The title of the book gives nothing about the plot away, nor does the book jacket. In fact, nothing in the book indicates what the book is about until about midway through and that is a long time to wait for young adult readers. On page 2 this paragraph can be found: “One dream, one card, an otherworldly instant message, and dozens of synchs involving swords, boxes, and the vexing case of Twice Holy Soror Daisy Wasserstrom: it had been an unusually weedgie week.” Huh? The reader does not figure out what these words mean until later in the book and by that time most readers would have given up on the tarot and occult arcana and lack of a discernible plot. Even someone with slight knowledge of tarot cards and the occult is confused. If a teen can get through the first hundred pages or so, he or she might be mildly amused by how hard-of-hearing Andromeda mishears things her parents and friends say, her bully of a friend Rosalie van Genuchten’s catchphrase “I’m just kidding,” and her Holy Guardian Angel, Huggie. ( )

Loved King Dork, just couldn't embrace this one as much. Took me awhile to finish this one. I'll be eagerly waiting for his next book still. ( )

Loved King Dork, just couldn't embrace this one as much. Took me awhile to finish this one. I'll be eagerly waiting for his next book still. ( )

Andromeda Klein is a witch, er, occultist, with a hearing problem, quarreling parents, a long-gone boyfriend and a dead best friend. She seeks guidance/solace in her Tarot cards but begins to get messages from her friend Daisy and "synchs" (sychronizations) begin to occur with increasing frequency. Like King Dork, where the author's asides and digressions are as interesting as the story, this novel takes its time getting where it's going. The occult references are numbing and without any grounding. The book succeeds most when it focuses on Andromeda and her struggles as an outsider trying to find a place in high school society. The book has a surprisingly happy, satisfying ending. The reader who perseveres will find a real treat. ( )

This review was originally posted on my review blog : http://fallingofftheshelf.blogspot.com

Andromeda Klein can likely be described as one of those weird chicks that you went to school with that you were either friends with, or you simply made fun of. To tell you the truth, even if you were friends with her you probably made fun of her as well. She's tall and skinny with no curves, and a non-existent bottom. Her hair never seems to do what she wants it to, and it tends to get worse throughout the day.

Despite all of Andromeda's problems with her appearance, her life as started to slowly go downhill. Her best friend and fellow occultist, Daisy, is dead. Her boyfriend has gone missing, and her if things could possibly get even worse, her mother has learned to text. It's safe to say that the only thing in Andromeda's life that she has left is her love of the occult, and her books, but even those seem to be disappearing!

When I first read the blurb to this novel, I just had to read it, not to mention I absolutely love that cover. I personally felt like this book dragged on a bit though, and at times I was wondering why it wasn't shorter than it truly is at 432 pages (410 according to the ARC I read). It started off quickly, and I soon learned that Andromeda would most definitely be one of those girls that I would end up hanging out with. I was always known to hang out with the strange people in school, because honestly, they were always more interesting.

I have to say, I never knew so much about the occult before this book. I'd almost have to say you'd need a little bit of a background on it to understand all the lingo, but I was able to figure it out. I have a knack for strange words, and their meanings, so I was excited to learn all of this new stuff. For someone who isn't into receiving a lesson while reading their fictional novels, and just wants the story, they had better skip this one, because honestly your going to learn something new. Frank Portman must have done a lot of research to be able to write an entire novel focused around the occult, and he did a very good job.

The middle of this novel was a little boring for me, but I pushed through and thankfully it got really good at the end. I don't want to give anything away, but if your planning on picking up a copy of Andromeda Klein, don't let that slow center turn you away, the real prize only awaits on the next page. ( )