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Benedict-Savant series

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Benedict-Savant series
Finding Sky (2010)
Stealing Phoenix (2011)
Seeking Crystal (2012)
Challenging Zed (2013)
Misty Falls (2014)
Angel Dares (2015)
Burning Yves (2015)
Summer Shadows (2016)
Teasing Xav (2016)

AuthorJoss Stirling
Cover artistJohanna Basford - Artwork
CountryUK
LanguageEnglish
GenreYA Fiction, Fantasy, Romance, Action
PublisherOxford University Press
Published7 October 2010 - 6 October 2016
Media typePrint, E-book & Audio
No. of books9
Websitegoldinggateway.com/joss-stirling/finding-sky/

Download a book of the serie Benedict-Savant series or buy them on amazon



The Benedict-Savant series, also known as Savant series[1] and Benedict series,[2] consists of 9 novels in the genres of young adult (YA) fiction, fantasy, romance and action, written by British novelist Joss Stirling (pen name of Julia Golding).[3] The first novel in the series was published on 7 October 2010 by Oxford University Press.[4]

Series overview[edit]

The Benedict-Savant series is set in the present day, with the addition of a select set of people who are born as savants. Unknown to the mortal population, these individuals can use special gifts that allow them to perform abilities beyond the average human, passed down through familial generations. Forming the Savant Net, the Benedict family opposes any groups that choose to use their gifts for evil purposes. The series follows each of the seven Benedict brothers and their search for a soulfinder, the savant that they are destined to be with.

Plot summaries[edit]

Finding Sky (2010)[edit]

Aspen, Colorado. Mentioned as being the closest city to the fictional town of Wrickenridge in Finding Sky.

After having been abandoned at a service station as a child, Sky Bright does not recall anything about her past. She moves to the small town of Wrickenridge with her adoptive parents as a teenager, where she enrols at Wrickenridge High for eleventh grade. Sky quickly makes friends and has several encounters with Zed Benedict, who she finds intimidating yet attractive.

Sky is invited on a white-water rafting activity day. While on the raft, Zed’s gift of seeing into the future alerts him that Sky is in danger. He attempts to warn her, which causes her to fall into the river. Sky hears his voice in her mind telling her to float. Managing to escape with only minor injuries, she and Zed argue over who caused her to fall in.

At the end of September, Wrickenridge High holds a football/soccer tournament. Sky and Zed have each been chosen to captain a team. Placing herself in goal, Sky receives annoyed comments from her team members, as she is unable to save any goals. A penalty is awarded to Zed’s team, which he helps her save using telepathy.

Zed becomes interested in Sky romantically after he realises that she is his soulfinder. He explains to her the meaning of the term and the history of savants, before introducing her to his family. It is revealed that the Benedict family is under witness protection, as they use their savant abilities to help investigate and solve crimes.

Sky is kidnapped when walking home alone and is taken to Las Vegas. She communicates her situation to Zed telepathically. Her kidnappers take her to meet the Kelly family, who want to seek revenge on the Benedicts for imprisoning two members of their family. Sky is mind controlled into thinking that she was kidnapped by Zed and his brother, Xav, when they come to rescue her.

As a result of the situation, Sky manages to unlock her savant gift of reading emotions, enabling her to realise Zed came to save her. The kidnappers are killed in the crossfire, and Sky is taken to hospital to recover. She slowly regains her childhood memories with the help of the Benedict family, remembering that her biological parents murdered each other after the discovery of her mother's soulfinder.

The Kelly family attempt to lure Sky back to Las Vegas by offering her parents a job. Throughout the trip, Sky wears a wire to gather incriminating evidence on them. This mission is a success and Victor is able to arrest them. At the Wrickenridge Christmas concert, Sky performs after having been convinced by Zed. She accepts him as her soulfinder.

Stealing Phoenix (2011)[edit]

Olympic Stadium, London. The location of the opening scene in Stealing Phoenix.

While on a tour of the London Olympic stadium, Yves Benedict has his valuables stolen by savant Phoenix Corrigan. Her gift to freeze mental patterns makes stealing from him easy, as it gives her the chance to get into his backpack and take his phone and tablet. Realising he is aware of her while mentally frozen, she places the valuables in her bag, before panicking and running away.

Phoenix notices that the devices have started overheating, taking them out of her bag before they set on fire and burn her hand. Yves had used his gift on controlling fire on them. She returns home to the community, where she receives first aid from her friend, Tony. Ran by the Seer, who controls the residents of the Community with his gift of mind manipulation, Phoenix is punished for being unsuccessful in stealing anything from her target, Yves.

