Becoming: The Balance Bringer (The Balance Bringer Chronicles) (Volume 1)

Ana is a high school girl who doesn’t fit in. She has odd-coloured eyes and a starfish shaped birthmark on her face that causes her to be ridiculed. The popular girls, led by Skylar, torment her. When she goes to the prom with Jeremy it ends in tragedy. At this point, she starts having dreams of a boy with green eyes. Then Jaden, the boy from her dreams shows up at school. Her dreams become disturbing and so does her life. She feels her mother is keeping secrets about her and about her father. Then the dark shadows start following her, and she discovers that  Dohlan the other boy in her dreams whom she loves, has deep, dark secrets.

This is an interesting piece with unusual characters - on two different planes. Some characters are only in Ana’s dreams, while some are only in her waking life and still others are in both. The problem lies in the actual progression of the story. There is entirely too much time spent on Ana’s troubles at school and Skylar and not enough spent on her purpose as the Balance Bringer. Only the last few chapters really focus on what she is and what she is supposed to do in her role. However, the premise is interesting and exciting. Readers are left wanting more in this cliffhanger first book in the series which promises to reveal a whole new world.

Belinda Wilson