The Sixth Event by Kristen Morie-Osisek

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SKU 978-1-77233-847-8
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Eighteen-year-old Raquel isn't eighteen anymore... 

During Raquel's first semester of college, she witnesses the end of the world, only to wake up in her old room at her parents' house two years in the past. Even worse, it seems she's the only one who remembers—until Chris Lyley, a boy Raquel always thought was a loser, tells her he remembers the catastrophe. 

Before long, they both discover new abilities. They're able to understand any language and teleport through time and space. If Raquel and Chris can figure out what caused the end of their world, maybe they can stop it.

14+ due to sexuality, language, and adult situations

 

Excerpt: 

My heart pounded as my white ceiling greeted me when I opened my eyes.

 

 I blinked frantically, the vision of the rock hitting me still fresh in my mind, the instantaneous crushing sensation throughout my body fading to a dull, residual mental ache. Fear crashed and faded in a wave of relief when it all resolved into the deep blackness of my dorm room.

 

That had been one hell of a dream.

 

I narrowed my eyes, still staring up at the ceiling. My dorm ceiling was gray, not white.

 

I sat up and turned to the left expecting the glaring green glow of my digital clock. Instead, I was greeted with the dim shape of a dresser, outlined in the rosy hue of a rising sun.

 

My pink and white dresser at my parent’s house.

 

Shock spread through me, sending tingles down to my toes. My bedroom was coming into view, not my dorm room.

 

A stuffed dog sat at the foot of my bed. Instead of the giant glass window over the football field, my lace pink curtains fluttered in a warm California breeze, a copy of Teen Vogue sitting on the sill.

 

I rolled over and stood, grabbing the magazine. Justin Bieber smiled at me from the October 2010 cover.

 

Impossible. This was impossible.

 

“Elsie!” I shouted my roommate’s name. The magazine hit the floor with a ruffle of pages. The plush, carpeted floor, not the hard tiles of my room at college.

 

My comfy bed, complete with a feather mattress, took up the same side of the room it always had. My computer desk sat at the far side of the bed, the blocky Dell PC taking up most of the space. A life sciences textbook lay next to it, the image of a tiger on the front coming into focus as my eyes adjusted to the darkness. On the floor, my giant shoulder bag from high school lay with papers strewn around it. I took a step closer, peering at the letters, my heart pounding so hard I didn’t think to turn on the light.

 

High school biology notes. I had taken biology in my junior year.

 

I fled, my door banging against the wall as I ran to the bathroom, flicking on the light.

 

Elsie wasn’t here. I stared into the mirror of my parent’s bathroom, at my frizzy brown hair. I didn’t look so different. A little bit shorter, a little bit ganglier. No freshmen fifteen. I still had that annoying pattern of three pimples that kept coming back on my chin.

 

But I was still younger. Not eighteen, not a college student.

 

A girl in high school. High school. Again.

 

I stared in shock. This couldn’t be true. It must still be part of the dream, part of the green sky and rocks hitting me. I blinked hard, touching my nightgown, pinching my arm until I winced with pain.

 

“Mom!” I shrieked so loud I thought the mirror would shatter. “Mom, Mom, Mom!”

 

My mother came rushing in, her robe pulled tightly around her. “Raquel, what is it?” Her hair framed her face in an unruly brown cloud, her eyes wide and face pale. “What’s wrong?” She was as scared as I was.

 

“What happened?” I shouted as I grabbed her. “What happened?”

 

“What do you mean?” She pulled me out of the hug, looking into my eyes. “Raquel, what is wrong? Are you sick?”

 

In the glaring bathroom light, I stared into her wide eyes. She stared back at me, full of concern, full of worry for her daughter.

 

“The…I died. There were birds dying, and a rock hit me, and I should be in college…” I babbled, and she shook her head, gripping me tight.

 

“Raquel, it was a nightmare. That’s all.”

 

“What’s going on?” My dad’s voice shouted from the dark hallway.

 

“Nothing, dear,” my mother shouted back. “Raquel just had a little night terror.”

 

“At sixteen?” Disbelief and exhaustion edged his voice. “Go to sleep, Raquel,” he added, mumbling.

