Nothing Special

De: Dina S.

Narrado por: Chloe Bright

Paisley Adams is a Discerner. All she wants is to be normal, but she’s full of magic. Her ability to see and manipulate auras and emotions makes her powerful, but it also sets her apart. Bouncing between her two worlds, Paisley struggles to navigate high school while keeping her magic a secret. That is, until she has a strange encounter with the school outcast, James Bennett, and quickly discovers that she is not as alone as she thought. Together, the pair forge a bond unlike anything they have ever experienced, and Paisley soon finds her friendly feelings for James developing into something more. But will she be able to reveal her love without destroying their friendship?

©2023 Dina S. (P)2023 Dina S.

There couldn't be a more misleading title for this book. In the best way possible.

There couldn't be a more misleading title for this book. In the best way possible.

I'm not one for brevity as I much prefer levity so I'll stick the TL;DR at the top: This book is so full of emotion that you'll be seeing every color on the spectrum as you make your way through it. You will feel like a 17 year old girl lost in the throes of telekinetic passion, high school barn bonfires, aging parents and the swirling hellfire that is hormonally fueled naivete. It will pick you up and take you for a ride from the minute you gaze into the first sentence of its mirrored passages. I've never been happier to have my whole world rocked and ripped apart. Dina S. creates a world that thrums with a vibrancy so strong your mind's eye will have no problem seeing every step in these character's lives. Do yourself a favor and get this book now. Whether you read it or listen to the audiobook, you won't regret a second.

Now that the extended too long and didn't read is out of the way, let me say SHIMMERING CHIMERAS this story is a treat.

I've been following/binging Dina and her podcast at Don't Make It Weird for the better part of a year now. In that time, I've come to learn that despite her age, she has a wealth of pain and knowledge and horror hidden inside her curly locks. Over the course of 113 episodes, I have sat and wondered and learned about what the hell this person could possibly create in the pages of a book. Knowing the story of WHY she chose to write this particular novel is simultaneously heart-wrenching and heart warming. Her father would certainly be proud of such work.

Here's the problem, and why I hope whoever reads this finds a solution in these ramblings: I don't read books. I mean, I LOVE them! I used to read all the time as a kid. Fell asleep with my thumbs in many a page as a kid. As I've grown and life has gotten harder and weirder, it has become more difficult to truly sit down for the required stretches to read anything longform. Conceptually though, I love the thought of supporting independent authors even if I can't force my way through their efforts. It's freeing to admit that I'm a failure on this front because Dina's co-host, Daniel Quigley, has proved a most excellent point over the years. Listening to an audiobook counts as reading! So I resolved myself to take a stab at my first audiobook reading and I knew what better way to start than with the people who reignited my passion for the literary arts.

And let me tell you, this book slayed. Chloe Bright did such a fabulous job bringing Dina's story to life that I actually listened to 2 more books immediately after finishing this one because it was such an easily digestible read. And while I must give kudos of credit to Chloe for her work, I know that the shoulders of that pride should be held by Dina. It is in her weaving that a spider like myself could dance along the web of this telling.

I cringed at Mikayla's family, yelled at James' arrogance, waited in fearful anticipation for Paisley's father, wondered if Dina could see empathic colors herself, wandered farther into my mind's eye of how dangerous seeing these colors are without guidance, hated living the horror of high school, navigating the nuance of being special with almost nothing, on and on and on through this absolutely prismatic nightmare maze of pain and peer pressure. I've never been so happy being lost. Not knowing where I ended and Paisley began. Her every emotion felt in my beating heart as closely to mine as own as uncomfortably possible. It was hard. And I loved it.

I don't really know how helpful any of this is a review yet I imagine that someone might see the 5 stars I'll give this and think "Hold on, that Certified Weirdo managed to write a whole book about this book. Maybe I should check it out!". And you should. I beg you. Get broken and battered on my account. If I'm wrong, my name is Levi Dylan Burzlaff-Luett and you can find where I live easily enough with that moniker. Come knock on my life and ask for your money back. I'll hand it to you with a smile. Because I know it'll never happen. There won't be a single person who experiences this book and isn't satisfied by it.

Dina hacked into the source code of the world with this world and by and large the magic that Paisley experiences. You can call it auras or essence or vibes but it's all the same thing. The subtle shifting in the strings that connect each and every one of us. Each wave resonating between you and me and everyone else. Not a music of the spheres but painting with the colors of the wind. It's simply magical. In short....

It's NOT Nothing Special.