Chloe Carmichael is seventeen, rich, and mostly pretty pampered. She does have her frustrations with her mother, who is very into appearances, and has insisted that she date "the right boy,"--Zach. She and Zach regard each other as friends, but they both agree to be "boyfriend and girlfriend" to others, due to maternal pressure. She has good friends, though, likes her science classes, and figures that in another couple of years, she'll be at college and not so much under her mother's thumb.

Then strange things start to happen. She has a strange, frightening vision of Zach being murdered--shortly before he is really murdered, exactly as she envisioned. She starts seeing strange things, hearing voices, and having strange dreams. A new group of kids at school tell her they know why; she's one of them, part of a special group with a mission, to protect humanity.

And they tell Chloe that although she doesn't remember it, her name is really Amanda, and they've known each other for several lifetimes.

I like the characters, and the plot moves along. Unfortunately, some rather basic things haven't been though through properly. Chris, Chloe/Amanda's boyfriend from their previous lives, tells her that there are six universes within this galaxy. They've lived their lives in each of the five others, and Earth, Chloe's Earth, is the sixth. It's their last chance to stop the enemy that threatens humanity.

Now, of course, there's a way this business of six universes in one galaxy can be made to almost make sense, except that events in the story subsequently make clear that that particular alternate interpretation isn't the one Brazil is using. In an otherwise well-constructed story, this is just a huge hole, that will toss many readers right out of the story. And that's too bad, because there is a good story in here. Perhaps Brazil just needs a better, more demanding editor.

Aside from that flaw, there's also the fact that this is the first book of a trilogy. It ends with a quite major cliffhanger. However, the subsequent volumes will be out this year, so there won't be a long wait for the rest of the story.

Overall, an entertaining story aimed at young adult readers.

I received a free electronic galley of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. ( )

This story isn't just about a girl finding herself but also trying to find out her superhero powers and trying to remember the person and life she once led. I didn't like the first couple of chapters only because it seemed repetitive. After the first couple of chapters, I started to really enjoy the book, so I am glad I kept reading.
The main character Chloe just learned that she has a super power, yet she doesn't know why she has them and that there is a lot more that she doesn't know about herself. Chloe's old group of frields reappear and try to help jog her memory.
This book ends on a real cliff hanger, so I look forward to reading the second book to see how it all unfolds.
This book is probably best for those who are in the age ranges of 14-30. However, older adults may like the book if they are into a teenager finding her true identity, love, and super human powers. ( )

Full Disclosure: I received a copy of this book from the author, via Goodreads, in exchange for an honest review.

My Thoughts: Superheroes! This book seriously hit my nerdy superhero obsession and it was awesome. I could go on for a while about all of the different parts of the sci-fi world that I love, but I don’t want to digress too much from the actual review of Finding Me.

The plot was interesting. Pretty creative, especially in comparison to all of the other books/series out there with a similar theme. I enjoyed the idea of a “team” of superheroes working together with a specific number of chances to enable good to win out over evil. It was a slight reminder of the Doctor’s 13 reincarnations (yes, nerdy Doctor Who reference).

The main character, Chloe, was very believable. At first, I found her fear and disbelief annoying. As she continued to grow on me, I realized more and more that her reaction to learning about this part of her was completely normal. The secondary characters were surprisingly well-developed. The author introduced many characters with very different personalities and it never felt like too much. Sometimes an author will introduced too much, too soon and it feels like they’re talking at you and explaining a story versus telling you a story in a way that makes you feel like you’re a part of it. For the record, Finding Me falls into the latter category.

I will admit that the start of the book was a bit slow. I was worried that I wasn’t going to like it at all, but after about 30 pages I was hooked. I just couldn’t seem to read fast enough to find out what new power Chloe would discover or how she would interact with her friends (new and old) or her family.

I’m looking forward to picking up the second book in this series and reading more about the world that this author has created. It’s a great read that seems to combine elements of X-Men, Doctor Who, Fringe, and sort of The Vow (with Rachel McAdams and Channing Tatum). I would definitely recommend Finding Me.

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