Everything Else

Review of Human

Human is the second book in Karen Diem’s Arca series about cancer-survivor heroes with multiple superhuman abilities. The first book, Super, was an action-adventure origin story that I reviewed (Super). As I picked up the second book in the series, I wondered where the author might go next. Would it be a noir, gritty, true-crime approach ala Batman? Or would it be a science slip-up with more over-the-top villains ala Spider-Man? The cover of Human favors the first approach but the initial novel followed a lighter tone.

Turns out it’s neither. Human is the sort of pulpy superhero tale you’d expect from Doc Savage or Domino Lady. Many two-fisted fights (and a lot of capoeira moves) are found within its pages. Superpowers that look like magic are magic—no explanation necessary. Add in a powerful artifact that could change the world and you have something at home in Weird Tales with a modern sensibility.

But it’s a mistake to think this is only a pulp novel. Zita Garcia, our shapeshifter and teleporter, is back with more sass and impetuousness, and she’s accompanied by her friends Ellynwyn Diamond (“Wyn”) and Andrew Cristovano. Zita is a hoot; it’s hard not to root for her. One part “fools rush in,” one part battle technician, and one part team jester (i.e. her comeback after being called a bitch by the big bad remains my favorite), Zita is all-parts action. Her friends, Andy and Wyn, are more than a little put-out by her impetuous nature. While Andy is a little less developed in this sequel, Wyn is a strong supporting character. And she gets the best joke award correcting Zita’s grammar at the end of chapter nine—I’m not giving that one away.

Zita, Wyn, and Andy are growing as a team and learning their roles in their superhero triad. Many arguments ensue between Zita and Wyn in particular as well as a few dark revelations in each character’s past which has shaped them into the women they are today. The relationship unfolds naturally until it comes to a head at the worst possible moment. The timing is what makes the novel so fun.

While I found I had to reread a few passages, the writing in this sequel has improved. For example, Wyn’s healing powers aren’t the typical glowy hands depicted in most novels. Instead we read “Stained with black and red, the silver yarn uncoiled…floating in midair…Wyn made a gesture as if rolling them up, and all the strands balled up. Silver battered through and encased the black and red, and then the ball dissipated like mist.” Nice.

Filled with action sequences, snarky conversations, and perturnatural objects, I found Human slightly better than its predecessor. While some subplots didn’t develop as much as I would’ve liked—Zita’s job offer comes to mind—the narrative does a nice job of interspersing the plot-heavy and character development chapters. The villains are also more interesting (long live the Squirrel King) than the bad guys of the first novel, and I hope some return in an upcoming offering.

So put on your mask and disguise your voice, it’s bam-pow-biff time again.

Everything Else

Fairy Tale Retellings and Kingdom

Recently, a friend told me she wasn’t going to read my novel because she didn’t read fairy tale retellings. I had no response. After that encounter, I thought about her statement for a long time. I’ve never thought of my books as retellings. I often pitch them as a fairytale characters in a Dungeons and Dragons setting. The D&D idea came first— the fairytale characters later.

I have nothing against retellings and I’ve read quite a few good ones (recommendations at the end of the blog post). I’ve tried to keep my fairytale characters fairly true to their origins (Grimm, Perrault, Andersen). Again, I wanted to see how the original characters worked within a high fantasy setting, how a character like Cinderella would handle an overthrow of an evil monarch, or how Snow White would react to dangerous, mythical creatures. These ideas were my original inspiration.

So is it a retelling? In the first book Kingdom Come, we often start at the end or near the end of the original fairy tale. Technically, some parts of the original story are retold but in a fashion suited for my world. And I say in the novel that the “truth” versus the “story” may not match. For good or bad, the differences from the traditional story are all mine to suit my themes and narrative.

You may ask “What about a genderbender, or LGBQT+ retelling, different POV, different setting?” I have nothing against any of these types of stories, but “switching it up” isn’t my purpose. I’m not interested in writing how a male Snow White would handle becoming king, or how a lesbian Sleeping Beauty would fall in love with another woman. With regards to POV, they’re often told from the antagonist’s perspective which will make them a bit sympathetic, but the villain remain mired in their dirty deeds and usually the fairytale characters haven’t done enough to warrant their animosity, or the original “good” characters are so evil they don’t resemble their source material.

