Review for "Whispers in Autumn"

"Whispers in Autumn" is the first book in Trisha Leigh's "The Last Year" quartet.
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As the reader we find ourselves staring into the blue depths of a young woman's eye, as if we're peeking through a keyhole or our camera lens is set to macro we can't see much more of her but that. A few fallen leaves, most likely maple or maybe oak, are trapped in her auburn hair. The title is circled by a matching orange/yellow frame that reminds me of both a floral pattern and circuit boards at once.
Sixteen year old Althea lives on a future version of Earth. A version where an alien race known simply as the Others as taken control of all mankind and become caretakers of the earth and its people. The Others are in charge of everything from what we eat, what we learn in school, who we marry, and we what we do both for work and in our free time. The protect us from the diseases of the Wilds and it's animals and the violence of our past all for the good of mankind, or so they say. Althea knows differently, knows that she is different from the mindless droves of seemingly content people. No one is happy here nor sad, never angry or jealous, never in love. No one but Althea and she's about to find out why.

What I liked:

• The author manages to expertly convey the gamut of emotions that our heroine experiences on a daily basis. Fear, quiet anger, boredom, mistrust, everything nearly jumps off the page begging to be experienced.
• Althea is a quiet heroine but a heroine nonetheless. She rebels against the status quo in her own quiet ways, her compassion for others though is admirable. 
• The addition of Althea's unique talents was surprising and made the story that much more interesting. 
• The trust and relationship between Althea and Lucas builds slowly but in a natural way.
• The Others are sufficiently terrifying in their own way.

What I disliked:

• Every once in awhile the forward progression of the story kinda lagged, not enough for me to get bored, but just enough to be a tad noticeably. 
• If anything was going to attack the kids and get them sick/infected, I would have thought it would be the skunk not the raccoon. Why do raccoons get such a bad rap?

"Whispers in Autumn" is a far cry away from the type of stories that I normally tend to read. You've probably noticed by now that I usually read and focus on fantasy, sword and sorcery, and the occasional paranormal romance. By the time I get around to reading a title on my Kindle it's probably been waiting for two or three months. I don't remember the synopsis or previous reviews or excerpts or anything so I was surprised when I realized it was a science fiction alien story line. I was even more surprised when I thoroughly enjoyed it. As soon as I finished it I wanted to start the next one in the series, which is now on my wish list for the future. I can't help but think that this series would make a potentially awesome movie. "Whispers in Autumn" is available on the kindle for $3.99. The three remaining books in the series are "Winter Omens", "Betrayals in Spring", and "Summer Ruin" for $3.99 a piece. You can find out more about the series and the author at www.trishaleigh.com. For a kick visit the site and see the covers put together for a more complete view of our blue eyed girl.

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5 out of 5 smilies
Even though the series is labeled young adult, I feel comfortable recommending it all the way to mature younger readers, mature due to a mildly graphic brain on the ground scene, all the way up to full fledged adult readers. You'll know if your kids are mature enough to handle a teensy weensy bit of blood and gore; its definitely no worse(not even comparable really) than what can be found in almost every single video game on the planet these days.

Synopsis: "In 2015, a race of alien Others conquered Earth. They enslaved humanity not by force, but through an aggressive mind control that turned people into contented, unquestioning robots. Except sixteen-year-old Althea isn’t content at all, and she doesn’t need the mysterious note inside her locket to tell her she’s Something Else. It also warns her to trust no one, so she hides the pieces that make her different, even though it means being alone. The autumn she meets Lucas, everything changes. Althea and Lucas are immune to the alien mind control, and together they search for the reason why. What they uncover is a stunning truth the Others never anticipated, one with the potential to free the brainwashed human race. It’s not who they are that makes them special, but what. And what they are is a threat. One the Others are determined to eliminate for good."