Sleight

By Jennifer Sommersby

The greatest treasure, a most dangerous magic.

Growing up in the Cinzio Traveling Players Company, Genevieve Flannery is accustomed to a life most teenagers could never imagine: daily workouts of extravagant acrobatics; wild animals for pets; and her mother, Delia, whose mind has always been tortured by visions—but whose love Geni never questions. In a world of performers who mystify and amaze on a daily basis, Delia’s ghostly hallucinations never seemed all that strange . . . until the evening Geni and her mother are performing an aerial routine they’ve done hundreds of times, and Delia falls to her death.

That night, a dark curtain in Geni’s life opens. Everything has changed.

As they reel from the tragedy, the Cinzio Players are also grappling with the circus’s new owner: a generous, mysterious man whose connection to the circus—Geni suspects—has a dark history. And with the discovery of an otherworldly inheritance and her perilous mission to protect it, Geni is suddenly stumbling into a new reality of her own, her life interrupted daily by the terrors only Delia used to see. As the visions around her grow stronger, and her magical legacy becomes even more menacing, Geni is not sure who she should trust or love. Worst of all, she’s starting to question whether she can trust her own mind.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Apr 3, 2018
• ISBN: 9781443418874

Jennifer Sommersby

Jennifer Sommersby is, among other things, a collector of elephants, a Shakespeare freak, a wearer of tattoos, and a copy and line editor. She lives in Vancouver, British Columbia with her family.

Reviews for Sleight

[storiesandsweeties · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Jennifer Sommersby has an amazing way with words and descriptions that just pulls you right in. The storytelling is fast-paced and exciting and chock full of magic, ghosts (called Shades, some scary, some not), plenty of intriguing family secrets and a cruel, conspiring villain.Gemma Flannery, a fiery red-haired circus musician who has just lost her mother and has always had the ability to see Shades, was a fantastic character. She was principled, smart, and very much shaped by the unusual life she's been raised in with the traveling circus, perfectly rounded out with a sharp, snarky humor. Throw in a little angstiness at having to adjust to regular high school life and you have one very authentic, likable, passionate character.The circus is her built-in family and the people she cares about most. Her best friends in the world are an outgoing trapeze artist and an elephant. There are so many great characters among them, it's hard to pin a favorite! With the introduction of Lucian and his son, Henry, things start getting a little strange and twisted. The poor girl gets hit with one shock after the next. The more Gemma learns about the role she plays in the fate of the Avra-K, a set of ancient magical books, the more Gemma's familiar world gets turned upside down. Suddenly she and the people she loves are put in terrible danger.I really enjoyed the complexity of the love story between Gemma and Henry. It wasn't this simple thing of "I like you and you like me"...there were so many wrenches thrown into the works, so many dangers and challenges that they both had to face. They are both so involved in what is happening around them. It will be interesting to see how they get through it all as the series continues!There was a turning point in the action that I temporarily thought would have made a better end to book one and start to book two, and it just slightly slowed the flow for me...until the chase picked up and I got to the actual end. The ENDING...WOW. Took my breath away and now has me checking Goodreads daily for any news on book 2 of this amazing series.Definitely pick this one up! Such a great story, though I do recommend for older teens due to a few really violent and disturbing scenes.

[pacey1927 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I stumbled upon "Sleight" by accident and bought it for my Kindle. From the start I knew the book was enjoyable. The writing is VERY well done and I liked Gemma, the heroine right off the bat as well. I loved that the book is about a girl and her 'adopted' family traveling with a Circus. Her Uncle Ted runs that circus and her Aunt Marlene is a part of the show. Her best friend and her friend's brother Ash are also part of the show. Gemma plays music behind the curtain for the show and takes care of the elephants who are her babies. I felt some of the ideas in the story have been done to death and I admit to being tired of some of the same old themes over and again. Fans of YA paranormal fiction may see what I mean here: the heroine learns about her secret heritage she never had a clue of before. There are two boys who compete with the heroine's affections. The heroine is the most powerful or the only one able to do something to save the day. In this case Gemma finds out her family isn't what she believed it to be and that she has a special gift and an abilty passed down from a group called thh AVRA-K. Although she has always had a thing for Ash of the Circus, on her first day at a new school she meets Henry Dmitri. Henry is the son of the richest man in town and his father Lucian now pulls the stings at the Circus. Then they find out about the secrets both families have kept for centuries. I liked Henry and Gemma right off and enjoyed their stories. I loved Gemma's uncle Irwin. He is absolutely my favorite character and very unique. Toward the middle of the book things went downhill for me. There were several instances involving dreams that may not have really been dreams and seeing ghosts on other plains and it became murky to me and I had a hard time following what was really happening. Then it just went into a period where nothing really moved and I thought it became somewhat boring. But at the end everything picks back up in a really intense and exciting way. Gemma and Henry are battling for their lives and the book takes on a journey-type of feel, where they are only a pace in front of the bad guys at all times. The author doesn't mind sacrificing some characters and more than one surprise is revealed. The conclusion did the job and left me wanting more of these characters and their world. I would like to see some tighter editing. Although unlike many YA books these days, "Sleight" was very well edited for grammar and typos but it could have been edited to get rid of some of the slow passages that didn't progress the story and the book would have been much tighter and more cohesive. Here is to higher expectations for the next installment.