I’m partial to the Grimm stories and keeping the characters true to their origins. “How trite?” you say. “We’ve thoroughly explored these shallow characters?” I would disagree.

These stories have existed for centuries. Not decades or mere years, but centuries! Time is the best judge of whether an art form lasts. I often wonder…is the Mona Lisa good because we as a generation think it’s a masterpiece, or because we were told it was? I think the former. It continues to be judged by time and come out on top.

Fairy tales have lasted for centuries. Even Tolkien’s stories haven’t lasted as long (“Blasphemy!” I hear). They’ve persevered this long because they connect to people generation after generation. Why does this generation feel they are tired and old-fashioned? I think the answer lies in our ability to watch something like “The Little Mermaid” over and over again. It’s a blessing and a curse and the “curse” part is a shame. But that’s where an author injects a bit of imagination and suddenly the story comes alive in a thrilling new way. Unlike my friend who doesn’t read retellings, most of my readers haven’t used the term “retelling” with my stories. I myself would call it a “continuation” story. I’ve often compared my novel to the second act in the play Into the Woods, another continuation story.

Kingdom is a fairytale world populated by the fairytale characters. I want my Cinderella to ride wyverns, my Snow White to face an angry mob of elves unfairly treated by the dwarfs, my Little Mermaid to assist my Little Match Girl find her true love. I’m excited to share these stories with you and I hope you’ll join me on this journey…a journey where the ending is not necessarily known before you reach the final page. I’ll throw some curveballs before you reach the “happy ending,” which, in my stories, are usually bittersweet. But at the end, I hope I’ve stayed true to the characters you grew up with and loved.

For my five fairytale queens, here’s a list of great retellings and other stories about these characters.

Snow White: Winter by Marissa Meyer [retelling and continuation], A Darkness Found by TK White [prequel and different POV], Snow White (Timeless Fairy Tales Book 11) by K.M. Shea [retelling], A Dream of Ebony and White: A Retelling of Snow White by Melanie Cellier [retelling], Six-Gun Snow White by Catherynne M. Valente [retelling, different setting – Wild West], Snow White: A Graphic Novel by Matt Phelan [retelling, different setting – 1920/1930s], The Shadow Queen by C.J. Redwine [retelling], Fairest by Gail Carson Levine [MG retelling], and many, many more.

Snow White / Rose Red: Happily Ever Afters: A Reimagining of Snow White and Rose Red by Melanie Cellier [retelling], Snow White and Rose Red: The Curse of the Huntsman by Lilly Fang [retelling], and more.

Cinderella: Cinder by Marissa Meyer [retelling and continuation], All the Ever Afters by Danielle Teller [different POV], Sinful Cinderella (Dark Fairy Tale Queen Series) by Anita Valle [different POV], End of Ever After: A Cinderella Retelling by E.L. Tenenbaum [retelling and continuation], Wagon Train Cinderella by Shirley Kennedy [different setting], and many, many more. Probably the most retold story of all fairytales.

The Little Match Girl: Matchless by Gregory Maguire [different POV and setting], The Little Match Girl (Cyberpunk Fairy Tale) by George Saoulidis [retelling], and others (including zombie Match Girl and Match Girl meets Scrooge!).

The Marsh King’s Daughter: The Marsh King’s Daughter by Karen Dionne [shares title and themes, but not truly related].

Penta: None that I could find!

Everything Else

Review of Rebirth: Havok Season One

Front Cover of Rebirth

You may notice that the “k” is flipped around on “Havok” on the cover of the anthology Rebirth: Havok Season One. I can’t make the “k” flip around without drawing it, so you’ll have to put up with my misspelling of the title. Rebirth is a compilation of flash fiction (primarily) of fantasy and science fiction. Reviewing a novel where each story is unique and written by different authors is no small order. It’s a challenge to evaluate a book of short fiction by the same author let alone one written by multiple authors.