The following day, Phoenix arrives at Queen Mary College and waits for an opportunity to steal from Yves again. She uses her mind freezing gift on him, but he breaks free and telepathically questions why she is stealing from him. He chases after her when she attempts to escape again. She replies to his questions telepathically, leading Yves to realise that they are soulfinders.

Refusing to go to the hospital for her burns, Yves takes Phoenix to meet his brother, Xav, who heals her arm with his gift. Yves continues questioning her about the Community, but she manages to escape from them by running into the crowd. Two members of the Community manage to attack the brothers, before taking Phoenix to meet with the Seer, who believes she has betrayed him by meeting with the Yves and Xav.

Phoenix is forced by the Seer into revealing that Yves is her soulfinder. He decides to use her connection to Yves to attack the Benedict family, receiving the support of other savant criminals from around the world. The Seer orders Phoenix to arrange a meeting between him and Yves. In return for information about the Savant Net, the Seer offers Phoenix's freedom for 48 hours. Using his mind controlling gift, the Seer orders Phoenix to hurt someone Yves loves is the deal is not fulfilled.

In an attempt to protect her soulfinder, Phoenix pushes Yves away from her. He says he has a plan and tells her not to worry. After the 48 hours are up, Yves informs the Seer that he would like to join the savant criminal business. He and Phoenix are taken to the Community, where they are invited to join the Seer at a criminal jazz club event. At the club, it is revealed that the information Yves had given the Seer has corrupted as a team of agents arrive to arrest the criminals.

Later, Yves explains how he executed his plan to Phoenix and his family, before asking her to marry him. She agrees, as they are soulfinders and she wants to live with him in America. The Benedict brothers offer to walk her down the aisle – she chooses all of them.

Seeking Crystal (2012)[edit]

Venice, Italy. The district of Dorsoduro is home to Crystal and Diamond Brook in Seeking Crystal.

Crystal and Diamond Brook travel to Denver, Colorado, to attend a conference on savant crime. While walking home, they are attacked and robbed, before being saved by police officer Trace Benedict. Diamond and Trace discover that they are soulfinders, after she hears his voice in her mind. Crystal has a concussion from the attack but refuses to go to hospital. She eventually agrees to be treated by Trace’s brother, Xav, who has the gift of healing. Due to Crystal's gift she is sensitive to telepathy, so when Xav attempts to heal her, it makes her sick.

She is introduced to the Benedict family, who she likes, although she remains uncertain about Xav. Crystal travels back to Venice alone, as Diamond decides to stay with Trace. Xav drops her off at the airport. They attempt to connect telepathically but stop as Crystal begins to feel sick. When engaging in telepathy, Xav senses that there is something wrong with Crystal's head and encourages her to see a doctor when she gets home.

Back in Venice, Crystal ignores Xav’s concerns, instead beginning to work for costume designer, Signora Carriera. While out exercising, she bumps into savant Contessa Nicoletta, mentioning to her that Diamond had found her soulfinder, Trace Benedict, when they were in Denver.

Crystal is invited to a meeting with a film director, where she models one of Carriera’s designs. Impressed by her work, Crystal is asked to be an extra in a film. Diamond, Trace and Xav travel to Venice to meet with Crystal, as Diamond wants to involve her in wedding preparations. Contessa Nicoletta offers to throw Diamond a hen party at her house.

Xav meets Crystal at work and is also asked to be an extra in the film. He tries to convince Crystal to see a doctor again but she refuses and they argue. Crystal and Xav are partnered as lovers in the film, where they share a kiss. They grow closer as a result and become friends, with Crystal finally stating that Xav can heal her after the wedding.

The hen night ends with Contessa kidnapping Diamond and the other soulfinders, before she leaves Crystal on an island. After Contessa uses her gift on Crystal, she accidentally fixes her head injury, meaning she is able to communicate telepathically to Xav. She returns to the mainland to meet with the Benedict brothers. Her gift is identified, revealing Crystal is a soulseeker and Xav’s soulfinder. She uses her gift to locate the missing soulfinders.

The Benedicts discover that their soulfinders have been brainwashed by Contessa, meaning they must be knocked unconscious before they can be taken to safety. As they are escaping, Contessa shoots Will Benedict. It is revealed that she is seeking revenge on the Benedict family, as they had been responsible for arresting her son. Xav heals Will’s injury.

Crystal discovers that she can return memories to the soulfinders, after the encounter with Contessa. The following day, the Brook family arrive for the wedding. Crystal is offered a modelling job, but refuses, so that she can move to New York with Xav and study fashion. Crystal uses her gift to locate the remaining Benedict brothers’ soulfinders. She discovers that Uriel’s is in South Africa, Will’s is in Amsterdam and Victor’s is in Afghanistan.

