Rippler

From the moment I picked up this book, I was hooked. It had all the elements of a great YA paranormal novel and none of the things that have been done to death. (By the time I finished the book and no sparkly vampires or topless werewolves had made an appearance, I was even more impressed.) Cidney Swanson puts a new twist on the genre by introducing Sam, a young girl who has an unfortunate habit of literally disappearing into thin air. This novel combines mystery, danger, young romance and a new look at paranormal abilities. I cannot wait for the next book!

What a great story!! I'm on the edge of my seat as it ends, wondering what happens in book two. The author has done a superb job catching my interest, holding my interest, and making me seek out the second one.

What is a rippler? It's when a person suddenly goes invisible, appearing to ripple as they disappear and reappear. Same and her new guy friend can both ripple and it's gotta be a secret as people all over the world that can ripple (or have the disease that brings it on) have been killed.

You think this would draw them closer, right? Hm.. Maybe. Part of the story is teen love. Does he love her? Did his kiss mean anything? What's all this "friends" talk.. (sigh) We have all been there.

Also, Sam has to make a difficult choice show more between her new potential beau and her best friend. She can't have them both cause telling her friend the truth about their rippling is a no no and could cause her man to leave town out of fright... so Sam deals with the loss of her friend.

As if she isn't bummed enough, some strange man comes to town asking lots of questions and she finds out some serious stuff regarding her mother's death previously... that maybe it wasn't an accident. By the end of the book, it appears someone wants Sam dead.

The rippling descriptions... AWESOME stuff. Especially loved the "rippling through" glass thing. I could almost imagine it. The diary excerpts from Germany's experiments with children.. spine tingling and alarming and I'm sad to say, believable.

Really enjoyed this. My only quibble is I didn't care for Mickie and never did came to like her. I found her annoying. show less

This book was an interesting way to start a series. It starts with an accident where you are sucked into the life of a teenager complete with the awkwardness of finding out she has abnormal genes that allow her to do something extraordinary: ripple. By coincidence, she happens to have a friend with knowledge of her condition and he offers to train her. The book was very well thought out and actually explained many of the random occurrences throughout the life of the main character. I really appreciated the well developed story line as well as the "snippets" from the mystery diary that maintains the suspense. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed reading until I reached the end, and now I am unsatisfied because I NEED to know what happens next. show more Needless to say, I am ready for book two! show less

4.5/5 stars

A blend of science fiction, historical novel, thriller and romance, Rippler was an incredibly intriguing story that I just couldn’t put down. Told from the perspective of Samantha Ruiz, Swanson crafts a compelling mystery surrounding a rare genetic disease, interspersing Sam’s story of discovery with passages of an old journal written by a Nazi scientist who conducted rather horrendous psychological experiments during WWII. I found this blending of the past and present fascinating and very well paced. For just as I am about to sigh blissfully from the sweetness that is Will & Sam, Swanson reminds us again and again in increasingly disturbing ways that all is not well — that the situation is serious and dangerous. It’s show more shocking and unsettling, and it is good storytelling.


Sam was a protagonist that I really identified with right from the beginning. Despite her confusing and sometimes inconvenient new-found ability to ripple – or turn herself invisible – she is very much a normal girl who’s just discovered she’s a little more abnormal than she thought. Just beginning to heal from her mother’s death in a tragic car accident years earlier, Sam doesn’t have a whole lot of people she can call friends. As a result of the trauma of seeing her mother die, Sam spent many years withdrawn inside herself, depressed and lonely. However all that begins to change with the reappearance of an old childhood friend and the arrival of her cute new neighbor, Will. As Sam begins to open up to her new friends, she begins to learn more about herself than she could have ever imagined possible.


While I have never experienced personal tragedy to the extent that Sam has, I can definitely relate to her. She’s someone who has experienced real sorrow, and it has matured her. Although she’s been socially withdrawn since her mother’s death, Sam is not a wall flower, painfully shy or socially inept. Instead, she just needs friends who don’t view her through the tainted lenses of her past, and she finds them in Gwyn and Will. Though she has a lot of the same insecurities most girls share, they’re not debilitating – she’s a confident and intelligent young lady. She’s just a normal girl. I mean, despite the fact that her genes allow her to ripple. Sam is someone I could see myself befriending and I really enjoyed getting to know her character throughout the book.


There were so many things I loved about Rippler, but perhaps the item that tops my list is the friendship between Sam & Will. Swanson did a wonderful job establishing them as good friends before the idea of romantic entanglement surfaced. They have a genuine connection, a comfortableness with each other. I’m of the opinion that relationships tend to be deeper when there’s a well-established friendship at the foundation of the romance. And perhaps I’m just an incurable romantic but there’s something incredibly swoon-worthy about suddenly realizing you’re falling in love with your best friend. Sam & Will are just so sweet and adorable, as is their budding romance, and I can’t wait to see where their story takes them.


