I thought the first half of the book was utterly brilliant! Erlick conjures a terrific -and completely immersive-narrative.
I love that Erlick didn’t get sucked down the rabbit hole of ‘how’. She’s skillful enough to continue to whet our interest, without allowing us to dig and destroy a beautiful mystery. It was shaping up to be a 5 star read.
But then…
The second half of the book seemed to lose its way. It included a great deal of what I would call ‘filler’. It’s as if the book was this terrific novella or short story, but then padded it up for publication as a novel. About 150 pages less would have been perfection.
The romances, which in the first half are sweetly believable, quickly become contrived. The characters lose their substance, suddenly behaving woodenly, with none of the depth to which we were initially privy. Erlick seems to becomes confused and can’t figure out where to take us, so we are dragged to endless protests. Even a tragic event at one of these can’t save the reader. The motivation behind this tragedy could have been a fantastic story within itself, but Erlick lets it drop in order to take us to, well, more protests. There were some beautiful opportunities to celebrate the characters through their wins and losses. Instead, I felt I was rushed through the rest of their lives, be they short or long.
I do think this is a novel that young adults who enjoy the existential will devour, and rightly so. The problems aren’t insurmountable. In my opinion, it was more about missed opportunities and the ‘filler’, which chips away at the perfectly executed beginning. By the end, I’d almost forgotten what I loved about the book.
That being said, I was starting to feel trapped a literary desert in terms of fiction. Erlick provided a plot and characters that made for a a thrilling escape. So, for that, I’m grateful.
Marisa Suesz
Amy Shook