Inevitably, a rating of a book of this nature won’t be the highest or the lowest. Some stories are spectacular, others are so-so. Some genres and storylines in Rebirth I could read all day long, and those stories receive applause and accolades.

Allow me to explain how I reviewed Rebirth. After reading each story, I rated it one to ten with ten being “the best.” The average of these stories, rounded up, is seven. I would describe a seven as “very glad I read it.” Therefore I believe a reader of scifi and fantasy will enjoy a large majority of these stories.

Two stories about Words, including Words.

There are so many tales I can’t put them all in this review so I’ll hit the highlights. Certainly one of the best stories in the collection is If These Walls Could Talk. A fantastic blend of language, atmosphere, and voice, this story would stand out in any anthology. Kudos to author J. L. Knight. Another great corner of this novel is Words, a fascinating, well-executed concept. This story, authored by Katherine Vinson, has a twist at the end that I didn’t see coming (shame on me) but absolutely admired. Words would make a terrific novel. Every Drop of Soul is another clever entry that I enjoyed quite a bit. Lila Kims’ tale of two incongruous characters who meet under mysterious circumstances will remain with me for a long time. I went back and read it with a new perspective. And then there’s Ghost of the Golf Course. Both spooky and hilarious at the same time, Kristiana Y. Sfirlea’s gem of a story does what Richard Matheson did so well…put horror & humor in your backyard. This story reminded me why I like short fiction. Don’t miss this one!

Ghost of the Golf Course by Kristiana Sfirlea / Art by Daniel Johnson

More honorable mentions include A Symphony of Words (Kerry Nietz), Window (Carie Juettner), The Devil Went Down to Costco (Stephanie Scissom), Humdinger’s Army (A. C. Williams), and Life Cycle 63 (Just B. Jordan). All of these stories were well-written with fresh ideas. Who would’ve thought you could get so much mileage out of combat training or a grocery store line?

If I haven’t mentioned the other stories, it doesn’t mean I didn’t like them. It’s more about the quantity of stories (48!) than the quality. There’s not enough space in the review to discuss mysterious bridges, games coming to life, or bizarre circuses. I’m sure readers will eat this anthology up, and for my friends who tell me “they can’t read anymore because they can’t focus,” I plan to hand them this book. A great series of short fiction, Rebirth will have you up reading late into the night.

Now, I’m off to figure out how to turn around that darn K.

Everything Else

Review of Odin Inheritance

The Odin Inheritance by Victoria L. Scott is a steampunk, urban fantasy set in Cambridge, England and centered on a young lady named Ariana Trevelyan. She’s a college student, a tinkerer, and an expert dart-thrower. A game of darts opens the book—a skill Ariana has recently acquired. While she’s worked hard to overcome prejudices at her school, she’s not allowed to graduate because of her sex. In contrast to expectations society has about her gender, her skill with darts bests all her opponent at the pub.

Ariana wins a game and acquires much needed funds for equipping the airship Bosch. The crew are all friends, and she, with her talents as a mathematician, assumes the role of navigator. Studying for the Mathematics Tripos, boarding with her friends at Towson Hall, and spending free time with her airship crew are what Ariana enjoys the most. It’s not until she has an encounter in the library with a mysterious German that her life spins into a whirlwind and secrets of her past are revealed.

In the first half of the book alone, the reader is confronted with a mysterious new addition to the Bosch’s crew, a strange assault on her journey back to school, a visit from her eccentric-yet-wise Aunt Miranda, secret organizations with multiple agendas, a raven with hidden talents, and a dangerous doctor visit. The second half of Scott’s 500 page novel has still more adventure as well as surprising revelations. This particular book concludes with a definitive ending though it leaves open the possibility of more adventures in the future.

