A Human Element by Donna Galanti

A Human Element 
By Donna Galanti
10th March 2010
Echelon Press Publishing

One by one, Laura Armstrong’s friends and adoptive family members are being murdered, and despite her unique healing powers, she can do nothing to stop it. The savage killer haunts her dreams, tormenting her with the promise that she is next.

Determined to find the killer, she follows her visions to the site of a crashed meteorite–her hometown. There, she meets Ben Fieldstone, who seeks answers about his parents’ death the night the meteorite struck. In a race to stop a mad man, they unravel a frightening secret that binds them together. But the killer’s desire to destroy Laura face-to-face leads to a showdown that puts Laura and Ben’s emotional relationship and Laura’s pure spirit to the test. With the killer closing in, Laura discovers her destiny is linked to his and she has two choices–redeem him or kill him.

I really enjoyed this book and struggled to put it down, this book is truly one of a kind and Galanti’s writing is stunning. I was so impressed with how Galanti covered issues such as rape, depression and death in such a real and gritty way, the events in this book haven’t been sugar-coated and I respect her immensely for this. It was refreshing to really get inside all of the character’s heads so thoroughly. I also loved being able to watch Laura and Ben grow from young children to adulthood, it was great to see how they changed and grew through the years

I loved that Galanti switched between both of the main characters in the book so easily and I never felt lost or confused about where I was in the story. In the beginning I really believed it was a story about Laura but as it progressed I realised that although she is the main character, she isn’t the only one with a story to tell. I found her character very likeable and as a young girl she is very sweet and innocent and although this is always at the heart of her character, she does change a lot towards the end of the book. She becomes stronger and learns to accept herself for exactly who and what she is and I believe this was point Galanti was trying to make with her character. That you can’t change who you are, you just have to believe in yourself.

I loved Ben, I found him to be a very believable character and I could relate to him in many ways despite not having anything in common with him, he is a brilliant example of how someone can turn their life around and I loved that everything about him was far from perfect and Galanti wasn’t afraid to write about his many flaws in excruciating detail. He is a seriously troubled character and I really didn’t think he would ever find his happy ending until practically the last page but in the end I was pleasantly surprised. 

My favourite character was Mr B. and I have a major soft spot for him, he begins the book as a grumpy, lonely old man (or at least that’s what he wants us to believe) but his character grows into a lovely open and honest person by the end of the story, I loved his and Laura’s relationship and especially their little thesaurus competitions, it may seem strange to some that an old man befriends an eleven year old girl but their relationship was sweet and enjoyable throughout the whole book, it really lightened the tone with all the drama going on.

X-10/ Charlie was the character that I really wanted to hate from start to finish but somehow couldn’t quite bring myself to feel anything but sorry for him. He is such a self-destructive character and his actions are nothing short of evil but I couldn’t help but see the lost little boy inside of him. His character surprised me the most in the end and I have to say Galanti developed him beautifully. He really is one of a kind.

I can’t wait to read more of Galanti’s work and she has quickly become one of my favourite author’s.

Check out Donna Galanti's website here

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- Stephanie