Teri Brown

Teri Brown's Born of Illusion transports readers to 1920s New York into a world of magic, lies, secrets, and the paranormal.

The novel follows Anna, the daughter of a renowned medium and the rumored illegitimate daughter of the great Harry Houdini. Anna and her mother have spent their lives living show to show and evading the law, which they've been on the wrong side of a time or two. Finally, Anna's life has taken a turn for the better and she and her mother seem to be standing on solid show more ground as their new show gains success and popularity. Together, they transfix their audience; Anna performing magical illusion and her mother showcasing her psychic abilities. Of course, the audience doesn't know that, in truth, Anna's mother is no more psychic than they are, though she is gifted actress. In fact, it's Anna that possesses psychic abilities. She can sense feelings, foretell the future, and talk to the dead. However, the stable existence Anna yearns for is still just out of reach as she begins having horrifying visions of her mother in peril and her own safety is threatened.

For me, one of the most compelling aspects of Born of Illusion was Anna's relationship with her mother. Their relationship is a complicated one... Sometimes it feels as if their roles of mother and daughter have reversed, other times they appear to be nothing more than competitors. It was interesting to see how Anna reacted to her mother's often immature and petty actions that seemed motivated by jealousy and her fear of her daughter besting her. Still, as soon as Anna (and the reader) thinks her mother's motivations are clear, she seems protective and motherly, as if she only has Anna's best interests in mind.

It's clear that much of Anna's independence is born from necessity. Her mother, no matter her motivations, could never be called reliable. This independence serves her character and the book well. Anna is a capable and strong character, but not without weaknesses. She has a tendency to run from her things that overwhelm her and sometimes has irrational reactions to deep emotion, but she isn't afraid to own up to her shortcomings and she always gathers the strength to do what needs to be done.

The novel features a bit of a love triangle, but it's always clear who's truly in Anna's heart. Still, I liked that she considered both love interests. In some ways, Anna has lived a very adventuresome life (after all, she did travel with a circus troupe for some time), but, in what one may consider the "normal" life of a teenaged girl, she's a bit inexperienced. The two boys, who are very, very different from one another, show Anna different sides of New York... and of herself. Also, I liked that fact that Anna is the one who makes a misguided mistake and has to apologize, not the boy involved int he situation. It often feels like the situation is always reversed and it was good to see something different.

I'll definitely be reading the next book featuring Anna, Born of Deception, which is due out sometime in 2014. I don't know anything about it except the fact that it features Rasputin, but that's enough! show less

Born of Illusion is my kind of historical. It had a wonderful atmosphere, complete with a fabulous 1920s vibe, and featured a spitfire of a main character in Anna, who undergoes all the right kinds of character development, complete with making mistakes and growing as a person. Add in a complicated relationship with her mother, and a swoon-worthy love interest - plus a twist of paranormal - and I was definitely sold on pretty much every single thing this story had to offer.

I found Anna to be show more a wonderfully constructed character. She has her flaws - her inability to trust being the top one - and has a very uneasy relationship with her mother, who is a mentalist. Because séances are illegal, Anna has had to get her mom out of jail several times, which means she's had to become well-versed in the art of lock-picking. In fact, Anna excels at all kinds of magic, and it's her growing ability - and desire for a bigger part in her mother's act - that's causing the most strain between mother and daughter. I very much liked watching Anna tiptoe through her mother's moods, while working to figure out what she wants. The back and forth between the two provided some nice tension to the story, and was actually the main thing keeping me reading towards the end of the book.

This book is very much a paranormal read with historical flourishes. Anna has some special abilities that are making themselves more and more known - we're introduced to her visions in the very first chapter - and these abilities really help drive the plot forward. Anna wants help figuring out what's happening with her, particularly since her mother seems to feature prominently in the visions and she's worried about her safety. Throw in secret societies and a mix of others with their own unique gifts, and this book was brimming with plenty of twists to keep the reader turning the pages.

I also couldn't help but swoon a bit over Cole, who pretty much captures Anna's attention from the beginning and definitely plays an important part in the overall story that's told. However, Anna is a very strong character who's more than able to stand on her own two feet, and I liked seeing this stubborn, capable girl make her own choices (and mistakes) and deal with the consequences. I also loved her friend, Cynthia, who was charming and over-the-top in a completely wonderful way. She really helped balance out Anna's seriousness, and I look forward to seeing more of her.

While I did have most of the mystery figured out well before Anna, there was plenty in the character development department to keep me invested in Born of Illusion until the very end. This is certainly a book that has a little bit of something for everyone, from historical 1920s New York City, to the magic permeating the story, to the very capable Anna. I can wholeheartedly recommend it, and am very much looking forward to the sequel! show less

What a fun quick read. Didn't realize it was a YA, but it wasn't filled with the angst of typical YA stuff. The main character, a young woman of 16, lives in 1920s New York, in a pleasant apartment above an old cantankerous gentleman. She and her mother are mediums, and do high end shows 4 times per week. She does a magic show and her mom does the psychic stuff. However, her mom is a complete fraud. The girl, however, is not. She has visions of the future, can channel the dead and can read show more emotions. She's kept these talents hidden all of her life. Oh, did I mention that she can pick a mean lock, and is rumored to be Houdini's daughter? Professional intrigue, kidnappings, and romance abound. This wasn't quite what Zi expected, but a fun read nonetheless. show less

1920’s NYC shimmers to life

There’s magic in this YA novel, but it’s not set in an alternate world and that’s a lot of its charm. New York City of the flapper era 1920’s is brought to life through seamlessly dropped details of daily living, lovely descriptions of dresses worn, and cameos by actual people of the time, like the great Houdini, who may or may not be the father of main character Anna Van Housen.

Anna and her beautiful mother have lived a vagabond life, earning money by show more performing magic shows and conducting séances in small towns across the country, but now they have an extended booking in a prestigious NYC theater and Anna is hoping they can stay on the right side of the law so it will no longer be necessary for her to use her magician skills to break her mother out of jail and flee. Anna has an interesting, complicated relationship with her mother, part love and admiration, part longing and resentment. She would do anything to keep her mother safe, but Anna wishes her mother would let her play a bigger role in their magic show, and that she’d give up doing séances, which get them in trouble and dupe vulnerable bereaved people. What Anna’s mother doesn’t realize is that while all of her own act involves illusion and deception, Anna has some actual magical abilities--like sensing people’s emotions, having visions of the future, and even communicating with the dead--and those powers are growing faster than she can figure out how to control them.

Dancing at the Cotton Club, two intriguing but very different suitors, and the fascination people of the time had with psychic phenomenon all figure in the story and add to its fun. show less