 

My heart pounded harder, even as I shut my mouth, looking back into the mirror. The mirror in my parent’s house, where a sixteen-year-old me stared back. My stomach flipped, then sank into my feet.

 

I was two years younger. The world was two years younger.

 

And no one else remembered anything.

 

 

Product Reviews

Score: 4 out of 5 (based on 5 ratings)
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5/5
Long and Short Reviews
Written by undefined on 25th Jan 2017

What if you knew the world would end, but saving it you would have to give up everything you knew? Could you do it? The Sixth Event by Kristen Morie-Osisek is a wild adventure from the point of view of Raquel, a freshman college student who witnesses the end of the world. After the world ends, she is transported back in her life two years before the final event occurs. She, along with others who have witnessed the same event find that they are tasked with saving the world from the end that they witnessed. Raquel begins to have feelings for a boy from her high school that she used to steer clear of since they hung out in different circles. She begins to see past her old high school ways and realize how she has grown in maturity, but how her teenage hormones have jaded her ways of thinking. Keep in mind, this is all against the ticking clock of the end of the world! Kristen Morie-Osisek does a wonderful job of balancing Raquel’s eighteen-year-old mindset against the role of teenage hormones that were in full effect merely two years before. This is a fascinating look at the psychological world that teenagers face, yet is often overlooked by many authors. The dialogue that Kristen Morie-Osisek utilizes with the characters is smooth and believable. The reader is drawn into the events as they unfold and begins to see the world from the point of view that this is something that could have occurred of is currently occurring. The end of the book is satisfying and leaves the reader feeling fulfilled. This is one adventure that you do not want to miss. I cannot wait to see more work from this wonderful author!

4/5
com This story keeps a nice pace, and has engaging characters
Written by undefined on 9th Dec 2016

UncagedBooks.com This story keeps a nice pace, and has engaging characters. I wasn’t sure that I liked the ending, but it did wrap up its story nicely and that is probably just a matter of personal preference. Read the full review in the December issue of Uncaged Book Reviews.

4/5
If you like books about surviving catastrophe, the apocalypse or coming of age, this is a great book to read
Written by Alex_K on 9th Dec 2016

Raquel, along with seven other teenagers, survives the apocalypse and now they have to save the world. But how will they survive this challenge? In the beginning I found Raquel a very shallow, selfish person and it was hard to like her. Chris on the other hand, touched my heart directly. He's an outcast and nobody really cares about the rumors spread about him. But as time goes, Raquel begins to understand that she can be a good person and Chris is right there to make her see the beauty of life. The other six involved in this race against time all had their own story and fears to battle with. I would have liked a little more background about them, but it wasn't something missing to understand the story line. When I found out the price for all of them to pay for saving mankind, I wanted to cry or scream. That didn't sound fair at all. So, I dreaded reading the last chapters. But it played out well, for almost all of them. If you like books about surviving catastrophes, the apocalypse or coming of age, this is a great book to read.

4/5
Apocalyptic...but with a very unique and riveting twist!
Written by Diana T on 9th Dec 2016

Wow. This was not at all what I expected...but I really liked it. Yes, I read the whole thing in one sitting. It's an easy read, but the story is fast-paced and the characters engaging. My only complaint is that I really didn't like the ending, but at least it had an ending, so I'm thankful for that! Hooray for stand-alone novels! While it started out feeling like every other apocalyptic novel out there, it shifted into something that is actually quite unique. I read a lot (and apocalyptic stories are a favorite genre of mine!), so being able to give me something truly unique is a gift!

4/5
Four Stars
Written by Ronit on 24th Jun 2016

I can't understand why no one else has reviewed this book. If you like apocalyptic fiction that is unique and well written..this is for you. The characters are not the typical good looking, super smart, super tough or heroic characters...the author allows them to be human - of average looks, intelligence and ambition, with strengths and weaknesses that don't harm their individual voices one bit. There is no ego or narcisim - just the need to work together to save the world literally. I thought the plot just eerie enough and dark enough and melancholy enough for an apocalyptic world without overshadowing the story that kept me engaged. I dont want to give away what happens - but I recommend reading it!