Review: Wander Dust (The Seraphina Parrish Trilogy #1) by Michelle Warren

Genre: YA Fantasy
Publication Date: November 30, 2011
Format: ebook
Source: Bought
Rating: 4/5 Stars

Goodreads Summary: 
Ever since her sixteenth birthday, strange things keep happening to Seraphina Parrish.

The Lady in Black… burns Sera’s memories.

Unexplainable Premonitions… catapult her to other cities.

The Grungy Gang… wants to kill her.

And a beautiful, mysterious boy… stalks her.

But when Sera moves to Chicago, and her aunt reveals their family connection to a centuries old, secret society, she is immediately thrust into an unbelievable fantasy world, leading her on a quest to unravel the mysteries that plague her. In the end, their meanings crash into an epic struggle of loyalty and betrayal, and she’ll be forced to choose between the boy who has stolen her heart and the thing she desires most.

Wander Dust is the breathtaking fantasy that will catapult you through a story of time, adventure, and love.

My Opinion
Wander Dust left me breathless.

The story is beautiful, well written and full of mysteries. I love the concept of a team of 3--Wanderer, Seer and Protector and what they were learning in their special school just for them.

Seraphina (or Sera for short) was just a normal girl celebrating her 16th birthday with her father, Ray, and his girlfriend, Maddi. Or so she thought until she saw the flames of her birthday candles flickering back to life in water and then some lady in black traumatizing her by just gazing at her. The experience left her unconscious. She thought she was hallucinating when that was not her only encounter with the lady in black. If you think that was weird, what do you think of Sera whisking into some other places by just wearing her late mom's bracelet (the birthday present from Ray)? Not to mention everybody she saw there was wearing stuffs that were over 20 years ago. Definitely weird huh?

A letter arrived for Sera when she came back from her little journey. There was only a torn photograph of a boy inside it and nothing else. She's captivated by what she saw and the sense of calmness she had whenever she gazed at the picture.

Sera was sent to her Aunt Mona's place after getting into some troubles in school. On her journey there alone, she was attacked by the "he grungy gang" and that was when she first met the boy in the photo. She continued to see him stalking her outside her school while she was having classes. She mustered her courage after a few days to face the guy and talked to him and was thus introduced to the term "Wandering" and there she met her team mates--a Seer and a Protector after she had transferred school. (Can't tell you who!)

Then, she learnt that she can wander back in time to see her mother and to save her! Hence, she had a mission...

Michelle Warren did a great job in introducing the concept of Wandering to us, together with the world that she has created. There was never a moment that I felt the story dull or the pacing slow when I read the book. Definitely worth a read. Here's a little teaser for you:

"I wish you wouldn't have given the sundial bracelet to Terease"

"Why?" I question and press my head onto his chest, pushing my arms back into his open jacket and around his back.

"If I had it to lead me to my deepest desire, I know it would always be a direct path to you."

What are you waiting for? Grab a copy if you haven't done so! Join Sera as she learn what Wandering is all about and follow her on her mission to go back in time to save her mother. Will she be successful? Read to find out!

And I'm very excited for the second book.

4/5 Stars for Wander Dust.

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