[mt256 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Sleight is a wonderfully written novel by Jennifer Sommersby. Sleight is about a girl named Gemma Flannery. Gemma has had an unusual upbringing. For most of her life she has traveled with the Cinzio Traveling Players which is a traveling circus. Gemma is raised by Marlene and Ted. They've cared for Gemma since she was little. Gemma's mother recently committed suicide after suffering for a long time with mental illness. Gemma's father is unknown. Gemma also has a secret, she can see dead people. On top of all this she's being forced to attend public high school. Despite her anxiety over school she meets Henri Dmitri. Henry is the son of the town benefactor, Lucian Dmitri. Despite who his father is, Henry is much more reserved and a bit of a loner. Gemma and Henry form an instant friendship. However they are soon forced together to stop a madman from destroying everything they care about.This story is definitely different from other stories I've read. I especially enjoyed the circus setting. It really added to the ambiance of the book. The performers of the circus are in a way an extended family for Gemma. They all look out for her. Gemma has not had an easy life. Sure, she's had people who cared about her but she's also had the stigma of having a mentally ill mother. Gemma can also see dead people which makes her life, to say the least, complicated. Gemma is a good character. She is caring, smart and loyal. She learns a lot of heavy information in a short amount of time and is forced to deal with it. The only thing I didn't like about her character is that I thought she cried too much. Gemma relies on Henry's support a great deal. They have great chemistry together. And by chemistry I mean some hot smooches between the two. Henry has a bit of a rough history himself. I think that's what brings them closer together. Henry is very overprotective of Gemma.The story is set at a fast moving pace. I enjoyed the action and the mystery. I also enjoyed the history behind the 3000 year old text, AVRAKEDAVRA. I also like that Jennifer Sommersby included quotes from other books at the beginning of each chapter. I love it when authors do this. I enjoy reading them. This is the first book in this series. Jennifer Sommersby ended Sleight with a cliffhanger. I love and hate cliffhangers at the same time. I can't wait to find out what will happen next. Overall I really like Sleight. It is a great start to this series. If you haven't checked out this book yet, you need to.

[bookswithbite · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I have to tell that I am so happy that I brought this book with me to my husband's eye doctor appointment. As soon as I started the book, it bit into me so hard, I did not stop reading. I kept going till the very end. I was not at all disappointed. Instead I was giddy and excited that I had just read an amazing book! The reason that I loved Sleight so much was the plot line. Not only was it very entertaining but it really grasped the reader in a whole new world. So many books today are all based on the same thing. Vampires, werewolves, angels, etc. But this one is based on magic, a kind of magic that is old and very powerful. The elements in this book, betrayal, death, and love are all in it. The pacing of the story, I felt was spot on. As the reader, you go along with Gemma, figuring out the clues to her mother's death, the past family she never knew, and what she must do to defeat the one person in the world who she was dying to know.What I liked about Gemma is that she is so real. I loved how she wasn't a strong heroine who can defeat anyone, but someone who needed understanding and guidance. Gemma is definitely a girl who I think all of us girls can relate too. She stepped up to the plate when needed but she is also very much a girl, who just wants a normal life.The love interest was tough at first and just got even juicer. I was just shocked and amazed how two people can not only have so much secrets but can go through so many things!!! I like that Gemma's love for him really showed. Even in the tough times, she held on trying to find different ways to solve all of their problems.Sleight is a amazing book. I can't tell you how much I love being in this world. To be in Gemma's shoes and feel her love, pain, and anger, was awesome. That's when you know you are reading a good book. If you can feel, then the author succeeded in bring you into the world they created in their mind. Simply Fantastic!