I loved "Omens" and was on pins and needles waiting for this one. I wanted answers to so many questions and happily we start to get them in this book. I loved that Armstrong didn't dole out the answers but made us work for them; we learned as Olivia learned. More than once, I had to look up references to Welsh mythology or used Welsh words (or I could have waited as Armstrong does provide answers but I was happy to look up instead of reading a few more pages). 
 I was talking with Steph about this book and said I thought it had a lot in common with her Otherworld books. Steph's reply? "Nope, these are freaking weird" and they are, but in a good way. It's our world but slightly twisted. How are the Cainsville books like the Otherworld books? Their use of mythology, mysteries, three dimensional characters, no easy answers, and lots of gray. Very little, including the characters, are all black or all white, all evil or all good. It's about the choices we make, the choices that others make for us, and the consequences of those choices. 
 While the story of Olivia's biological parents makes little forward motion, other story lines do - Olivia's growth, the relationship between Olivia and Ricky, the relationship between Olivia and James, the relationship between Olivia and Ricky, the truth about Cainsville and it's elders, etc. "Visions" is less action driven and more character and story driven but we do get some action, as well as romance and mystery and a healthy does of creepiness. The Cainsville books just may be Armstrong's best work to date.