Hunting Lila by Sarah Alderson

Simon and Schuster, 2011. ISBN 9780857071958.
(Age 13+) A lighthearted thriller. Lila has a secret that she has hidden from all eyes. She can move things just by looking at them. When she manages to escape a mugging by using her power she knows that she has leave before she is exposed. She runs back to California, to the only people that she can trust, her brother and his friend, Alex, whom she has been in love with forever. Jack and Alex work for a secret organisation called The Unit, and are trying to hunt down the men who had murdered her mother five years before. As Lila tries to discover who killed her mother she uncovers secrets that put her and those she loves in danger.
A quick read, I devoured this escapist book in one sitting. There was plenty of action to keep me interested as Lila begins to unravel the mystery surrounding the missions that Jack and Alex are going undercover to do. It was necessary to suspend disbelief as the story unfolded but the book was so fast paced that it was easy to do that. Lila's big crush on Alex takes up quite a bit of the dialogue because he has many swoon worthy characteristics: he is handsome, strong, understanding, gorgeous, and girls will enjoy the romance as well as the action. In fact he is so much more mature than Lila, I was waiting for her to grow up so that he would even notice her!
This is a book that allows the reader to relax and escape into a world where you don't have to think too hard, just sit back and enjoy the romance, humour and action.
Pat Pledger