2.5 stars

It was nice to have a conclusion to the overarching story, but other than that, nothing really happens in this - there's not really any character development. Also, this was very predictable.

Note: There's some profanity, including God's name used flippantly. ( )

Kaitlyn Fairchild has always felt like an outsider in her small hometown. Her haunting eyes and prophetic drawings have earned her a reputation as a witch. But Kait's not a witch: She's a psychic. Tired of being shunned, Kait accepts an invitation to attend the Zetes Institute, where she can have a fresh start and study with other psychic teens.

Learning to hone her abilities with four other gifted students, Kait discovers the intensity of her power -- and the joy of having true friends. But those friendships quickly become complicated when Kait finds herself torn between two irresistible guys. Rob is kind and athletic, and heals people with his good energy. Gabriel is aggressive and mysterious, a telepath concealing his true nature as a psychic vampire, feeding off of others' life energy. Together, Rob and Gabriel's opposing forces threaten the group's stability.

Then one of the experiments traps the five teens in a psychic link. A link that threatens their sanity and their lives. And Kaitlyn must decide whom to trust...and whom to love.

The Passion is the final entry in L.J. Smith's Dark Visions trilogy, and easily the most memorable in the series. The novel begins with the core group of teenage psychics fractured by the departure of psychic vampire Gabriel, but through quick pacing and the inclusion of several strikingly memorable scenes, Smith is able to weather the plot changes to bring the series to its riveting (if tidy) conclusion.After Gabriel deflects to the other side, choosing to leave his do-gooder friends for Dr. Zetes' coven of psychic Hot Topic patrons, heroine Kaitlyn Fairchild is left with a choice: to stay with golden boy Rob and hope for some sort of passive resolution to the conflict between these groups; or to chase after Gabriel, infiltrate the Zetes Institute, and destroy the evil crystal that gives them their power herself.She chooses the latter, of course. One thing I've admired about Smith's young adult novels as a feminist reader is the strength of her heroines. Her girls are never demure damsels-in-distress, but rather women of action. Kaitlyn, for all her beauty (and for all the boys fawn over her), is no exception. In fact, this becomes a plot point, and is a factor in her ultimate romantic choice: she realizes that Rob sees are as someone to be saved, while Gabriel respects her as an individual.Which isn't to say that Gabriel, or Smith, make this an easy choice for Kaitlyn. Upon her return to the institute, she faces many challenges--she is surrounded by a bunch of sociopaths who resent her sudden intrusion, and one of the evil psychic girls has designs on Gabriel, herself. But Smith is smart enough to let the social conflicts take a backseat to Kaitlyn's two core problems: destroying the crystal (and Zetes, in the process), and finally uniting with Gabriel.She accomplishes this in one fell swoop. In the novel's (and probably the series') most memorable sequence, Kaitlyn gets her first glimpse of what ultimately becomes of Zetes' pupils--they are transformed into disgusting, incapacitated, slug-like idiots--and she is locked away in a sensory deprivation chamber. The goal is to make Kaitlyn like one of these creatures, a pliant psychic pawn, but her psychic connection to Gabriel saves her. The passages here, where Gabriel feeds her his own memories to keep her afloat, are reminiscent of Smith's vampire series. But they're far more artfully accomplished, with a darkness underscoring them. Kaitlyn and Gabriel might be soulmates, but there's more than just the "silver thread" of Smith's other couples connecting them--there's genuine pain, both shared and individual, present in their connection, too.All of this creates a real page-turner, and one not easily forgotten. Unfortunately, the ending that follows is a little too neat. There are innumerable ways in which Smith could have disposed of her villain, but I'm not sure if one that avoids all legal and emotional ramifications for the characters was the best one. And I didn't quite buy all the new couples that were hastily forged by the conclusion so that no one was left out of the love fest. But it's a satisfying ending even if it's not a realistic one, and helps make The Passion a great read. ( )