Colorworld Readalong: Colorworld Chapters 12-22

Hey all, Dani here.

So I’m hosting a readalong for the Colorworld book series. This event will actually take us through the rest of 2020, which gives us all something to look forward to. Hopefully we’ll get to finish this readalong by reading Waterworld, Volume 4, which should be coming out at the end of 2020. Then we’ll all get to wait together for Waterworld, Volumes 5 and 6, and then the final book in the series…which I don’t know the name of yet. I know I’m excited to read these books again, this time with other readers, both old and new to the series.

Colorworld is 352 pages long (the original version anyway) with 45 chapters total. There is also an illustrated edition, the e-book, or the audiobook. I do definitely recommend listening to this book if you are someone who enjoys audiobooks. The voice actor cast is absolutely incredible. This first book just features Todd Haberkorn and Cherami Leigh, but they have also added Brittney Karbowski, David Wald, and Chiemeri Osemele.

The readalong for June 1-June 29 will cover Colorworld, the first book of the series. I’ll have the book details below the cover image. And you can find previous week discussion links below as well.

And you can check out my post with the full readalong details here.

June 1-8: ———Read Chapters 1-11

June 8-15: ——-Read Chapters 12-22

June 15-22: —–Read Chapters 23-33

June 22-29: —–Read Chapters 34-Epilogue

Wen knows what love looks like. Since her mom died over a year ago, she’s seen it every day on her orphaned younger brother’s face. Wen’s made good on her promise to her mom that she’d take care of Ezra, even quitting her carefree party-girl ways to become a hard-working college student so she can provide for him.

Wen knows what love feels like, too. Because when she touches people, she feels what they do. “Uniquely perceptive” is what her mom called it, and Wen’s not going to argue; she doesn’t know any different.

But an energy therapy study changes not only what Wen knows about her unusual gift; it also changes her. Now, instead of feeling emotions, her touch brings death to others. No one is safe around her, especially Ezra.

Wen turns to energy healers for help. And that’s where she meets him: Mr. Tenacious and Audacious, Gabe Dumas. He knows about love, too; he speaks it in ways Wen has never experienced. And he’s never even touched her.

With her heart unraveling, Wen discovers a world only she can see. It may offer hope for her condition… or it may be better left hidden. *Intended for 16 and up

Be warned…the rest of the post (and the comments) are likely to contain a deeper discussion of the story, including potential spoilers.

Chapters 12-22

1. We finally get the first true interaction of Wendy and Gabe while sitting in the cafeteria of the compound on Wendy’s first day there, and then again as Wen is walking the grounds after her meeting with Randy. What did you think of their easy banter and conversation that was anything but shallow small talk?
2. Also, after just the two conversations in one day, Wendy is able to admit to herself that she has already fallen in love with him. This is the very definition of instalove. But do you think that allowances need to be made in this case because of Gabe so strongly projecting his feelings all the time, as well as Wendy’s ability to feel the emotions of others? Does that actually make the instalove okay and more acceptable?
3. Chapter 21 has Wendy and Gabe doing their own private energy therapy session and during this time Wendy is able to see the world and Gabe through a new filter, an extremely vibrant and colorful one. This is our first introduction to the Colorworld. What do you think of energy therapy and the revelations that Wendy and Gabe have discovered on their own already?

I’ll be completely honest guys: Wendy and Gabe’s conversations are some of the most fascinating bits of these books, to me at least. They are sometimes flirty and ridiculous, and sometimes incredibly deep and philosophical and scientific. I feel like I learn so much by watching their interactions.

And here’s where I have to point out that this is pretty much exactly what it is like talking with either Rachel or Brad, whether online or in-person. They can both so easily go from just easy casual conversation to deep discussions on religion or philosophy or analyses of shows or movies or whatever. So I know that to some people the conversations with Gabe might seem outlandish and not realistic, but just know that they are in fact real. There are people who talk like this…though I will say that Gabe uses a lot more “antiquated” language than Brad does. But still.

Instalove is something that is all too common in books, usually YA books, but also quite frequent in romance stories. It is a close relative to instalust, but I buy instalust more easily, because you can see someone across a room or something and be captivated by them and attracted to them. But going from “I don’t know you” to “I love you” so quickly is immensely frustrating. And yet, in this story, with Wendy’s empathic abilities…I am actually more willing to accept the feelings between Wendy and Gabe. Okay, yes, in some ways I do think Gabe’s straightforward and forceful mental and emotional state is manipulating and affecting Wendy, and she does call him out on it in this section, telling him to stop using his emotions to manipulate her.

But with everything they experience from their brief conversations, and then especially after their hypno-touch sessions, it is easy to see how an emotional bond is created and solidified between them. Having such a unique and close experience, being that connected to a person’s soul, is definitely the kind of thing that can make instalove acceptable and believable.

Finally, yes, we finally get to see the colorworld. Every time Wendy slips into the colorworld throughout the series is just such an awesome experience. I love the descriptions and everything we learn from witnessing the colorworld. It’s so cool. And so beautiful. Rachel’s descriptions of this energy world are so lush and vivid. It’s so easy to imagine the sights and smells and everything else, which definitely makes me love the series more.

Honestly, when I first read this book, I can say that I understood why Wendy and Gabe would do their own experimentation, and why they would also share their opinions and hypotheses with each other, while keeping those details unknown to Louise and Randy. They have just always felt sketchy to me. This feels like the start of something bigger, these seemingly large revelations about energy therapy and the colorworld. Obviously since this is the start of a series, we know many more revelations are yet to come, and since I’ve read all the books, I can definitely say that the future revelations get more and more mind-blowing along the way, but for now, what the characters are learning now are big for this moment.

Oh–not an official question, but we are now halfway through this first book. What are you thinking of the experience so far?

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All right, I look forward to hearing your thoughts on these first chapters in the comments. Feel free to pose your own questions for the rest of us participants as well. Seriously, I would love to answer any questions you could pose about what we’re reading.

Oh…and take a photo of you and your copy of any of the Colorworld series and post it on social media, tagging @colorworldbooks, and ask to join the ColorworldLive VIP group on Facebook. I’m also hosting a weekly Colorworld book video chat on Wednesdays from 7 pm – 9 pm Eastern time.