Official Review: Halo by Gail Pate

[MarisaRose]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Halo" by Gail Pate.]

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2 out of 4 stars

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Halo, by Gail Pate, is the second installment in The Light Book Series. Christi, a teenager, previously experienced a fantastic, life-altering experience. Now, Christi’s body has changed and she feels a new power she never knew existed. Ben, the one person who might understand what’s happened to Christi, is nowhere to be found. On top of coming to terms with these fantastical events, Christi is visiting her mother and stepfather in an unfamiliar place where she has no friends. How will Christi deal with the supernatural life she now knows exists?

As is the case with most series, Halo should be read by readers who have already read The Light, which is the first book in Pate’s series. Halo picks up right where The Light left off. Although Halo includes some tidbits about what happened in Christi’s past, not enough information is provided for a reader to start the series with this novel. Pate's series includes elements of science fiction. The main themes revolve around typical teenage angst and familial difficulties, but there are some interesting and unique elements of fantasy as well.

The majority of this installment deals with Christi attempting to come to terms with the outlandish events that occurred in the first book. Pate does a wonderful job of explaining Christi’s confusion and mixed feelings about life: Christi struggles with her familial relationships as she tries to understand the changes her body has gone through. Further, Christi struggles with being in a new place and making new friends. Overall, Christi worked well as a main character due to the realistic development of her emotional state.

However, the care given to developing the main character's arc meant the pacing of the story was relatively slow. Although the slow pacing worked well in the beginning, as it complemented the realistic nature of the character’s confusion, the pacing failed to pick up as the novel progressed. The slow-moving story resulted in a fairly lackluster reading experience. Unfortunately, the care given to Christi’s development was not given to the plotting. Overall, the main mystery was predictable, and the confrontation between the protagonist and antagonist was unexciting.

In general, Halo worked well as a young adult novel because Christi was interesting to follow. However, the slow pacing and underdeveloped story meant Pate’s work failed as an immersive journey; the lack of suspense was a significant detractor. Further, I noted a few distracting grammatical errors in the text. Therefore, this book earns 2 out of 4 stars. Readers who enjoyed The Light will find some interesting answers in this sequel. Additionally, those who are looking for a young adult novel with some science fiction elements might find this series enjoyable; however, I strongly recommend readers begin with the first book.

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Halo
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[NetMassimo]

Probably I'm too old for this kind of story, and I read so much science fiction that I try to avoid predictable stories. Thank you for your honest review!

[Stephanie Elizabeth]

Despite the errors, this book sounds like an exciting book for young adults. Thanks for the great review!

[Nonso Samuelson]

Yep, this is definitely for young adults. Not me though. I think I've overgrown stories like this. The story and plot sounds like a thousand other books and movies already out. I think I'll pass on this one. But people in the teenage/YA audience should definitely give it a try.

[derialist]

It's unfortunate that the level of detail emphasized in the character watered down the enjoyability of the book. It's interesting how elusive it can be to attain such a balance considering that both are key aspects of any book. Nonetheless, thank for doing a great review of it!

[Tania Khan]

Thanks for the great review. Though I do like slow burners and young adult books, very slow pacing can be off-putting. Thank you again for the review.

[Lisa A Rayburn]

Slow pacing in a novel is always a negative for me. I usually manage to wade through it, but it definitely detracts from the experience. I believe I'll pass on this one. Thanks for the honest review!

[Y0landa]

Great review! Seems like the book is a bit slow-pace though. I don't think it would engage me enough. Thanks for your honest review, though.

[Letora]

I can appreciate the fact that the characters were well developed, but I prefer my books to have a healthy dose of suspense to keep my interest. The slow pacing would most likely frustrate me as well. I will have to pass on this one. Thank you for your review!

[gen_g]

Oh boy, a lack of suspense and development are huge turn-offs for me, and this is such a pity. I do hope that the author will keep your suggestions in mind and rework it. Thanks for the insightful review!

[AvidBibliophile]

There’s always a story to be found somewhere surrounding teen angst and supernatural powers. Thanks for your insightful review of this one!

[Nisha Ward]

I think I've outgrown this specific brand of supernatural YA. There's nothing wrong with it but your review made me realize I've read a lot of stories like this already. To the author's credit, that you didn't mention a love triangle was refreshing and it does actually sound like a good story, so thank you for that.

[Kolod123]

For a science fiction to be easily predictable is a no, no. Although, it is not easy to write a science fictional book but if written, should be well detailed and planned out in such a way that it should cast an image of reality in it's readers mind and a hunger to read more, and for new readers to know what lead to the present situation, thereby referring them to read the previous series. Thank you for your honest review.

[superchiri55]

Slow books are hard to keep me focused. Although the characters are well designed it doesn't seem enough to me. This one is going to be a no go for me. Thank you for your honest review.