My Soul to Save

by Rachel Vincent

Book Overview

When Kaylee Cavanaugh screams, someone dies. So when teen pop star Eden croaks onstage and Kaylee doesn't wail, she knows something is dead wrong. She can't cry for someone who has no soul. The last thing Kaylee needs right now is to be skipping school, breaking her dad's ironclad curfew and putting her too-hot-to-be-real boyfriend's loyalty to the test. But starry-eyed teens are trading their souls: a flickering lifetime of fame and fortune in exchange...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0373210043
• ISBN13: 9780373210046
• Release Date: December 2009
• Publisher: Harlequin Teen
• Length: 279 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.3" x 8.3"
• Age Range: 8 to 11 years
• Grade Range: Grades 3 to 6

Customer Reviews

Mysteriously Dark and Compelling

MY SOUL TO SAVE is the second book in Rachel Vincent's Soul Screamers series. The first book, My Soul to Take, introduced Kaylee and her bean sidhe (banshee) abilities. When she senses death, Kaylee can't help but to sing the person's soul song. To us, this song sounds like ear-shattering screeching. Not exactly a trait known to win friends and influence people. This installment follows Kaylee as she comes to terms with her abilities. I won't go into too many details as I don't want to give anything away from the first book, but I can say that this second book was fantastic. As always happens with the second installment in any series, I got a little nervous about MY SOUL TO SAVE. I loved My Soul to Take and didn't know if the second book could live up to it. Not only did this book live up to the first, in my opinion it surpassed the introductory story. We begin the journey with Kaylee at a hit rock concert. When the star drops dead on stage, Kaylee panics, terrified that her wail will come out in a concert hall packed to the gills with people. If anything was going to get a girl put back in a mental health unit, that would be it. Only problem is Kaylee doesn't scream. If Kaylee's song comes out anytime a person dies, releasing the soul from their body, why doesn't Kaylee feel the urge to sing over the girl's dead body? There's can only be one answer - the girl has no soul. This discovery and the prediction of another girl's impending death leads Kaylee and her friends on a journey to save the souls they can before they wind up losing their own. Already a fan of Ms. Vincent's work, I guess I shouldn't have been surprised that this story ended up jam-packed with mystery, suspense, and a whole lot of tension. The romantic tension in the story was especially phenomenal. This author is a master of romantic tension, giving us just enough heat and sensuality to get the heart pumping before cutting us off cold turkey. The romantic elements in the story were quite a bit more pumped up from the first book. Fair warning: There are sensual scenes in this book. They are quite tastefully done and definitely add to the story. Outside of the romantic tension - which really helped to make the story a compelling read - Ms. Vincent gave us quite of bit of suspense to latch on to throughout the story. From the first page we are thrown into a mystery so dark that the reader can't help but feel involved. An aspect of this author's writing that I have always found compelling, is her willingness to not sugar coat things for the reader. When she describes a horrible situation or painful events and feelings she really describes them. Below is a quote to show what I mean. "The flesh beneath the double ring of punctures was inflamed and covered in those weird, red webbed veins, which now crept beneath my sock and halfway to my knee. Fluid sloshed beneath the skin over my ankle, hanging lower at the back, just above my shoe, where gravity tugged hardest" (pg. 240

Just as good as the first.

