Megan's Thirteenth

Megan’s Thirteenth: A Spirit Guide, A Ghost Tiger, And One Scary Mother! (then, The Awakening of a Teenager’s Psychic Powers) is a cute, yet brief read. Megan is turning 13 and is planning an amazing birthday party. She’s trying to forget when her mom locked her in the cellar because of the psychic powers that Megan was “obviously” lying about. Yet she is still experimenting with her powers in private, blending her aura with her spirit guides, bonding with plants to borrow their strength, etc. When her birthday arrives, she sparkles and whirls through the day, feeling like a princess and ever-so grown up, but that’s nothing like how she feels after meeting her friend’s cousin, Roderick.

I thought the concept of spirit guides was actually quite fascinating and I would have liked to have learned more about each of them, especially their pasts and histories. Dialogue flowed well and easily transitioned between characters. I loved how “doddering” the dad sounded! It was the perfect kind of dad who puts up with his little teenage girl’s wishes because he’s wrapped around her little finger. All of the characters were pretty distinct, which I liked, but it was a little hard to get a deeper sense of who everyone was because of the length being so short.

Because of the brevity of the piece, we kind of jump from event to event without smooth transitions or description. If properly fleshed out, this novella could easily double in size and still be quite readable. I can also see it easily being sold or “gifted” on Amazon as a lure to a series though, which may be the intention. Owen Jones has certainly hooked me into his story, and I want to know more.