Crash, the first book in Lisa McMann’s Visions series, left readers on a serious cliffhanger. Jules finally figured out and stopped her terrible vision from killing the guy of her dreams. Since stopping it, she no longer has any visions and the guy, Sawyer, cares for her as much as she does for him. Everything should be going great, right? Until Sawyer shows up one night to tell Jules that he now sees a vision. Oh, boy…
Bang picks up from there with Jules worrying and feeling guilty about Sawyer adopting her visions ability. Sawyer is struggling with it, and you can’t blame him. Once he explains what his vision is, a violent and graphic school shooting, the story starts to take a darker or more contemplative turn. Unlike the first book, we aren’t stuck with a character that keeps questioning her sanity and thinking of her doubts. We know that these visions can lead to something real. What makes this one different is that those who will be hurt aren’t people Sawyer recognizes. It almost immediately brings up the question of whether one should get involved if nothing personal seems to be at stake. A horrid and selfish thing to think, but I’m glad McMann brought it up because it is something one would think of, if such a vision occurred to him or her.
Luckily, Sawyer and Jules are good people, and despite the difficulty and vagueness of the situation, they become dedicated to solving and stopping this vision. Bringing in her brother, Trey, and little sis, Rowan, into the mix, the book spends most of the time with them investigating and searching for clues, leading to a chilling and heart-stopping finale.
I did enjoy Bang more than Crash, even though the formula was pretty much the same here. Now that we got to know the characters, it was interesting to see them all work together. Other than that, I wish the book offered more explanation as to why Jules and Sawyer are experiencing these visions. We end this book hardly knowing anything more than we had before and I seriously hope the next book finally dives into the visions phenomenon.
Joy Osmanski narrates Bang and does a good job. I’ve already listened to a few other books she narrated, so at first, I had to get used to hearing her voice as a new and different character. Eventually, I got into it and enjoyed how she emphasized Jules’ funny and dorky moments, which I didn’t notice as much when I was listening to Crash.
Bang is an entertaining and dark follow-up to Crash. I feel like this series is at a point where it can only get better. Let’s hope that the next book, Gasp, finally gives readers the answers they’ve been waiting for.
Rating: 7/10
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Book Info:
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio (October 8, 2013)
Length: Approx. 5 hours, 13 minutes
Series: Visions Book Two
Source: Unabridged Audio Download (Provided by publisher)
Genre: Young Adult, Supernatural, Thriller
Completed: October 2013
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