Hunting Lila by Sarah Alderson

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Simon and Schuster, 2011.
Full of genres such as crime, thriller, mystery and paranormal all wrapped up into one book and put into the young-adult fiction category; words that fill your head and keep you wanting to know what happens next is how I would describe this book. Lila has two secrets to take to her grave, the first one is her ability and the other is the love she feels for Alex, her brother's best friend.
Lila's mother was brutally murdered when she was only 12 years old. Her father, filled with grief, dragged Lila with him all the way to London. They left her brother to live with his best friend Alex in the United States (for Lila this was not by choice). While away from her brother and Alex, with whom she's been in love for as long as she can remember, Lila discovers that she possesses a unique talent. She is able to keep her ability secret until one day, in a dark London alley, two teenagers try to mug her and she uses it to defend herself. Not knowing what to do, Lila gets on the first plane to California, where she hopes to find safety with her brother, and of course, with Alex. But her brother and Alex aren't exactly normal 22 year olds. They are both US Marines, working for the highly-trained, top-secret 'Unit.' As soon as their enemies find out that Lila is Jack's sister, she finds herself in even more danger than before.
In my opinion Lila being obsessed with one boy through the whole book didn't bother me as much as it usually would. Perhaps it was because the whole thing was spiced up with so much well-written action. Perhaps it was because Alex truly is her soul-mate. Perhaps I don't even care about the reason. As a character, Lila is instantly likeable. I wouldn't say that she's too bright, but she's not annoyingly stupid either. I ended up caring about all the characters. Even some I never expected to.
This is one of those stories where all the houses are nice, all the characters are pretty, and true love really does conquer all, but it also packs a few surprises and smartly written dialogues. I can only hope there's a sequel that's just as good. Sarah got my full attention on this book. She achieved full potential when it comes to writing a book. Her message was loud and clear. I would recommend this book to anyone and everyone; it's definitely on my top ten favourite books of all time.
This book made an amazing impression to me, it was a little bit of everything thrown into one book and I will not forget it in a hurry, with loveable characters, amazing detail and a love that between two people will last forever. I am definitely looking forward to a sequel I want to know what happens next, wait - I don't just want to know, I need to know.
Aleisha Leane (Student)

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