Souls of Darkness by Eleanor T. Beaty Book Review

What's the best way to start out a book?  With a bang! That's how Souls of Darkness by Eleanor T. Beaty starts out and the fast pace remains throughout the whole story. 

The first page starts out with the death of the main character, Alex's, father.  This devastates both Alex and his mother, who then finds a pamphlet talking about an island Alex's father visited years ago.  Alex and his mother head to the mysterious island for a vacation.  The minute he steps on the island, Alex has odd senses of being followed and deja vu. 

After arriving on the island Alex meets a local girl, Taiya, who warns him of the island's spirits and that no one should venture outside at night.  Alex disregards her warnings at first, but after strange coincidences, he starts to believe that there is more to this island than he first thought.  As his friendship with Taiya starts to blossom, Alex becomes more entwined with the island and it's residents, he discovers a gift that will change the island forever.  Now, Alex and Taiya must risk their lives to save the island's residents, but they have many obstacles to overcome before they can save the day. 

With the extensive cast of supporting characters, it sometimes takes a minute to remember which one is which and what role they play in relation to the main characters.  However, I wouldn't change the number of supporting characters because they all bring something very unique to the story--they aren't there to just be there.

Even though this is a paranormal novel, Alex really feels like a "normal" teenager.  Ms. Beaty does a great job of making him out to be a hormone driven young man, who is attracted to Taiya.  But he also has been through a lot lately and sees it as his job to protect his mother, not the other way around.  All of the characters are well developed and at times their struggles and views of life made me cry. 

Souls of Darkness is a young adult paranormal novel that can appeal to adults and teens alike.  The fast pace of this novel keeps the reader engaged and wanting to read the next page over and over again.  Ms. Beaty's witty dialogue and vivid descriptions place you on the Polynesian island with the inhabitants and spirits.  For these reasons I give this book a 5 star rating.  This is the second book I've read by Ms. Beaty and it certainly won't be my last.