Have you ever woke up finding out that you just don't fit in, that your whole life has turned upside down because you have this unique power within, probably not, but Charlotte has, and this is why you should read the Afterglow Trilogy by Alyssa Rose Ivy. This book is about Charlotte and her older brother Kevin. They uprooted to Alaska with their father after the passing of their mother 3 yrs ago and they are finally returning back to there hometown of Charleston, SC to live with there Uncle Monty. After arriving to Charleston, its hard for Charlotte to fit in especially since she is having a really hard time coping with her mother's death, but Kevin picks up right where he left off reuniting with his best friend Liam(which Charlotte has always had a huge crush on) and becoming the star basketball player of their high school. After moving back into their childhood home, Charlotte becomes obsessed with opening a gate in her backyard that her mother told her to always stay away from, but one day she finds the key and opens the gate and finds out there is a secret world Energo that she belongs too. She meets Calvin the first time stepping through the gate and is instantly drawn to him and him to her, they vow to see each other again after her first meeting with him. After her meetings with Calvin, she is drawn to the gate once again but this time when she steps through Calvin is not waiting, it is her classmate James, she goes off with him in hopes of seeing Calvin again. She meets James's father Blake which is the person in charge and there she is told that she is actually royalty in Energo, she is the Essence, the one person who can control nature. When Blake tells her she cannot return to her home in Charleston, her Uncle Monty, brother Kevin, and best friend Liam realizes she's missing and with the gate open Monty knows that she is in Energo and therefore has the difficult task of going there to rescue her and explaining the unbelievable family history to Kevin. I mean guys this is the kind of things that belong in the movies. The adventures that Charlotte and Kevin go through are riveting, action filled, and amazing, from them escaping Energo, honing Charlottes powers, finding out what really happened to her mother, and love triangles, all the while trying to save a world that she doesn't even know. This is a must read book and has me excited about reading other books written about Alyssa Rose Ivy. Really the locations in the book, the plot, it was written to visualize and what better way to see it in action than on the big screen!
