After reading the synopsis of Certainty by Eileen Sharp, I had to read it. Ren can see the future through ghosts who speak to him. When he meets MacKenzie, the girl he knows he's going to fall in love with, things are complicated because of the information he knows about her brother's tragic accident. The cover made the synopsis even more intriguing and I really thought it would have a creepy type of storyline and a forbidden love thrown in for flair, but I was wrong.
Unfortunately, the story was weak. I was shocked at the amount of filler in this book. A ton of unneeded information that built up to nothing. You are halfway through the book before anything actually happens. Certainty is told in first person through the perspective of Ren and MacKenzie. While I like this idea, it just didn't work out so well. There were no defining characteristics between the two and when the internal personal monologue went on, I had to think about who's perspective it was. In all honesty, it felt as though maybe this was meant to be a short story but the author decided to put more information than what was needed just to make the book longer. You could read the first 10, middle 20 and last 20 pages and not be lost as to what the story is.
Certainty needs an editor as well. There weren't too many spelling or grammar errors but certain characters' actions were repetitive and not described any differently. Also, some of the language was not really convincing for any 16 year old. I don't know any teen who's used the word "derriere" in today's society.
All that being said, I did see a glimmer of promise in Certainty. There were a few descriptions (mostly when there was raw emotion) that were flawless and the actual story without the filler is pretty good. Really what this book needs is an editor not afraid to hurt the author's feelings and willingness to chop off about 100 pages of this 220 page book.
Overall, I rate Certainty by Eileen Sharp 2 stars.
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