Challenging Zed (2013)[edit]

As Zed Benedict is struggling to cope with the crime he sees in his family’s investigations, his brothers stage an intervention, as his family are worried about him. Zed reveals that he feels responsible for the abuse of a student by a teacher, as his gift of seeing into the future meant he saw the abuse unfold.

His brother, Uriel Benedict, uses his gift of seeing into the past to remind Zed of when he was younger, desperate to join the family’s investigations. At Wrickenridge High, Zed begins to notice a strange presence, having an effect on his mind. At music practise, he becomes distracted by the thoughts in the room and believes that the new student, Sky Bright, is the cause.

After he has a premonition of Sky, he decides to warn her that she is in danger, when given the opportunity. They meet at the white-water rafting centre, but she falls into the river as he tries to warn her. Sky blames Zed for the incident, continuing their argument in the school car park the following morning.

In the annual school football/soccer tournament, Zed is pleased when Sky puts herself in goal. After he is awarded a penalty, he decides to help Sky save a goal, guiding her using telepathy. He communicates where he is going to aim the ball, allowing her to save it. She replies to him telepathically, shocking Zed, who realises that she is his soulfinder.

Misty Falls (2014)[edit]

Cape Town, South Africa. Uriel Benedict travels to here in search of his soulfinder in Misty Falls.

Misty Deven has the gift of truth telling, meaning she cannot filter what she says. She travels to Cape Town, South Africa, with Uriel Benedict in search of his soulfinder. While on the flight, he reveals that he has been investigating a string of savant murders, where the victims die seemingly without a cause.

When in Cape Town, Misty and Uriel visit Francie Coetzee, who had been suspected to be his soulfinder. After meeting, it is discovered that they are not soulfinders, but Francie believes her twin sister could be. They meet at a BBQ hosted by her sister, Tarryn, at the school where she works, and Uriel discovers that she is his soulfinder.

Misty is introduced to the school debate team, who are celebrating winning the national debate competition. She identifies a member of the debate team, Alex, as being a savant. After having overheard him comment negatively on her appearance, causing tension between Misty and Alex.

Uriel reveals that he has arranged for the debate team to visit Cambridge. Misty and Uriel discuss Alex, who had a tough upbringing. Misty explains that Alex’s gift of charming is the reason for the tensions between them, as their gifts clash. At dinner, Uriel finds out another savant has been murdered.

After travelling back to England, Misty volunteers to work at the debate competition, so she can meet with Alex again. After attempting to connect telepathically, they realise that they are soulfinders. At a debate, Alex is questioned by reporter Eli Davis, who implies he knows about his savant gift.

Someone claiming to be Alex’s uncle asks to meet with him during his visit to England. After the team have won the debate competition, he receives a telepathic message from Misty saying that Davis has trapped her in the library. Uriel arrests Davis, suspecting him to be the savant murderer, after he had voiced his hatred of savants.

After celebrating the debate team winning, Alex’s uncle, named Johan, offers to drive Misty home, but kidnaps her instead. She cannot remember what had happened upon awakening. She attempts to telepathically connect to Alex but fails. After Johan reveals his intentions, Misty realises that he is the savant murderer. The Benedicts attempt to track her but cannot, as Johan has extended his gift onto her.

Using the gift of making people disappear, Johan is able to keep Misty hidden, as he wants to use her gift to execute revenge on Alex’s family. Tarryn's gift of seeing people's fate prompts the brothers to travel to Oregan as she foresees Misty with Alex's family. Johan contacts Alex to order him to come alone to Misty Falls.

After Alex arrives, he attempts to subdue his uncle with his gift but this does not work. Misty sacrifices herself to save Alex’s younger brother. Help arrives shortly after, meaning Uriel and Tarryn can combine their gifts to save Misty’s life. Johan is arrested and sent to a psychiatric ward as he feels no remorse for what he has done.

Angels Dares (2015)[edit]

The Rockport Music Festival is the fictional setting of Angel Dares.

Angel prepares for a concert with her band Seventh Edition, with Summer, Misty and Alex attending the performance in support. After Angel rejects the advances of her bandmate, Jay, he tells the talent scouts that Seventh Edition is going to be an all-male band. Angel’s other band mate, Matt, threatens to quit over Jay’s treatment of Angel but she stops him, wishing Jay luck in finding a replacement.

Angel visits Will Benedict, as he wants to discuss her links to the UK music scene, as he is trying to locate his soulfinder from Amsterdam. His souldfinder’s movements coincide with music concerts by the band Gifted, leading them to think that she is part of the band’s entourage. He asks Angel to rejoin her band and help him find her, after Zed has a vision of Angel playing at the Rockport music festival, where Gifted is set to perform.

