Title: Clarity
Author: Kim Harrington [website] [twitter] [facebook]
Genre: Paranormal, Mystery
Publisher: Point
Format: Hardcover
Source: Publisher
Parental Advisory: murder, criminal activity, sex, alcohol
Teachable Moments: teamwork, acceptance, individuality, honesty, being judgmental

“The next day, I woke early, before my alarm.  I should have gotten up to shower, but instead I was staring at my ceiling as clouds of uncertainty fogged my brain.  What if Perry’s erratic behavior wasn’t survivor’s guilt?  What if Perry’s erratic behavior wasn’t survivor’s guilt?  What if it wasn’t just an assumption on Victoria’s part that Perry did it?  What if it was the truth, staring me in the face, and I was going along for the ride, protecting him?  Protecting a murderer.”

Summary (from the publisher):
Clarity “Clare” Fern sees things.  Thing no one else can see.  Things like stolen kisses and long-buried secrets.  All she has to do is touch a certain object, and the visions come to her.  It’s a gift.

And a curse.

When a teenage girl is found murdered, Clare’s ex-boyfriend wants her to help solve the case — but Clare is still furious at the cheating jerk.  Then Clare’s brother, who has supernatural girts of his own, becomes the prime suspect, and Clare can no longer look away.  Teaming up with Gabriel, the smoldering son of the new detective, Clare must venture into the depths of fear, revenge, and lust in order to track the killer.  But will her sight fail her just when she needs it most?

Opinion:
Clarity is a New England based young adult mystery filled with a diverse cast of characters.  Built on an action-packed foundation the story is perfectly balanced between character and plot.

Now, I’ll start by saying I’m a girl who was raised around Boston so any time I have the opportunity to read a book that focuses on the culture and lifestyle of the area I jump on it.  I admit, when an author gets it right it’s difficult for me not to like the book.  Clarity gets it right in spades.  I felt like I was hanging out for the summer on Cape Cod just like when I was in high school.  The setting was perfectly developed and though it played a minimal role overall I found that when location was focused on it enhanced the story.

For me, I found the strength of the book resided in it’s characters. As previously mentioned it’s a diverse (and fairly large) cast, one that spans age and gender.  I’m sure that this fact also contributed to my enjoyment.  Harrington wrote both the male and female voice well and each sounded age appropriate.

The Fern family is made up of mother Starla who is telepathic, brother Perry who is a medium and Clare a psychic.   Starla feels a bit cliched in her new-ageyness but I didn’t find it too distracting mainly because her role is so minimal in the overall story.  Perry on the other hand was a bit of fun — a Cassanova of the beach he didn’t lack for girls or friends.  His more carefree lifestyle and attitude is an excellent contradiction to his sister’s more reserved outlook.

Clarity, at it’s heart, is most centrally focused on Clare  who is a sassy but  lonely girl.  Alienated from her peers by her gift of sight she is bullied and persecuted at school and around town. Thankfully she has the love and support of her family and a few understanding friends (most notably Perry’s BFF) who look more at the girl than her power.  Clare is not without her defense mechanisms, though, she relies heavily on sarcasm, wit and a bit of good old fashioned soda dumping.  She does as much as she can to isolate herself from the judgmental masses but given the small size of the community and her constant contact with those around it, it’s nearly impossible to avoid the taunting.

Sadly, this means that she’s also romantically challenged.  Having had one relationship in her life she’s understandably devastated when it ends in failure.  You see, she can’t really turn off her ability so when she inadvertently reads her boyfriend Justin’s mind she finds out he’s been unfaithful to her.  Crushed by his betrayal she jettisons him from her life.  This earlier purging of romance, coupled with the arrival of a new boy in town, naturally sets up a decent love triangle.  As a result of the murder in town she is introduced to the new law man’s son and is hired to work with him to solve the case.  Gabriel (said son) is different than Justin (said cheater), he’s more closed off, harder-edged and much like others in town passes judgment on her for her ability.   This, of course, equal instant attraction.

I would say that the romantic portion of the story was the weakest.  I didn’t feel particularly torn between either of the boys.  Clare was clearly suited to one over the other.  There was plenty of chemistry (though each with different focus and vibe) between she and the two different options but I only really felt the spark between she and one.  I’ll also add that while the triangle didn’t detract from the story I didn’t feel like it was entirely necessary either.  I get that teens like to have the lovin’ in there so it made sense and like I said it didn’t detract, but all in all it was just kind of there for me.

So the mystery….this is the other strength of the book.  Harrington has crafted a straight-forward plot with some intricate details built in for good measure.  Focused primarily on Perry and the potential of his guilt in the murder of a young vacationing girl the reader follows Clare through her attempts to find out if he really has done what others believe he has.  What makes it so fantastic is that there are plenty of details provided that make it more difficult to determine who the murderer is.  Is it Perry?  Or is it someone else?  Mix in the run-of-the mill townies, some wealthy residents with political agendas and more summer vacationers and you’ve got the makings of a fantastic who-dun-it.

Was it entirely unpredictable?  No, I had an idea of where the story was going to end up closer towards the end.  But, that comes from having the experience of age.  I feel confident that middle schoolers and teens would be less likely to pick up on things that I did.  Having said all this, having an inkling of where things were going didn’t do anything to diminish my enjoyment of both the story and the characters.  It was a fun ride to take and that was entirely due to a great setting, great characters and a fun twisty mystery.

Though I would classify this book in the paranormal genre because of the supernatural powers the Fern family held the focus was extremely light.  Lighter, in fact, than most paranormal reads I’ve had the chance to enjoy.  While these abilities certainly played a role in the plot they weren’t anything that came close to being the main point.  The use of telepathy and other supernatural crafts enhanced the progression of the investigation but were a small part overall.  Certainly not infused to point that those who are not fans of that genre should avoid the book.  In fact I think Clarity might be a good gateway for those who tend to favor contemporary into paranormal and vice versa.

Just in case you’re not getting the vibe I’m putting out here, I enjoyed Clarity immensely.  It was well written (great balance between prose and dialogue), excellently characterized and enjoyably plotted.  Clarity is one of those rare books that has the ability to appropriately appeal across age and gender.  A book that should be added to your shelves sooner than later.