An in-depth review of The Therans: Secrets Beneath Scars
On the shelf of fantasy young adult novels, we have The Therans by Cyndi Brec. This tale of family secrets and ancient cultures is side by side with youth tension and many descriptions of gorgeous locations. Descriptions are a big part of why you should pick the book as the author chooses to mix her real place within the story for you to enjoy. New Cumberlin Falls, Ohio, is where you will be transported. In a story of family ties, the main character has her late relatives in her thoughts but never forgets the living. The strong family themes are felt from the first lines with our heroine's first concern. Immediately after the author introduces her beloved locations which is a recurrent subject in the novel, with descriptions of a mill, Callie's house, which was a blacksmith shop converted by her Gramps. Much of the story also lingers on the visions of teenage angst. The expectation for the upcoming prom, the tension with the boys and girls, and the relationship with her family, both living and dead.
With some chapters intentionally short, at their end a small revelation of the main story is presented. The book itself has a beautiful layout and fonts, with a picture at the start of each chapter evoking adventure, albeit what we see from here is more befitting of an interest in history. Callie, our main protagonist, has superhuman strength with a mark only her parents could see. But the death of Callie's family left more than one scar when her parents died. One physical but another emotional, besides her possibly dealing with dyslexia as she reverses numbers and words. When Callie tells the story of their parent's demise and her sister, we hear our heroine with hesitation in her voice and a clear difference in style by the author. She deals with a trauma that we are reminded of on many occasions and the author includes an emotional speech through her best friend about opening up to new people. Not confused with the scar, she also has a birthmark aside from a scar, a crimson line dividing luminous marks at the side, different from her parents, the only distinction between her and her family, a birthmark that was different from their parents and powers she was clueless about at first. Signs in the first chapters we are to find more. At the end of the chapters we often encounter revelations of the story, from which each chapter ends, at first these introductory bits are short but tying to a conclusion.
But the setting brings us into the traditional, almost a heirloom-centric story. A traditional school story, like a history teacher and janitor, and small-town tropes like a town gossip. And with traditional families, with a gramps that looked like a "Virginian" in the author's own words, a seamstress nana, and not forgetting a loyal labradoodle. Many descriptions of Callie's memories with her family are in the middle of the chapters. She had very caring parents who tried to protect her. A father who taught literature at Berkeley College and had a Scottish accent from which our heroine inherited charisma. You may find Callie's "swearing" funny but the addition has a point after learning "jings" is "gosh" in Scottish. The author purposely crafted into the story the protagonist's family ties to places. But his grandfather is also central. A caring figure, he is the recipient of a love for his granddaughter that transcends blood.
Only with another family, do we see Callie's story turning more to the fantastic. A family coming to town after living in Europe and in Africa before that. Our love interest, a dark curly-haired, light brown skin boy with manners not from around, is dealing with what at first seems like a possessive father and with secrets of his own. We get to know the boy also deals with death in his past. Callie, having powers to even read other peoples to an extent, can't reveal his secrets and is partial to what she feels to him, as she feels an electrical current around him in more than one way. He comes into her life after a car accident and shares a love for history and literature. But still, they do not discuss his hidden strained parental relationship, and how he feels his father gave up on him.
In the main story tidbits of trivia connect the main thread of the end. A legendary island with a cataclysmic end? The story has it. Legendary events taken from history are all in a mix that adds with its twist. The author is a romantic for places and not only where this story takes place. You can see this in the details like Callie's own father proposing to her mom in Venice. The story itself is fixed in one location but the author teases with the adventure of what other characters had lived. Illness at a young age that brings premonitions and strange powers are metamorphoses that come twice like an omen announcing death and foreshadowing the story to take a turn.
But the story is also about school days. Many friends are in the book, and many familiar scenes of friends just sharing pizza and a nice chat all add to the setting. Callie is indeed popular with the boys and close (and not so close) boys to her express their wishes to date her and go to prom. The love revelations from the boys are never denied by them, even if inopportune, and some even pushy. Should some of them have lied and refuted it? Or maybe you prefer stories with your heroines wanted? Is left for you to decide. Some friendships change from page to page, other relationships do too. Time passes from page to page. In the imagination of the author we go from friendship to romance not in the blink of an eye but in months and weeks.
But Callie is special, recognized by her parents. Her family had secrets of her own but she has lived in the dark since her parent's death, not knowing much because she was too young when she lost her parents. She is left wondering about her power. Many answers are found near the middle of the book, where symbols mixed with this story's history are revealed. Her powers and other secrets are what she keeps in the dark to others for their safety.
Near the story's conclusion the pace changes, and is very accentuated. Punk kids doing vandalism have the local sheriff alert. Car races almost crash our protagonists again. Events foreshadowed by her visions where her life and the ones she cares about are threatened. Mysterious and high-profile deaths followed by new figures and missing relatives is what finally propels into a bigger story, with a dead body related to lords from hidden cultures, with their murders to be solved along with other deaths among their families. After this, we know a big part of the story is coming.
Tales of other than humans living with humans, special powers, half-breeds, and forbidden love where mixed marriages can spark wars. It was a thrilling part of the book. The stakes are up and everyone knows. Dating is suddenly an act of rebellion and not only a juvenile statement. We understand what most sides have to face but still we see the reasons for the character's actions. Many characters reveal their secrets, including new characters with more new secrets near the end. Only then a true villain is revealed. In the world of the novel, everyone has a role, and some have powers to fulfill that role. With short mentions of history, we get to know more of the lore behind, with secret wars waging across centuries. One message we can appreciate, is to protect and care for history where even big libraries remain hidden and mysterious.
The story has many questions unanswered, likely to be explored in upcoming books from the series. More family relations, more of the wars for knowledge. Is left to solve what means being special among the specials with the task of protector. Rumors of game-changing relics in lost libraries are also things to pay attention to in the series.
