For several years, Cera has received a most unusual and disturbing birthday gift: a bizarre vision depicting how someone close to her will die. In Sandra Fernandez Rhoads’s urban fantasy novel Mortal Sight, first in her Colliding Line series, a young woman who has lived in fear of her unwelcomed gift discovers others with similar gifts, though it turns out she may have found more trouble than actual help. Frequent references to Milton’s Paradise Lost suggest a Christian worldview, as realistically imperfect people argue and bicker, undergo misunderstandings, and stumble. Overall, Mortal Sight is a promising beginning to an intriguing series.

Best for: Young adults.

Discern: Emphases on gifted creative people, such as musicians, poets, and others.