While I like steampunk, I haven’t read a lot of novels in this genre. It took awhile for me to get absorbed into Ariana’s world at first, but when the “rules” started coming into focus, I really enjoyed it. I wanted to know more and more, but every time Ariana asked someone to explain what was going on, her sources would only tease information rather than tell her. Frustrating at first, once a character explains why Arianna is important to this supernatural world, the book really took off.

Without giving away too much, a test near the end of the book where Arianna meets her sponsor (for lack of a spoiler word) was a satisfying and unexpected twist. I was surprised and pleased by her answer to that character and enjoyed how the author wove together modern and ancient beliefs. In many ways, this sequence describes the book overall: Arianna’s modern enrollment into the long-held institution of college only for men and the mix of technology with magic both describe a world where both old and new can peacefully coexist.

While a long novel, the pacing is as swift as an Indiana Jones movie and I flipped pages quickly. The characters are sufficiently detailed to feel real, the ideas are fresh, and the action passages come to life in the reader’s hands. The Odin Inheritance is a fun, engaging novel, especially in the latter three-quarters of the book, and is worthy of space on any steampunk-lover’s bookshelf.

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Review The Farmed

Lisa Caskey’s The Farmed has been on my TBR list for a while so I was excited to finally read it. A YA dystopian novel set both ten years and approximately three generations in the future, The Farmed tells the story of Winnifred (Winnie) Kimball, an eighteen-year-old living in San Francisco. SanFran is more like a prison in the future than today’s version as beyond its borders people mutated by a nuclear strike roam the countryside. Inside, the poor work to support the rich. Winnie is one of the poor living with her mother and her grandmother. The novel starts with Winnie waking up strapped to a table with no memory of how she got there or why she’s being held captive.

An intriguing start leads to an exciting set of events that brings Winnie to a resistance group where she befriends a number of freedom fighters. The plot zips along as we learn more and more about how the world devolved into its current state from Winnie’s great-grandfather’s journal. At the same time, Winnie discovers she has abilities highly desired by both sides.

A lot of key elements of a YA dystopian novel are here: suspense, action, and romance. What is also present that I didn’t expect was a surprising amount of scientific detail behind the antagonists’ plot. The author did her homework (and enhanced it with imagination) of what would happen in the event of a nuclear war. Both fascinating and horrifying, it grounds the setting in reality despite the fantastic events occurring.

I was surprised how quickly I read this novel. It never lagged at any point and I stayed invested in the characters, especially Winnie. The narrative raised a few interesting questions of what it takes to survive. Our heroes aren’t devils, but they aren’t angels either, and they suffer the consequences of their decisions. Strictly speaking, an eighteen-year-old protagonist puts this out of the YA classification, but I always thought that rule was more about marketing than good story-telling. Yet there are some dark corners to The Farmed that classifies it as an upper-level YA novel.

The first installment of any series must, in my opinion, build a believable world, create an interesting hero, set up a conflict, and resolve it enough to satisfy its audience but also want to keep reading. The Farmed checked all of these boxes for me, and I’m usually tough on trilogies! I hope to pick up the next installment soon.

The Farmed on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1532743297

Lisa Caskey’s website: https://www.lisacaskeyauthor.com/

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How to Spice Up Your Villain

Professor Moriarty, Medusa, Voldemort, Big Brother, The Dust Witch, Uriah Heep, Bryce Walker, Montresor, Randall Flagg, U. N. Owen. Different characters, different genres, yet they have one thing in common. Villainy. 

Villains. In books, the characters you love to hate. Sometimes the antagonist, sometimes the protagonist. Some bent on world domination while others on revenge against one person. We turn each page hating the villain for their evil genius, their Machievellian scheming, their one-step-ahead planning, or potentially their frustration at the hero if they’re the main character.

Many writer blogs detail how to create intricate and engaging villains. They explain why it’s important to give the villain some redeeming qualities, how to make them real, and how they must relate to your hero. This blog assumes you’ve read those foundational tips. I would rather detail how to view your villains from a different perspective. This may give your villain an edge that makes them stand out. Following are four unusual tips to consider when writing your villains. And to illustrate my point, I’m going to use the characters from Dudley-Do-Right. In particular, the mustache-twirling, sneering, Snidely Whiplash as an example for each.

