Review: Struck by Jennifer Bosworth

Published by: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux BYR
Release Date: May 8th, 2012
Number of Pages: 373
How I got this book: e-ARC from Netgalley
My rating: 5/5

Goodreads Summary:

"Mia Price is a lightning addict. She's survived countless strikes, but her craving to connect to the energy in storms endangers her life and the lives of those around her.

Los Angeles, where lightning rarely strikes, is one of the few places Mia feels safe from her addiction. But when an earthquake devastates the city, her haven is transformed into a minefield of chaos and danger. The beaches become massive tent cities. Downtown is a crumbling wasteland, where a traveling party moves to a different empty building each night, the revelers drawn to the destruction by a force they cannot deny. Two warring cults rise to power, and both see Mia as the key to their opposing doomsday prophecies. They believe she has a connection to the freak electrical storm that caused the quake, and to the far more devastating storm that is yet to come.

Mia wants to trust the enigmatic and alluring Jeremy when he promises to protect her, but she fears he isn't who he claims to be. In the end, the passion and power that brought them together could be their downfall. When the final disaster strikes, Mia must risk unleashing the full horror of her strength to save the people she loves, or lose everything."

My review:

Wowzers! What an electrifying debut from Bosworth!! I see big things in her future! I have been looking forward to reading this book for a long time, and I was not disappointed.

This book takes place is a dystopian Los Angeles setting. Mia and her brother and her mom have moved there after an "unfortunate accident" involving Mia causes them to flee their home in Arizona. A recent devastating storm/earthquake that almost killed their mother and almost destroyed the entire city has turned their world upside down. Their mom is experiencing PTSD and only seems to respond to the televangelist, Rance Ridley Prophet, who claims that the world will be ending in just a few days and only those who follow him will be spared.

At Mia's school, the students seem to be divided into two groups: the Followers (those who follow the Prophet) and the Seekers (those who directly and actively oppose the Prophet). Representatives from each side seem very interested in recruiting Mia, and she is not so sure why - at first. She doesn't realize how very powerful she is. She must choose how to use her power, and how she can use this power in a way to save her mom and the city of Los Angeles, and to prevent the Prophet from taking over.

This was AMAZING!! I absolutely loved the combination of the cult and weather aspects - very unusual and interesting!!! Bosworth's writing style was very easy to read and follow. Everything flowed well - VERY well written.When she described the storms, I could literally hear the thunder and see the lightning strikes in my head! I love Mia's character, even if it was a bit disturbing how she was "addicted" to being struck by lightning, lol. I really liked Jeremy too, and am anxious to see how their relationship plays out!

Seriously, this is a MUST read!