Clara Howell, a high school student in my area, has written and published her first novel. At age 13, while she struggled to find fantasy books that met her advanced reading level and were appropriate for a young teen, she decided to write her own. According to Amazon, The Exceptionals is a 337 page fantasy novel that was published on January 11, 2024.

This book came from an idea Clara had in eighth grade. Clara’s high school English teacher, Scott Hertzog, encouraged her to participate in an independent study. Clara and Mr. Hertzog worked together, and by November 2023, Clara had completed her final draft. She, then, decided to try her hand at graphic arts and created her book cover.

A friend of mine suggested I read The Exceptionals by Clara Howell, so I did.

Back Cover Blurb:

“Sometimes We’re More Like Our Enemies Than We Think”

All her life, Aila Vinn has been taught to fear the Exceptionals. She’s been told that they are dangerous, containing otherworldly powers that make them a threat to the country of Rosan. Marked by a brown X on their left hand, Exceptionals are to be reported on sight. Eight years ago, Aila reported her best friend and watched as the Exceptional Police dragged him away to his death.

On her sixteenth birthday, Aila wakes up to find an X on her own hand, irreparably changing the course of her life.

In another part of Rosan, Storm Dawson is a thief who lives with his nine brothers. Dirt-poor and faced with a life of hard work and little food, Storm dreams of a world beyond the simple streets of Ferrol. He gets more than he asked for when he finds himself marked as an Exceptional and is torn away from the only life he knows.

Both Aila and Storm are reported to the Exceptional Police and supposedly taken to their deaths. But when they wake up the next morning, they begin to realize that the Exceptionals are not what they seem. Secrets are revealed, dangers are faced, and at the heart of the struggle sits a deception that threatens to uproot the entire empire.

In the midst of it all, both teens must face a difficult question: How far are they willing to go to get what they want?

My Review:

The Exceptionals is an exciting, suspenseful novel with a couple unexpected twists. The characters are well developed and keep the reader’s attention. You will find yourself cheering one of the main characters on throughout the book, while wondering, at times, how the other’s decisions will affect the lives of several characters.

This novel is well written and will have the reader on the edge of their seats several times throughout the story. It definitely keeps the reader turning pages.

The characters think for themselves, seek answers to their questions, and make decisions based on what they know and learn, and on their personal convictions.

It is clean fiction. It is a good vs. evil story, and though, there is no clear Christian message, the story does include Christian values such as: kindness, friendship, love and care for a family, and courage.

I greatly enjoyed the story and recommend it. I hope to see more novels by Clara Howell.