In case you’ve never seen a Dudley Do-Right cartoon or if it’s been a while since you’ve seen one, here’s a recap. Dudley Do-Right is a Candian mountie who is always inadvertently foiling Snidely Whiplash’s schemes. He desires the love of the fair Nell, but she only has eyes for his horse (Horse). The unusual triangle of horse, mountie, and girl is that extra element that made this cartoon special and a worthy segment of the Rocky and Bullwinkle cartoons.

First tip. When considering the main evil trait of a villain, other blogs may advise you to emphasize one main characteristic. Is your villain power-hungry, steeped in wrath for your hero, or ambivalent to all tender emotions? This tip suggests you take a look at the seven deadly sins. Religious or not, the list is a good reference for writers in building characters. The sins are comprised of anger, pride, lust, sloth, envy, greed, and gluttony. Often, writers choose greed, pride, and wrath as the main element to build their character’s personalities around. Instead choose one not often used. How about sloth, lust or gluttony? For sloth, how is an inert villain a force to reckon with? Say you’re writing an office drama and you have a ladder climber who is notoriously lazy. Let your villain, a slothful antagonist, thwart your main character who is energetic and full of innovative ideas.

Let’s use sloth again with our foursome. What if Snidely Whiplash, despite all of his efforts, was rejected from the Royal Canadian Mounties because he was deemed “lazy.” “Lazy, am I?” says Whiplash. In his latest scheme, he decides to use the simplest of traps in the world, a covered hole, to trap Dudley, and it works! All of his other schemes are too complex, require too much effort, if only he relied on his sloth, he would have been the victor years ago.  

Another interesting approach to your villain is to upset all his/her/their carefully-laid plans. Why only frustrate your hero? Throw some chaos at both of them. The villain putting his fingertips together and saying “everything is going perfectly according to plan” is a cliche. Introduce a random element, a third party which complicates both of their actions, and watch them try to recover. Your heroes shouldn’t have to be the only ones who suffer, you know!

So a common plot of Dudley-Do Right is he kidnaps and ties Nell to train tracks. Let’s say this time he also kidnaps Horse so Dudley can’t possibly get their in time. But this time, Nell, furious that Horse was kidnapped, frees herself and punches him, storming away. Whiplash, sits up from the ground, eyeing his captive, with newfound admiration.

Still a little stale? Have you tried making your villain a hero instead to spice things up? I don’t mean you should write your story from the villain’s perspective, gaining sympathy from your reader. The villain does not become the main character in the same story. No, the villain stands in the hero’s situation at the start of the story and the plot unfolds from there. The evil queen, in all her malignant glory, is the persecuted stepdaughter to a legitimately kind Queen Snow White. Professor Moriarity, evil genius that he is, decides to become a master detective. In this case, the hero may not even be in the story.

Back to Do-Right. The scheming Whiplash has just entered the Canadian Royal Mounties and has been assigned Horse. Inducted with a clueless Dudley, he plans to climb the ladder. Is his horse on his side or not? And why does Dudley keep getting the breaks?

And if all else fails, give a thought to switching your villain for a different one. Perhaps you have one that didn’t work for a different story, or one you’ve been saving for a future novel. This is extreme but even if you write a chapter of your current story with a different villain and throw it away, it may inspire you to think twice about your current archenemy. The movie, the Avengers, does a great job pairing Loki (Thor’s villain) with Iron Man in one conversation. It’s a fresh approach to both characters.

In our continuing example, Dudley Do-Right was part of the Bullwinkle and Rocky show. What if Boris and Natasha, enemies of Bullwinkle and Rocky, became Dudley’s nemesis instead of Whiplash. Instead of “stupid moose and squirrel” you get “stupid mountie and horse.” Imagine one of Boris and Natasha’s bizarro schemes with Dudley as the hero.

Upping your game on your villain will result in better characters all around. Do you have any thoughts of how you could make your evildoers any better? If so, get to work!

