When Lightning Strikes by Meg Cabot (as Jenny Carroll)

When Lightning Strikes
Meg Cabot (as Jenny Carroll)
ISBN 1-4169-0524-3
266 pages
Simon Pulse, 2001

Genre: Supernatural/Paranormal

Reader's Annotation
After she is struck by lightning, 16-year-old Jessica gains psychic powers that let her locate missing people.

Plot Summary
Jessica Mastriani, high school sophomore, is a regular in her guidance counselor's office and detention. Though she's got a great heart, her temper can sometimes get the best of her, especially when she sees someone being treated unfairly. One afternoon, she and her best friend Ruth are walking home from school when a huge thunderstorm strikes. The only place in the flat Indiana landscape to hide from the hail is under a set of metal bleachers, and Jessica is struck by lightning. At breakfast the next morning, she realizes she knows where the missing kids on the back of the milk carton are.  She calls the tip line--1-800-Where-R-U--and tells them where they can find the kids.

After giving them several more anonymous tips--which all turn out to be right--the story attracts attention from both the national media and the FBI.  Reporters camp out in Jess' front yard, and FBI agents want to take Jess to a secret facility to see if they can figure out what's caused her psychic powers. At first Jess resists, but after her schizophrenic brother freaks out from all the attention, she decides it would be best for her family to comply.  While she's there, she learns that at least one of the kids she's found had very good reasons for wanting to stay missing, and she learns that the FBI really wants her help in finding some of America's most wanted.  Can Jess' quick wits and pyschic powers help her set things right?

Critical Summary
When Lightning Strikes features Meg Cabot's signature smart, sarcastic, funny writing style.  Jess is a flawed and lovable heroine.  The book works as much as a standard teen drama/comedy as it does a supernatural genre piece: Jess is as concerned with gaining an attractive senior's attention and keeping her position at 4th chair flute in the school orchestra as she is with her newfound psychic powers.

Jess' family mostly seem like caricatures, and it's odd that Jess' mother, who is otherwise shown to be a caring and involved mother, becomes overly excited by the prospect of reward money.  However, Jess' friend Ruth and her love interest Rob, are more carefully drawn characters, as is Mr. Goodhart, the kindly, beleaguered guidance counselor who's always called on to clean up Jess' messes.

While not a particularly affecting work, it's a short, entertaining read, sure to be popular with Cabot's many fans.

About the Author
Meg Cabot is primarily known for her chick-lit books, especially the Princess Diaries series. She wrote two supernaturally-themed series, The Mediator and 1-800-Where-R-U, under the pseudonym Jenny Carroll.  Sales were disappointing, and both series were ended after four books.  However, several years later, after Cabot had found great commercial success, her publisher decided to re-release the series under Cabot's real name.  Sales were much better, and she published one final book in each series, wrapping up the loose ties.

Curriculum Ties
Though entertaining, this book is not weighty enough to be used as part of any curriculum.

Booktalking Ideas
1. Sell the book as a sort of supernatural Princess Diaries, stressing the book has Cabot's signature writing style.
2. Talk about Jess' everyday problems--her family, her permanent detention, her unrequited crush on Rob--and then add at the end, "And oh, yeah, she just found out that she's pyschic."
3. Talk about the ramifications of Jess' powers--just because she can find anyone, should she?  And should she cooperate with the government to find wanted criminals? How does she know what their intentions are?

Reading Interest/Level
This book would be appropriate for readers junior high-aged and up.

Challenge Issues
While there's some discussion of typical teenage delinquency and references to sexuality, none of it is explicit and it is unlikely to be challenged.

Selection Criteria
While looking at lists teens had made on Amazon of their favorite supernatural books, I noticed that this one was mentioned over and over again.