Angel has to beg Jay to let her back into the band, later travelling to the music festival with Will, Summer, Misty and Alex. Angel meets with other bands, attempting to find Will’s soulfinder. Summer suggests that the band name Gifted could imply that the group are savants hiding in plain sight. Misty spots Eli Davis at the festival, meaning the group choose to not talk telepathically, in case he uses a device to detect their messages.

When meeting Gifted, Angel is introduced to tour manager, Margot Derkx, who Angel believes is Will’s soulfinder. Believing Davis to be a threat, Angel gives Margot Will’s phone number so they can possibly connect and discuss security threats. Will and Margot are soulfinders. After attempting to telepathically connect with Marcus, a member of Gifted’s support act, Angel is nearly kidnapped by Davis. She telepathically calls out to Marcus again, who hears and saves her. Angel attempts to explain how soulfinders work to Marcus, but he refuses to respond telepathically and says he does not want a serious relationship with her at first. Eventually he believes her explanation and they decide to date.

Angel is kidnapped again after being tricked by Jennifer, the band’s photographer, who is working with Davis. She is placed into a shipping container and left to drown or risk exposing her gift of controlling water. Angel manages to contact Marcus who, together with the Benedicts, rescues her. Angel can tell that Marcus is unsure whether he wants to be a savant, so Angel returns home with Summer after the incident. Angel receives a record deal with her band, which the record company want to rename Angel Dares.

Since she was not able to perform with them at the festival, Gifted ask Angel to perform the song they collaborated on at the O2 arena. Gifted also ask Marcus to join them, who dedicates the song to her, kissing her on stage at the end of the performance. When they return for a press conference, Davis is present and later arrested by the Benedicts for phone hacking. The group attends an after-party to celebrate.

Burning Yves (2015)[edit]

After graduating from Wrickenridge High, Yves Benedict travels to London with his brothers, Victor and Xav. During the flight, Yves questions Victor about what he is trying to achieve in London. Victor tells him that they hope to arrest a group of savant crime lords, who have reportedly arranged to meet. The following day, Yves goes on a tour of the London 2012 Olympic Stadium as part of his conference on environmental issues. On the tour, he struggles to concentrate and becomes suspicious of a girl he believes does not belong in their group - Phoenix Corrigan.

After receiving many of Victor’s mind strikes, he is able to identify a savant mind attack. During the attack he is aware that the strange girl is trying to steal from him. Yves believes that this is a professional robbery, as he is carrying new technology he has been testing for Apple and the Savant Net. To prevent the thief from escaping with the devices, he uses his gift to set them on fire. Later that evening, Yves tells his brothers what had happened. Victor asks for a description of the girl, but he finds no matches for her in his list of suspected savant criminals.

Yves returns to the conference the next day and struggles to concentrate on his lecture. As he suffered from the same symptom before the previous attack, he believes the thief is present. When the mind freezing gift is used on him again he fights against it, telepathically asking the thief of her motives. The message causes the Phoenix to lose her control over him, so Yves chases after her. They talk telepathically, leading him to realise that they are soulfinders. He sees the burn on her arm from their previous meeting, and tries to convince her to go to a hospital. When she refuses, he takes her to meet his brother Xav, so that he can use his healing gift on her. He makes a promise to himself that if Phoenix ever runs away again, he will have to steal her back.

Summer Shadows (2016)[edit]

The Blue Mosque, Mazar-e-Sharif, Afghanistan. In Summer Shadows, Summer Whelan admires the building.

Victor Benedict travels to Afghanistan to find his soulfinder. Summer uses her savant mind shadowing gift to help the Benedict family search for him, after having convinced her father to let her go. She is reluctant to leave her mother, who has the gift to drain the emotions of others.

She meets with the Benedicts, and is introduced to the Robinson brothers, Hal, Lucas and Scott, who work as undercover savant special forces. Hal Robinson states that he is not a savant, but Summer is suspicious as she is unable to mind shadow him.

After having landed in Mazar-e-Sharif, they are taken in for questioning, but Summer and Hal are allowed to travel to the hotel as they are underage. They begin searching for the Batrician crown, after Summer had seen the artefact in the minds the immigration officers. They find that Atoosa Nawabi was given a prison sentence for its theft, but she had since escaped prison.

Summer connects to Victor using her telepathic abilities, tracking his mind signature to find his location. He arrives at the hotel to announce that Atoosa is his soulfinder and that she has been framed. The Robinson brothers try and take Victor back to America for questioning but he refuses. Summer uses her mind control on Hal to prevent the Robinson brothers from following them, which allows her to discover that Hal is her soulfinder and has the gift of shielding.