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Review A Darkness Found

[Editor’s Note: Instead of our usual reviewer, the editors decided to have Snow White review A Darkness Found, a Snow White / Evil Queen retelling novella. Since there are a lot of Snow Whites around, this Snow White is she of the Grimm Fairy Tale. She read it at the end of her own fairytale while living her happily-ever-after.] 

I always wondered why my evil stepmother hated me with such venom so I was excited to read “A Darkness Found” by TK White. The cover of a clearly poisoned apple brought back many unhappy memories and so I plunged directly into the story. I found the main character, Grishelda, to be a sympathetic character, one I could root for right from page one. Imagine my surprise when I found out it was she who turned into my evil stepmother!

The poor dear is treated severely by her mother which in turn sets off the sequence of events leading to the introduction of the familiar story of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Be aware very little of my story is contained here. I believe what Ms. TK White has constructed is known as a prequel which overlaps a bit with my own tale. A Darkness Found tells how Grishelda gained her magic and the conditions under which she learned how to cast spells. I found this part of the story exciting! One of my favorite scenes is when Greshelda must break into a vault to retrieve an item. The objects in the vault are…oh, I better not continue. I think that’s what’s called a spoiler and I wouldn’t want to reveal it to you.

Full of imagination, rich characters, and interesting twists and turns, “A Darkness Found,” is a pleasurable read. When it comes to my depiction—yes, I am in it—I’ve read other stories which have treated me far worse. I guess in this modern age, it’s hard to believe in someone completely innocent, and I get my “just desserts” in the end.

I hope everyone who reads this review will consider reading the book, however the ending surprised me quite a bit. The acknowledgements explain this story is a prequel to another novel but standing on its own, it’s a fascinating conclusion, one the reader likely won’t see coming. I sincerely hope the author writes a follow-up.

Oh, do pick up “A Darkness Found” if you like twisty, fairytale adventures. I think you’ll like it. 

[Full disclosure: Snow White received a copy of the A Darkness Within (paid for by the editors, not the author) in exchange for this review.]

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Review of Eros, Inc.

What would happen if the afterlife consisted of an in-between world where the deceased went to a nine-to-five job to help the living? And what if one of these jobs assisted people in finding their perfect match? This is the premise of Eros, Inc., a short novel / novella by Matt Medlock.

The story centers around Charlie, an employee of Eros, Inc., who must make two unlikely people, Beckett Howe and Moira O’Hara, fall in love. The dilemma he faces is Moira is working two jobs and has a young daughter, Cassady. When will she have time to date Beckett let alone meet him? But Charlie is nothing but persistent and he uses all of his experience, including a frowned-upon practice of appearing in the flesh, to create dates for Beckett and Moira.

The first two acts of Eros, Inc. play out as expected with many hilarious twists and turns. The writing is first-rate which wasn’t surprising after I read the author’s stellar short story Scare Me.  He is superb at turning a metaphor into a laugh-out-loud moment. One joke where the main character has to replace a word with “fruit basket” had me in stitches (clearly my type of humor). The characters who you want to root for are likeable and the plot progresses logically from scene to scene. I really enjoyed these acts. Humorous writing is difficult to achieve but the author pulled it off.

The third act takes a sharp turn by asking some significant questions about life. The novel could’ve kept the tone the same as the first two acts, but chose instead to explore a more meaningful theme. I, for one, appreciated this change of tone, but others may not be so amenable. Charlie poses questions that shall remain unanswered this side of life.

While I thoroughly enjoyed the novel, I had a minor quibble with Moira. Throughout the book, I found Moira making decisions that I thought served the story’s purpose rather than a two-job, single mother’s, but other than that the characters (including Moira) were realistic.

If you’re looking for something humorous but with a deep, thought-provoking third act, then Eros, Inc. is a great read.

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Review of Projection

Projection, a science-fiction novel by Tabatha Shipley, has an interesting premise. What if, by embedded technology, you could project your thoughts on a screen? And what if that same technology glitched and you started showing private memories to the public?