Kaylee Cavanaugh is still pretty new to this whole bean sidhe thing. Learning the female bean sidhe ropes from her boyfriend's mom is certainly helping but there is still a lot she doesn't know. Stuff about the Netherworld and the creatures that inhabit it. When a teen pop star drops dead in front of Kaylee's eyes but no banshee wail rises from her she knows there's something seriously off. Learning that the only reason she wouldn't sing a soul song at someone's death is because they have no soul puts Kaylee and her pals on a path that will uncover a side of the entertainment industry too scary to be real. Yet there's nothing unreal about what people are willing to give up for fame and fortune. She knows she shouldn't get involved but when Tod, her boyfriend's reaper sibling, finds out a former girlfriend is set to die without her soul, damning her to an eternity as a hellion's plaything she can't say no. No matter how dangerous the task may prove to be Kaylee is willing to brave the Netherworld to help save a soul, even if it means risking her own... While My Soul to Take set we readers up to learn about what a bean sidhe is, My Soul to Save shows us what a bean sidhe can do when motivated. There is a whole lot more to the world Vincent set up in the first book to discover this time around. We finally get to learn about the Netherworld and more about what happens to souls, both the good and the bad. Kaylee's dad has set up house for the two of them and Sophie and Uncle Brendan's roles are much smaller this time around. Because this one takes place not too long after My Soul to Take it's reasonable that Sophie is still upset about what happened previously and blame it on Kaylee to a point. Meanwhile, Kaylee's dad is trying to be a better father than he has been all these years but mostly manages to just be frustrating. I definitely did not blame Kaylee for feeling like it was too little, too late on his part. I can't expound upon how much I loooooved the plot idea for this one. I don't know how timely the same story of tween/teen pop-starlets/television stars will be in ten years but it really was amusing considering current goings-on in the world of young celebrities. The irony is fun to soak up and muse over. Best of all the idea doesn't feel so far fetched when you compare it to reality. That said I wasn't completely satisfied with the ending but maybe that's how Vincent intends it, I haven't read up on what the next book will be about yet so the plot may continue to a point in the next installment. Overall I loved this one just as much as the first, think the plot was really entertaining and timely and would recommend it for sure if you liked My Soul to Take.

Great Sequel!

Okay, so when I finished the first book, MY SOUL TO TAKE, I had to get my hands on the second one and I was not disappointed. The story puts a new twist on what I learned previously about banshees in book one. In this sequel, we get a more in depth look at what banshees can do and also the netherworld--a very freaky place, indeed! Kaylee tries to save the souls of popstars that have sold them to a hellion, and in the process, puts herself in danger by venturing into the netherworld. What I really enjoyed about this book was how clever Kaylee was. I don't want to give anything away but I though it was great that I could read a story about a protagonist that was creative in her solutions. I'll just say I loved the balloon idea! I also felt I got to know more about Tod, who intrigued me in the first book and has a more prominent role in this one. He's so mysterious with his true feelings that he defiantly made things interesting--you just never know if he's dangerous or not. And of course, I loved the relationship between Nash and Kaylee and all that wonderful tension. The only bummer is that I have to wait until June for MY SOUL TO KEEP.

Every Teens Dream-minus the vampires

The third and most recent book in the 'Soul Screamers' series started out a tad bit slower than the previous two. Slow though it may have started, slow is not how is progressed; after the first quarter of the book the tempo and electricity of 'My Soul to Save' increased dramatically and eclipsed thoughts of doing anything but reading. The reader can almost physically see the relationship between Nash and Kaylee growing, its great, and the author provides just enough heat to keep it interesting and the teen reading audience this series is meant for blushing. I can't wait to read the next book in this series 'My Soul to Keep', meant to be out in June 2010.

Netherworld the real breadwinner

Usually Kaylee Cavanaugh can tell when someone in the vicinity is about to die, but not this time. A pop star sold her soul, so it's not there for bean sidhe Kaylee to work with. And her reaper friend's ex Addison also sold hers, and Addy's little sister's damn close to selling hers, too. But to win the souls back, Kaylee has to venture into the Netherworld, and not everyone will emerge unscathed. It's impossible to read about Dekker Media without thinking of Disney - especially after viewing South Park's "The Ring" episode. It's hardly surprising that a major company is aligned with hellions (in this case, Avarice). But while the premise itself is unremarkable, the real breadwinner here is the Netherworld. Usually I prefer my urban fantasy to be more urban than fantasy, but the Netherworld is amazing. From its grey fog, to its distance and time, and all the things that happen inside, Rachel Vincent's Netherworld is vastly imaginative and deliciously creepy. The descriptions are evocative, and I won't soon forget the blades of grass. Family life isn't easy in Eastlake. Aiden and Brendon Cavanaugh are single dads, Harmony Hudson is a single mum, and as for Addison Page's parents...her dad is absent, and her mum's addicted to prescription pills. These realistic elements bring the characters home for readers, grounding the paranormal in a world that's easily relatable. Kaylee and Nash's romance is just plain embarrassing, and the book would be better without it, but thankfully Tad understands the awesomeness of humour. Rachel Vincent keeps cementing her reputation as an author with fascinating plot twists and stories that you can't help but glom. Unfortunately, readers will have to wait until June 2010 to read the third Soul Screamers novel, MY SOUL TO KEEP. Maybe the writer should take on time travel next...