The group collects Atoosa and escape on her uncle’s plane, where Trace uses his object tracking gift and finds a trail of the crown in the plane, believing it had been transported to Singapore. After landing, Trace is unable to locate the specific location of the crown; Atoosa realises that it must be travelling on a yacht. Summer remains at the hotel when the Benedicts go to investigate the yacht as her gift is not needed.

Hal visits Summer to apologise, which allows her to explain that Hal is a savant, and that they are soulfinders. This makes him angry and confused. Before Summer is able to explain she plans to leave the savant community, they are knocked unconscious by sleeping gas.

Summer and Hal awaken on a yacht, imprisoned after having been mistaken for Atoosa and Victor. Summer uses her telepathy to contact Victor, who reveals that Ivan Chong, known as Mr. Singapore, is responsible for their kidnapping and has the crown. After he introduces himself, Chong realises that their identities have been mistaken. Hal is left on an uninhabited island, and Summer is recruited to replace the role he had planned for Atoosa.

To encourage her to accept his plan to raid an American base, Chong offers to rescue Hal. Along with a team of other savants, Summer is tasked to help them break into the base, using her gift to get past security. She later realises that the island is a savant prison, and that their task is helping people to escape.

Summer is able to contact Victor to reveal what she has been tasked with and to warn him not to come to island. Chong demands Victor in return for Summer, although he has no intention of handing her over. Believing Victor to be a disgraced agent after having escaped from the Robinson brothers, Chong assures the savant prisoners that he will come alone.

When Victor arrives with company a fight breaks out, ending in a ceasefire, as many had been wounded. In later peace negotiations, Victor reveals that the Robinsons had managed to get his actions approved by the American government. After the arrival of the special forces, the prisoners that had escaped are captured again, overlooked by Victor and Atoosa.

After everyone returns home, Summer and Hal realise that they can combine their gifts to help contain her mother’s addiction. As her mother is returned to a stable condition, Summer is allowed to apply for the university she had chosen. Hal offers to stay with her in the place she decided, as he and his brothers can relocate.

Teasing Xav (2016)[edit]

Attending the Colorado Ski Championships, 14 year old Xavier Benedict meets fellow contestant Neil Traveller. They are matched throughout the competition, comparing themselves to the Green Goblin and Spider-Man because of the colour of their ski wear. Xav wins the slalom with Neil coming in second. In the downhill final, Xav does not perform to the best of his gift, but still manages to produce the fastest time so far throughout the competition.

Waiting for Neil, Xav confesses to his brother, Trace Benedict, that he thinks something bad is about to happen. As Neil crosses the finish line, he loses his balance and crashes into the boarders, finishing with the overall fastest time. Neil is taken to hospital and Xav identifies two breaks in the leg and spine using his gift. Xav confesses to his brother that he feels useless being unable to help people with his gift, leading Trace to suggests that he trains to be a doctor when he is older.

Xav visits Neil in the hospital, before receiving the news that he is paralysed. Becoming upset, Xav offers to help heal his friend using his gift, but loses control of his healing gift and almost kills himself. The attempt to heal Neil is successful, so Trace quickly takes Xav home to recover and to avoid any questioning at the hospital.

Five years later, Xav is helping Trace organise an international savant conference, but secretly hopes he will find his soulfinder on the list of people attending. Trace phone calls him to ask for his help, and he agrees to meet him as he has just finished volunteering at the hospital. His brother introduces Xav to Diamond Brook, who has just discovered is his soulfinder, then asking Xav to help her sister who needs medical attention.

Xav attempts to help Crystal Brook using his healing gift, but it makes her feel sick, causing her to throw them out of her hotel room. Diamond informs the brothers about their family, and of how their father died on Crystal’s 18th birthday, revealing that she has not recovered since. Xav is also disappointed to learn that Crystal’s gift prevents her from communicating telepathically, as he wanted to test the soulfinder bond with her. Xav leaves and notices an interview with Neil Traveller, who thanks Spider-Man for helping him be where he is today.

Xav decides that Crystal is avoiding him, but is unable to do anything as he is working at the hospital. When Diamond asks him to take Crystal to the airport, he is pleased as he wants them to try communicating telepathically. When they arrive at the airport, they attempt communicating, but have to stop after Crystal is nearly sick. When engaging in telepathy, Xav notices that there was something wrong with Crystal’s head, recommending that she should go and see a doctor that knows about savants. Worried about her head injury, he asks her for an update when she has been seen by a doctor. Unsure if she will actually book an appointment, he hopes to get out to Venice as soon as possible so that he can check her condition.

