Item: Raven
Rating: 2
Author: Anjali Kay

Raven by Suzy Turner
Published by Suzanne Turner Publishing
on September 13th 2011
Genres: Paranormal, Young Adult
Pages: 252
Format: eBook
Goodreads

After the inexplicable disappearance of Lilly Taylor's parents, she has no choice but to move to Canada where she unravels some frightening yet intriguing family secrets...

Her whole life had been based on a lie. Lilly had grown up in a loveless home with a father who she had barely ever seen and a mother who was... well, not very motherly. After they mysteriously disappear without a trace, Lilly is sent to Canada where she finds a whole new way of life.

A life filled with love and people who care for her. But that's not all she discovers, Lilly also finds out that she isn't who, or what, she thinks she is. Lilly has a very special ability and it's just a matter of time before her true self starts to shine. And when it does, her life will never be the same again.

Last updated on 19 January 2022

This post may contain affiliate links. If you make a purchase with one of these links, I recieve a small commission at no additional cost to you. Read the full Affiliate Policy.

Another freebie from the Kindle store, Raven by Suzy Turner, was an okay read, but I probably won’t bother with the next one in the series.

Raven by Suzy Turner, follows the story of Lilly Taylor and her sudden move from her home city of London, to Canada. One day her parents go missing, and because she is a minor, she has to up and leave to live with her only other relatives in Canada. She is welcomed with open arms when she gets there and realises that her horrible mother was the one keeping her from knowing the rest of her family. As well as discovering a few things about her parents that she never knew, other shocking and amazing things come to light, as Lilly’s whole world is shattered. She has been living a lie.

She soon realises that not only has her whole life been a lie, but she has a special ability. Her family, on both sides, have the ability to turn into an animal. One side turns into ravens, the other into cats.

My thoughts on Raven by Suzy Turner

I haven’t really read many stories with this concept, other than perhaps, Harry Potter (Professional McGonagall and Sirius for the win), so I was looking forward to how it played out. But I was quite disappointed. I didn’t like the way Lilly accepted the whole ‘we change into animals’ thing; it seemed a bit fast, and not at all as a normal reaction might be. However, the family friends who knew nothing of their abilities were fun and their characters had more ‘normal’ reactions to things, which was nice.

With kind grandfathers, men with wings, mountains and a past murder brought to the surface, it was an okay story, but I think, what it probably comes down to, was it was a bit young for me. The cover is deceiving. I normally judge a book by its cover (so sue me), and the girl on the front of this book looks a lot older than 13, which is the age of Lilly. It was probably aimed at an age group several steps down from mine, but even when I read the description I thought it sounded good. Don’t get me wrong, it had its moments and a lot of the reviews on Amazon and Goodreads are 5 stars, but perhaps it just wasn’t for me. Good thing it was free.

Have you read Raven by Suzy Turner? What did you think?