Shortcuts (Secret Psychics, Book 1)
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If you could change people's hearts, would you?
As a psychic empath, 14-year-old Parker Mills can sense strong emotions in others. And the new girl, Mia? She’s so sad it’s like a gut punch. Luckily, Parker’s developed a toolkit of mentoring and match-making to keep everyone around her as happy as possible, preferring parties to pain any day. But Mia isn’t interested in any of Parker’s tips and tricks. This is more than just annoying (which it totally is.)
Parker is one of four secret psychics in at her middle school, and her precog bestie has a vision that Mia’s pain will somehow lead to the psychics’ discovery by some very dangerous people looking for human lab rats. It’ll all go down at the middle school Halloween dance if they can’t help Mia first. But when Parker’s gift goes haywire, keeping everyone safe suddenly gets a whole lot harder, and with the dance looming, she’s running out of time to stop the coming disaster. With dangerous secrets, sweet crushes, and psychic powers, SHORTCUTS is a page-turner with humor and heart, perfect for ages 10-14 and up. 2nd edition with Snowy Wings Publishing. |
Praise for Shortcuts:
"The story moves at a fast clip, with numerous subplots expertly knit together. Each strand builds on the complexity of the tale until its explosive, intense culmination. Shortcuts is a memorable speculative novel that begs for a sequel." --Aimee Jodoin, Foreword Reviews, Starred Review
"The story moves along quickly with good character development and compelling writing. It also opens the door to many conversations about friendship, responsibility, genetic engineering, and ethical problem solving." -- Holly Whitt, Librarian, School Library Connection
"A diverse cast of relatable characters teach us that kindness, acceptance, teamwork, self-reflection, and self-forgiveness can alter the future in unexpected ways." --Jennifer Moore, Ph.D., School of Library and Information Sciences, Texas Woman's University
"The power of SHORTCUTS is the characters. Every middle grade student will find a character they can relate to in this book." -- Dr. Jennifer Heine, elementary school librarian, Judson ISD
"Bearce's beautiful descriptive writing is a buffet of emotions complete with taste and smell! The characters are entirely relatable and intriguing as they learn to wield gifts that, if discovered, could destroy their lives." -- Stacy Webb, Librarian, John Glenn Middle School
"The story moves along quickly with good character development and compelling writing. It also opens the door to many conversations about friendship, responsibility, genetic engineering, and ethical problem solving." -- Holly Whitt, Librarian, School Library Connection
"A diverse cast of relatable characters teach us that kindness, acceptance, teamwork, self-reflection, and self-forgiveness can alter the future in unexpected ways." --Jennifer Moore, Ph.D., School of Library and Information Sciences, Texas Woman's University
"The power of SHORTCUTS is the characters. Every middle grade student will find a character they can relate to in this book." -- Dr. Jennifer Heine, elementary school librarian, Judson ISD
"Bearce's beautiful descriptive writing is a buffet of emotions complete with taste and smell! The characters are entirely relatable and intriguing as they learn to wield gifts that, if discovered, could destroy their lives." -- Stacy Webb, Librarian, John Glenn Middle School