Major characters[edit]

The Benedicts[edit]

Zed Benedict
Gift: Seeing into the future
Soulfinder: Sky Bright

Zed Benedict is the youngest son of Saul and Karla Benedict. As the seventh son, he also inherited part of his brothers’ gifts, as well as receiving his own gift of seeing into the future. He discovers his soulfinder, Sky Bright, when trying to telepathically guide her into saving a goal. He has a reputation of being a bad boy at Wrickenridge High.

Yves Benedict
Gift: Controlling energy
Soulfinder: Phoenix Corrigan

Yves Benedict is the second youngest son of the Saul and Karla Benedict and is described to be the brainiest of the Benedict brothers. He meets his soulfinder, Phoenix Corrigan, when she uses her gift to steal from him, on behalf of the Seer.

Xavier "Xav" Benedict
Gift: Healing
Soulfinder: Crystal Brook

Xavier Benedict is the third youngest son, whose gift for healing led him to study to be a doctor. Nicknamed Xav, he identifies with his soulfinder, Crystal Brook, when his eldest brother, Trace Benedict, connects with her sister, Diamond Brook.

Will Benedict
Gift: Sensing danger
Soulfinder: Margot Derkx

Will Benedict is the fourth youngest Benedict brother and his gift for sensing danger caused him to choose a career in personal security. Crystal Brook locates and identifies his soulfinder, Margot Derkx, using her gift of soulseeking. Will recruits the help of Angel Campbell to help him find his soulfinder, who goes undercover at the Rockport Music Festival, eventually bringing the pair together.

Victor Benedict
Gift: Using mind gifts
Soulfinder: Atoosa Nawabi

Victor Benedict is the third eldest Benedict brother and works for the FBI. Crystal Brook locates that his soulfinder, Atoosa Nawabi, is in Afghanistan by using her gift of soulseeking. Victor travels to Afghanistan to find her, eventually breaking her out of prison and clearing her of any criminal charges.

Uriel Benedict
Gift: Seeing into the past
Soulfinder: Tarryn Coetzee

Uriel Benedict is the second eldest of Saul and Karla Benedict. Working as a forensic scientist, he often helps out his brother, Victor Benedict, with any savant related investigations. He finds his soulfinder, Tarryn Coetzee, with the help of Crystal Brook.

Trace Benedict
Gift: Tracking where an object has been through touch
Soulfinder: Diamond Brook

Trace Benedict is the eldest of the seven Benedict brothers. While working as a police officer in Denver, Colorado, Trace finds his soulfinder, Diamond Brook, after having rescued her from being mugged.

Saul Benedict
Gift: Sensing danger
Soulfinder: Karla Benedict

Saul Benedict is the father of the Benedict brothers. He is part of the Ute tribe and found his soulfinder, Karla Benedict, with the help of a tribe member's gift for finding. Saul and Karla operate a ski lift and white-water rafting school in the town of Wrickenridge, Colorado.

Karla Benedict
Gift: Seeing into the future
Soulfinder: Saul Benedict

Karla Benedict is the mother of the Benedict brothers. She helps run the white-water rafting school in Wrickenridge, with her husband Saul. She is a skiing instructor in the winter months. As part of her and Saul’s combined gift, they can maintain a guard/shield around their house

Soulfinders[edit]

Sky Bright
Gift: Seeing emotions as colours
Soulfinder: Zed Benedict

Having been abandoned at a service station as a child, Sky Bright does not recall anything about her past. She moves to the small town of Wrickenridge with her adoptive parents as a teenager, later meeting her soulfinder, Zed Benedict, at Wrickenridge High.

Phoenix Corrigan
Gift: Freezing mental patterns
Soulfinder: Yves Benedict

When Phoenix first encountered her soulfinder, Yves Benedict, she was a resident at the Community. Ran by the Seer, who controlled those who lived at the Community with his mind manipulating gifts, she tried to protect the Benedict family by running away from Yves and his brother Xav Benedict.

Diamond Brook
Gift: Peace making
Soulfinder: Trace Benedict

When visiting Denver with her sister, Crystal Brook, Diamond is attacked and stolen from. After having been saved by police officer Trace Benedict, she realises that he is her soulfinder, after she hears him speaking to her mentally.

Crystal Brook
Gift: Soulseeking
Soulfinder: Xavier Benedict

The sister of Diamond Brook, Crystal Brook is introduced to the Benedict family after her sister discovers that Trace Benedict is her soulfinder. Her savant gift prevents her from communicating telepathically, leaving her unable to discover that Xav Benedict is her soulfinder, until a psychic attack breaks through the barriers of her gift.

