Rippler and Chameleon by Cidney Swanson

I won the Rippler in LibraryThing Member Giveaway... and after I reviewed it, the author approached me asking if I would like to read the sequel.. I said yes. Here's why: 

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 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. 


Rippler got four stars from me so naturally, I jumped at the chance to read the second one.. Chameleon.


First of all, in Chameleon, Mickie isn't quit so annoying.. perhaps because she has met her match in Sir Walter. Sir Walter is 600 years old so even though he's quite wordy and old fashioned, finally someone knows how to handle Mickie!

Sir Walter enters the picture when Sam and Will and Mickie travel to France. He's the keeper of many secrets and hold most all the knowledge that Sam and Will need to know about their amazing rippling ability. While Sam and Will prance around France and see the sights, Sir Walter is in tow appearing and disappearing at will telling them and US, the readers, about the history of his evil cousin and the rippling story. 


The downside: While the book is supposed to clarify many things, it actually confused me more. There needs to be a handbook/manual about the rippling rules. I was left scratching my head more often than not. In book one, I learned that one cannot ripple while holding more than their body weight. Sam weights less than Will obviously so Will is able to save her when they are in a tight situation. He grabs her and ripples her away. Later in the novel, in an underground cave, they are once again faced with danger. Both him or Sir Walter OR him AND Sir Walter could have grabbed Sam and rippled her away.. so why couldn't they? What happened here? I don't understand. A few pages later, it's like the idea finally dawns on Sir Walter and Will when Walter tells Will to ripple her away.. At that point I was still screaming, "why did you do that when the bad guys first showed up????"


Also, there's a moment when Sir Walter wishes to help Will with a wound. He ripples Will away to fix him. If you are rippled, you cannot physically touch anything. The Ripplers must maintain solid form to grasp/touch things or people so how did this work? How was Sir Walter able to touch Will in invisible form and fix his wound?


More questions that answers for me... BUT again, amazing descriptions!!! 


"Will's mouth tasted like the whisper of willows through my mind, and sunshine, and coming home. I thought he was kissing me back, and then I was sure of it. His lips on mine felt like the slow embrace of rippling through glass. My hands on his face trembled."


Nice! Also enjoyed the teen love thing.. Does Will love her? Did the kiss mean anything or they 'just friends?'


Once again, four stars. Good, but confusing.