Reviews of Dark Before Dawn

Dark Before Dawn focuses on Dawn, a 16 year old girl who is forced to move from Boston to Maine because of her mother's marriage. Not only does Dawn have to deal with a new family, a new house, and a new school but she also has psychic abilities that scare her and have isolated her. She tries to keep her psychic abilities a secret but when she has a vision of a classmate's death, she feels that she must warn him. Soon she is being teased and tormented by the cool kids. And when her vision comes true, his friends spread a rumor around school is that she is a witch and she caused his death. She is befriended by another girl at school who also has psychic abilities and is introduced to her mentor. But Dawn soon starts to question the mentor's teachings and finds herself wondering if her initial bad feeling about evil was right all along.
I absolutely loved this book and read it in one sitting. The story was well-written and fast paced. I was interested from the first page to the very last. I liked that even though this was a paranormal book, it was very realistic. The interactions between Dawn and her mother were something that any teen girl can relate to and understand. The high school relationships and cliques were pretty much how I remember high school being. And in some ways, Dawn and her friends reminded me of myself and my little group of high school friends (except for the psychic abilities).
This book is very appropriate for teens and young adults, especially those interested in the supernatural. It is also an enjoyable read for adults of all ages. I highly recommend that you put this on your TBR and that you check out Stacy Juba's other books.

I thought this was a well written book and would really suggest this to any young adults who are interested in the paranormal, but I would also suggest it to all readers of all ages.

Another home run by Stacy Juba

Ms. Juba has nailed the high-school voice of her characters in "Dawn Before Dark". Dawn Christian gets transferred to a different school and becomes part of a blended family in a small town in Maine, a far cry from her life in Boston. With a new family, new friends and a connection with the town's psychic, Dawn finds that her own psychic ability is getting stronger, with some frightening effects. Ms. Juba has drawn a spot-on portrait of high school cliques and angst set against growing paranormal events! This is a taut story with a whiff of deja vu that will keep you turning the pages!

While geared toward YA readers, this book easily crosses over to older adults. Dawn is a teenager struggling to find her place in life. She doesn't quite fit in at her high school and is adapting to a new stepfather and stepbrother. To complicate matters, she is a powerful psychic with no guidance and her mother wants her to ignore her abilities. Another psychic teen, a mentor and Dawn's desire to fit in soon lead her into the kind of trouble she'd never dreamed possible.

The characters are well crafted and easy to relate to. The story moves at a good pace, with the mystery and suspense becoming more intense as the plot unravels. The writing style is Stacy Juba at her best. I loved everything about this book!