keeps people at a distance by going all goth and carrying a chip the size of Montana on his shoulder. Of course, he is the one that captures Mimi’s heart, but why? In a tale filled with secrets upon secrets, covering secrets, there is danger lurking nearby and together these seven teens must stand together, against the odds, learning the true meaning of trust and friendship along the way! The Seventh by S.D. Wasley is pure reading entertainment directed at teens, but able to quench any reader’s thirst for intrigue, sweet romance and a wonderful fantasy escape! S.D. Wasley has written an age appropriate fantasy with just enough mental confusion about romance and life to bring back memories for adults and to hit a bullseye for most young teens on up! Well written with great details, emotional hooks and a few unexpected twists, I was completely invested in these kids and how difficult it was for them to master/live with their abilities! A coming of age story in a world full of secrets! Settle in for a tale that brings heartbreak, happiness and understanding to a wonderful group of kids as Mimi finds a place where she finally fits in and it is a place where everyone is uniquely different in their own way! I received this copy from S.D. Wasley in exchange for my honest review.