Margot Derkx
Gift: Sensing peoples' souls through sound
Soulfinder: Will Benedict

Margot is the tour manager for the band Gifted, who her half brother, Kurt Voss, is the lead singer of. She is introduced to her soulfinder, Will Benedict, through the help of Angel Campbell at the Rockport Music Festival.

Atoosa Nawabi
Gift: Puzzle solving
Soulfinder: Victor Benedict

Atoosa Nawabi is a museum curator from Afghanistan and has a PhD in the Art of Central Asia. Before her first exhibition, she is framed for robbery and sentenced to 10 years in prison. She is broken out of prison by her soulfinder, Victor Benedict, after nearly two years and together they clear her name.

Tarryn Coetzee
Gift: Seeing people's fates
Soulfinder: Uriel Benedict

Tarryn Coetzee was a history teacher in Cape Town, South Africa, before moving to Colorado to be with her soulfinder, Uriel Benedict. She struggles in the savant community as she finds her gift to be unpleasant. However, combining her gifts with Uriel’s allows them to bring back someone who is close to death.

Other Savants[edit]

Misty Devon
Gift: Lie detecting
Soulfinder: Alex du Plessis

Described as being accident prone, Misty Devon's gift of lie detecting means she must tell the truth. This affects her communication with the other characters, who describe her as being blunt. Initially she does not get on with her soulfinder, Alex Du Plessis, as his gift of persuasion clashes with her lie detecting.

Alex Du Plessis
Gift: Using persuasion
Soulfinder: Misty Devon

Alex Du Plessis is abandoned by his parents after his savant gift of persuasion began to manifest itself. Having spent the majority of his childhood in the care system, he later achieves a scholarship to the highly regarded International College in Cape Town, South Africa, where he meets Tarynn Coetzee. Having been introduced to his soulfinder, Misty Devon, when she is accompanying Uriel Benedict on a search to find his soulfinder, the two struggle to get along at first. When Alex visits Cambridge for a debating competition, he discovers that they are soulfinders.

Angel Campbell
Gift: Controlling water
Soulfinder: Marcus Cohen

Described by the other characters as outgoing, Angel Campbell performs at the Rockport Music Festival to help Will Benedict find his soulfinder. During her investigation at the music festival, she discovers her soulfinder is Marcus Cohen, another musician performing at the event. Angel is given a record deal and her band is renamed Angel Dares.

Marcus Cohen
Gift: Controlling music
Soulfinder: Angel Campbell

A member of the band Black Belt, a support band of Gifted, Marcus Cohen does not know he is a savant until he meets Angel Campbell at the Rockport Music Festival. He is initially unsure that he wants to be a savant, rejecting his soulfinder, but eventually he accepts her and the other savants.

Summer Whelan
Gift: Mind shadowing and mind controlling
Soulfinder: Hal Robinson

Summer Whelan has a private home life, as her mother is an emotion vampire, a gift frowned upon in the savant community. She vows to turn away from the savant life after having helped rescue Victor Benedict, but on the trip she meets her soulfinder, Hal Robinson. They discover that by combining their gifts they can help save Summer's mother and brother, being able to block the negative aspects of any savant gift.

Hal Robinson
Gift: Absorbing savant gifts
Soulfinder: Summer Whelan

Hal Robinson is part of a special unit of the military, working on behalf of the savant world. He works alongside his two older brothers, Scott and Lucas, who are also savants. Hal is not identified as a savant until Summer mind controls him and discovers that she is his soulfinder, due to the nature of Hal’s savant gift.

Setting[edit]

Finding Sky (2010)

In researching the setting of Finding Sky, author Joss Stirling shared the experiences of her characters, travelling to the Rockies, going white-water rafting and experiencing the atmosphere of Las Vegas.[5] Additionally, on Stirling's Goodreads page, Wrickenridge is listed as another one of her influences from when she was writing the Benedict-Savant novel series.[6]

Stealing Phoenix (2011)

Joss Stirling associates the setting of Stealing Phoenix to her childhood, as she had been raised in London, England.[1] Within the second novel of the series, the specific location of the London Olympic stadium is given, as the first meeting place of Yves Benedict and his soulfinder, Phoenix Corrigan.[7]

Seeking Crystal (2012)

The third novel of the series, Seeking Crystal, is set in the city of Venice. Described by Joss Stirling as being the most romantic city in the world,[1] the atmosphere inspired the relationship of Xavier Benedict and his soulfinder, Crystal Brook.