This is the dilemma of sixteen-year-old Emma Johnson. An average girl in the near future whose largest problem is getting to History class on time finds herself in an embarrassing situation of displaying her memories, and sometimes her fantasies, in front of everyone. Before the glitch, Emma lives a normal life. She has best friends in Bella Norte and her sometimes-boyfriend Tyler. Another handsome classmate, Alex Slater, however has taken notice of her. He asks Emma out for coffee. Is it a date? Emma sure hopes so.

From there, the plot progresses into a series of mishaps I won’t explain here. Events turn serious rapidly. The malfunctioning chip under Emma’s skin is only the start of her experiences, and the story has another innovative idea concerning memories awaiting the reader later. No spoilers here.

Emma is a believable and likable person right from page one. She and Bella act and sound like teenage girls in the future. Pairing that with a great science-fiction idea set in an “average” family situation and you have an absorbing novel. While I enjoyed reading about Emma and her day-to-day struggles, the book took its time to get to the central idea. Personally, I wish the last quarter of the novel had lasted longer. I would’ve preferred a little less of Emma’s day-to-day travails and more of her adventure.

Ms. Shipley creates a near-future world that is both believable and fantastic. She sprinkles nice little details like paying for coffee with your mind or comparing two black and orange buildings as tigers through the novel. One idea that I thought was wonderful was how she uses projections to describe how others see Emma. The main character gets to see how others view her through their projections. Sometimes this doesn’t match how Emma sees herself. Very innovative!

This novel is a worthy addition to your library, and I believe a young adult reader would like it more than I did. If you like science fiction set in a world similar to the one we live in with a nice adventure near the end, you’ll want to pick up Projection.

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Review of Blaze

Blaze, a delightful new novel by Hope Bolinger, tells the story of an academic year in the lives of four students at a new academy after the school they love burns down. Danny, Michelle, Rayah, and Hannah all must find a way to adjust as they are accepted to King’s Academy tuition-free. But like all offers that are too good to be true, this one comes with a heavy price to pay.

One part adventure story, one part dystopia, and one part allegory, Blaze starts off innocently enough on a first day of school where the main character’s largest worry is dealing with a difficult teacher. From there, the day devolves into a fiery mess with our foursome wondering when they will return. Coincidentally (perhaps), Danny and his friends receive an invitation to a private academy. All four receive a free ride to the exclusive King’s Academy. They instantly decline, preferring Emmanuel, their poorer, religious-based school.

It’s not a spoiler to reveal that they all end up at King’s Academy. What first appears to be a paradise turns into the opposite as the students face terrible food, unfair athletic trials, and a gruesome hazing. And this is at the start of the school year…

Blaze is a wonderful YA novel of the trials and tribulations of four different but likeable students navigating their way through a challenging school year. While the story gets far-fetched at times, the anxieties and fears of Danny, Michelle, Rayah, and Hannah feel sincere, and the efforts the administration takes to stamp out religion in particular did not seem extraordinary. Contained within are some grotesque descriptions of every abhorrent smell possible as well as some witty writing. When Michelle makes Danny guess what another character named Jeremy (Jeremiah) texted her, he answers “Jeremiah was a bullfrog?” Or this gem “…there were plenty of things harder to like. Like taxes, death, and anything Benjamin Franklin said.”

The story is told from Danny’s point-of-view. His voice, guiding the reader through the plot, is often funny and authentic. Of the supporting friends, my guess is everyone is going to love Hannah. Her wicked sense of humor and her unique perspective are an absolute riot, especially her speeches at competitions. She’s not only funny, she provides a critical edge to the other three without overdoing it. The highest praise I can give another author is to say “I wish I had thought of that.” In Hannah’s case, I wish I had thought of her character for one of my stories.

The story concludes at a momentous scene and—without giving it away—I will have to wait for book two to see how it turns out. Clever, hopeful, well-written, and as I said at the beginning, delightful best describe what I thought of Blaze. It comes out June 2019 and is a worthy addition to any bookshelf.