One of my biggest hang-ups with plots that delve into the scientific realm is credibility. Sometimes the science is just laughable, sometimes it’s just too vague, sometimes it just doesn’t quite feel plausible. I have no idea how many of the things discussed in Rippler are grounded in actual fact, just theoretical or just plain made up, but Swanson writes with an authority that makes me think it could be. And that’s really what matters. It doesn’t matter how true the science is, it’s a matter of “does the author make me believe it could be?” And she does.


Overall, Swanson has written a thrilling and romantic tale that had me alternately curling my toes in delight and gasping in horror, but that ultimately left me extremely satisfied… or unsatisfied, because I can’t wait to read the next book. show less

Samantha Ruiz has a freak gene, that allows her to disappear. Sounds cool right? Not so much, considering that she can't really control it. She keeps it a secret from everyone, until one day fellow runner, Will, sees her ripple, one moment there and then gone before everyone's eyes.
I must admit that I am quite impressed with Swanson's character development, though I couldn't really connect with Sam at times and I couldn't understand her motives, but ultimately I ended up rooting for her. I couldn't understand why after keeping a secret for so many years, why should would so readily trust Will even after it comes to light, that he has lied to her, and wasn't as honest with her as she was with him. I literally had to stop and hypothesize show more this while I was reading. I also thought it was weird, how Sam wasn't freaked out about all this new knowledge. Swanson touches base, and writes that Sam was confused but I wish that she were more descriptive so I could feel Sam's confusion. Overall, I couldn't read it fast enough. However, I was a little disappointed after I finished, because when you go back you realize that not much occurs in the story, and that it's more of a personal growth. I realize that it is a series and that more might happen later on, I wish each book in the novel had it's only mini story that is a apart of a greater story arc. Although I would say that I enjoyed reading this novel, I would that Swanson had failed to captivate me enough so that I would invest further more of my time in the rest of the series. show less

This is the first e-book I've read and I think it has raised the bar on what I expect. From page one, the story grabbed my interest and held it through to the end. The author has a wonderful way of describing scenery and environment that makes you feel as though you are right in the middle of a small dusty California desert town. The characters are likewise sufficiently fleshed out so as to engage the reader in their story. I especially liked the plot twists and the inventiveness of the storyline--a very interesting take on eugenics and behaviorism under the guise of young romance. It's different--something I don't think I've seen before--in a world where stories have lately been all about vampires. The writing itself was fresh and show more fast-paced. I liked how each chapter managed to be something of a cliffhanger to keep you reading more. This book may be for young adults but its subject matter is relevant to anyone. Definitely 4 stars! show less

Fifteen year old Sam has always been soothed and comforted by water since her earliest memories. That turns out not to be such a good thing when she turns invisible on her cross-country team's canoe trip - while she's in the canoe with the other kids. This starts off an odyssey of learning why she is able to turn invisible and what it means for her future happiness and safety. The person to take the journey with her is her neighbor Will Baker who happened to see her vanish from the canoe and covered for her with the coach. Because he knew what her genetic mutation is called and he knew more about it than she ever dreamed possible. It turns out Will's sister Mickie was studying under a man named Professor Pfeffer, who was an expert on show more Rippler Syndrome, which is an offshoot of a numbness disease (Helmann's) that Will and Mickie's Dad has. Then the Professor disappeared without a trace and the people studying Rippler's and even just Helmann's began getting killed off in what looked like accidents, but weren't. And the only clues they really have are in a journal full of sick experiments in a indecipherable language from World War II. Will and Sam will need all the help they can get to save one another from the danger their abilities present to their very existences while trying to figure out what really happened in the accident that killed Sam's Mom, life, friendship, and their feelings for one another. I was truly invested in this book! Other reviews that I've read have complained that there isn't enough action and the pacing isn't that great. I had NONE of these problems. I LOVED the characters, the plot and the cliffhanger at the end! I absolutely cannot wait to read the next book, Chameleon. The journal entries add a sadistic twist to everything you've ever heard about Nazi medical experiments and worked it into the plot in a chilling way. Cidney's writing style read like the characters were everyday people just telling the readers about themselves. I honestly can say that I really liked it from beginning to end. This book is highly recommended to fans of X-Men, YA paranormal fiction and fantasy.

VERDICT: 5/5 Stars

*I received an Advanced Reading E-book Copy from the author herself, via LibraryThing. No money was exchanged for this review. The publication date of this book was May 26th, 2011.* show less