Misty Falls (2014)

This novel is largely set in Cape Town, South Africa. Specifically, Joss Stirling writes about the Zwaanswyck district and Table Mountain, accrediting the region to having one of the best climates in the world.[8] Located in Western Cape, the Zwaanswyck district is a residential suburb, situated at the bottom of the Constantiaberg mountain.[9]

Angel Dares (2015)

The novel Angel Dares begins in London, home of the character Angel Campbell. The novel is largely set at the Rockport Music Festival in Brighouse-by-Sea, a fictional town set in the south coast of England.[10]

Summer Shadows (2016)

The sixth novel in the series, Summer Shadows, is set in the city of Mazar-e-Sharif, located in Afghanistan. Joss Stirling uses the historic landmark of the Blue Mosque in her novel.[11]

Awards and nominations[edit]

Reception[edit]

The debut novel in the series, Finding Sky, was praised by The Guardian for its strong female protagonists, in addition to its combining of the genres of fantasy, romance and action.[16] However, Leanna Elle from Daisy Chain Book Reviews commented that the book "may be a little lacking in the crossover appeal that many young adult books have nowadays".[17]

The locations that Stirling uses in her novels have also been praised, as in regard to Stealing Phoenix, one reviewer remarked that it was refreshing "to read a story that weaves in places you know".[18]

Seeking Crystal has been described in Girl! Reporter as "a great YA novel, with a little bit of everything", having "likeable characters" and "an intriguing plot".[19] They further comment that the fourth book in the series, Misty Falls, manages to seamlessly combine a "love story and a murder mystery".[20]

Readers of Angel Dares had conflicting opinions about the character Marcus Cohen. The reviewer Hannah Broc, from Broc's Bookcase, commented that Marcus was "harder to like" in comparison to Stirling's previous male protagonists. However, it was also stated that the difficult relationship, between Marcus and Angel Campbell, made this book "stand out from the others in the series".[21]

The final instalment in the series, Summer Shadows, was commended as being the "perfect ending to the series".[22]

References[edit]

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Golding, Julia (5 May 2019). "A Writers Gateway: Finding Sky". Golding Gateway. Retrieved 16 May 2019.
  2. "Benedict series Wiki". Fandom. 16 May 2019. Retrieved 16 May 2019.
  3. Golding, Julia (17 April 2019). "One author, three names". Golding Gateway. Retrieved 16 May 2019.
  4. "Joss Stirling". Oxford University Press. 2 April 2019. Retrieved 16 May 2019.
  5. "Joss Stirling - Author". Love Reading 4 Kids. 5 May 2019. Retrieved 16 May 2019.
  6. Golding, Julia (5 May 2019). "Joss Stirling". Goodreads. Retrieved 16 May 2019.
  7. Stirling, Joss (2012). Stealing Phoenix. Oxford & New York: Oxford University Press. p. 1. ISBN 978-0-19-275660-2. Search this book on
  8. Stirling, Joss (2014). Misty Falls. Oxford & New York: Oxford University Press. p. 16. Search this book on
  9. "Life in Zwaanswyck". Seeff. 20 March 2018.
  10. Stirling, Joss (2015). Angel Dares. Oxford & New York: Oxford University Press. Search this book on
  11. Stirling, Joss (2016). Summer Shadows. Oxford & New York: Oxford University Press. p. 83. Search this book on
  12. "Book awards: German Youth Literature Prize Shortlist". Library Thing. 2013. Retrieved 16 May 2019.
  13. Stirling, Joss (16 April 2019). "Joss Stirling's Blog, Page 2". Good Reads. Retrieved 16 May 2019.
  14. "'Struck' first YA novel to win UK Romantic Novel of the Year". Books and Publishing. 17 March 2015. Retrieved 16 May 2019.
  15. "2016 Romantic Novel of the Year Awards- the shortlists". Romantic Novelists Association. 9 February 2016. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
  16. "Finding Sky by Joss Stirling - review". The Guardian. 7 December 2014. Retrieved 16 May 2019.
  17. Elle, Leanna (8 October 2010). "Book Review: Finding Sky by Joss Stirling". Daisy Chain Book Reviews. Retrieved 16 May 2019.
  18. "Stealing Phoenix - Book Review". Whispering Words. 2 December 2013. Retrieved 16 May 2019.
  19. Medway, Sarah (7 November 2013). "Book review: Seeking Crystal by Joss Stirling". Girl! Reporter. Retrieved 16 May 2019.
  20. "Review: Misty Falls by Joss Stirling". 30 October 2014. Retrieved 16 May 2019.
  21. Broc, Hannah (26 October 2016). "Review: "Angel Dares" – Joss Stirling". Retrieved 16 May 2019.
  22. "Review: Summer Shadows". Reality's A Bore. 23 August 2016. Retrieved 16 May 2019.

External links[edit]


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