Book Review- The Candidates

I just finished reading The Candidates (Delcroix Academy #1) by Inara Scott for an Around the World ARC Tour.

From Goodreads:

Dancia Lewis is far from popular. And that's not just because of her average grades or her less-than-glamorous wardrobe. In fact, Dancia's mediocrity is a welcome cover for her secret: whenever she sees a person threatening someone she cares about, things just...happen. Cars skid. Structures collapse. Usually someone gets hurt. So Dancia does everything possible to avoid getting close to anyone, belieiving this way she can supress her powers and keep them hidden.

But when recruiters from the prestigious Delcroix Academy show up in her living room to offer her a full scholarship, Dancia's days of living under the radar may be over. Only, Delcroix is a school for diplomats' kids and child geniuses--not B students with uncontrollable telekinetic tendencies. So why are they treating Dancia like she's special? Even the hottest guy on campus seems to be going out of his way to make Dancia feel welcome.

And then there's her mysterious new friend Jack, who can't stay out of trouble. He suspects something dangerous is going on at the Academy and wants Dancia to help him figure out what. But Dancia isn't convinced. She hopes that maybe the recruiters know more about her "gift" than they're letting on. Maybe they can help her understand how to use it...But not even Dancia could have imagined what awaits her behind the gates of Delcroix Academy.
 
I didn't immediately sign up for this ARC tour, but after reading a few reviews, I decided to and boy am I glad that I did.  I really enjoyed this book!
 
Once again, it wasn't anything too new.  A teenager has a special power and is learning how to deal with it.  But it was just all of the parts of the books that added up to make it great.
 
  I really liked the main characters.  Dancia (cool name!) seemed like such a normal teen.  Not perfect, but not bad either.  And I couldn't decide about Cam and Jack.  Which guy was good and which guy was bad?  And which guy did I like better?  I kept going back and forth throughout the book and I'm honestly not sure I could pick even now! 
 
And the ending surprised me.  I kinda had an inkling as to the ending but not in the exact way.  It surprised me and I liked that it wasn't what I thought!

The only complaint I have is that I would want to know more about Dancia's powers. How did she get these powers? Was it hereditary in some way or was she just special?

And I think this is the beginning of a series. The next book called The Watchers is due out in August of 2011 and I can't wait!

I gave this book a rating of 4.5/5.
 
This book fulfills items in the following challenges:
A to Z Challenge: I  ( I can't find an author that I'd enjoy whose last name starts with an "I" so I am counting this book since the author's first name starts with an "I")
2010 100+ Reading Challenge: 133
2010 Young Adult Reading Challenge: 100
2010 Debut Author Challenge: 36
ARC Reading Challenge 2010: 96
 
*FTC Disclosure: I was given this book for free for an honest review as part of the Around the World Tours.