by Monica Geist (link)
Genre drama/angst, suspense
Pairings none
Length 33 chapters
Status Completed (sequel to To See Beyond The Surface)
Sequels are tough. Although I ultimately came quite close to enjoying To See Beyond The Surface, my immediate fear with regard to a sequel to it is that it will simply rehash the original. Where else can Taylor and Jason’s story go without yet another tragedy, and how can Monica set that tragedy apart from the first?
The tragedy — the first, at least — happens very quickly. Then Monica throws in a few other plot lines involving Jason’s wife and step-daughter. I can’t help assuming these will all tie together eventually, and sure enough, after several slow moving chapters, they do. I’m not sure whether it’s really just poor pacing or Monica’s tendency to split chapters up onto multiple pages even when they aren’t that long that makes To Look Within My Soul seem like it just drags and drags and drags and…
If To See Beyond The Surface was an over the top young adult novel, then To Look Within My Soul is a made for tv movie. The tragedies go from simple accidents to kidnapping and natural disasters. The plot still drags at times, with even some of the more likeable characters slipping back into their bad attitudes from the first story. I don’t feel as connected to the characters’ emotional journeys this time, and the ending is just one big cheesefest. I think this is one sequel that wasn’t really necessary.
Review by Bethany (website)