In her book, Powers, Deborah Jacobs presents a good fiction story, which is told through the eyes of Gwen and Adrian. The book is set in the modern times in Canada, and it examines several aspects of power from different angles of Gwen and Adrian who possess special powers. This aspect points to a the theme of manipulation amongst teenagers.
Gwen is a young and self-conscious11th grader, and during her free time, she works as a news reporter for a newspaper company in the neighborhood (Jacobs, 2006). Adrian has been moved to his new school, and when he comes across Gwen, he realizes the influence that she has on his life immediately they meet.
After their first meeting, the two characters become close by sharing some stuff, and this aspect changes Gwen. She starts seeing coming disasters. Their contact also benefits Adrian, and he realizes that he can read other people’s mind. When they are close to one another, their minds are connected. They begin to use these powers to benefit themselves, thus inviting tension between them.
The events occur around Rocky Waters, which is a small town in Ontario – a very cold and snowy area of central Canada. The story makes a very good case of the environment because Gwen’s job stories focus on accidents occurring on icy roads and such other events, which are favorable to such setting.
The main conflict between Adrian and Gwen comes out when they realize that they have same powers, but they cannot use them together to save lives. Even though they do not like each other, they know that they should stay together. They battle through different events to save life, love, and their powers seem to influence them to their benefits.
Gwen’s selfish agenda to further her part-time career forces her to watch several events as they happen without doing anything. The main events involve Gwen letting a bus hit a truck, a house burn, and a car sink in the ice. She changes her vision to make Adrian get the wrong message. The most exciting part is when Adrian puts everything together in a bid to work together with Gwen to save lives.
When Gwen and Adrian realize that they need each other to save humanity, they try to solve the main conflicts, they battle through events to save people, and finally, they seem to understand each other better, and the conflicts are minimal, which is the story’s climax. When the problem is solved, Adrian and Gwen seek to work together to produce a great impact to save people’s lives. This book is a success since it achieves the author’s purpose in creating a realistic teen environment backed with teen complications and curiosities.
The story has good character development, even though the characters are at times confused and complicated, but the author brings out their manipulative behaviors in each of their deeds. The book is easy to read and understand. However, it is short and full of unnecessary suspense. Nonetheless, these flaws do not cause any harm to the development of character because the characters are very relatable and realistic.
Individuals seeking a good read through events occurring fast should try the book because it has good plot development, and it is easy to understand. The unappealing aspect of the two characters is that they are selfish, which forces them to use their powers for personal gains instead of saving humanity.
Reference
Jacobs, D. L. (2006). Powers. New Milford, CT: Roaring Brook Press.