Naomi Nash, Senses Working Overtime

Senses Working Overtime

Naomi Nash

Smooch, Jul 2005, $5.99

ISBN: 0843954043

Teenager Kaylee suffers from synesthesia, which provides her with a different way to perceive her environment; that can prove a handicap when the world she has been forced to adjust to radically changes. She is in Manhattan having cut school on the hottest day of the year so far when a black out shuts down the city making it difficult for anyone to cross the harbor to Brooklyn where Kaylee lives, but her condition makes it that much more difficult for her to get home. Frightened she gets her first break when she meets Ramon who promises to help her cross the bay to her home. On the way they pick up his sister Rosa.

The trek in the darkened city turns dangerous as two-legged predators are on the prowl looking for easy prey. The teens look like easy pickings for the marauders canvassing the city for mugging victims. Only her new friend Ramon, risking his life, keeps Kaylee safe on the journey home.

Having the beleaguered heroine have Synesthesia seems unneeded as the excitement of a teen in trouble during a blackout makes for an exhilarating thriller. The story line is action-packed yet the key cast members, Kaylee, Ramon, and Rosa seem real especially with the danger of a city out of control looking to devour the innocent. Readers will appreciate this fabulous teen thriller that never lets up as the audience will wonder if Kaylee will make it home in time.

Harriet Klausner