Saints Astray (Santa Olivia, #2)

by Jacqueline Carey

Fellow orphans, amateur vigilantes and members of the Santitos, the Little Saints of Santa Olivia, Loup Garron and Pilar Ecchevarria spent their entire lives under military occupation in a cordon of no-man's-land that used to be Texas; in an isolated town called Outpost 12, once known as Santa Olivia. But now they're free and they want to help the rest of the Santitos escape. During a series of escapades, they discover that Miguel Garza, Loup's former sparring partner and reprobate surrogate brother, has escaped from Outpost 12 and is testifying on behalf of its forgotten citizens. At least until he disappears from protective custody, a victim of his own impetuousness.
Driven by a sense of honour, Loup vows to rescue Miguel, even though venturing into the US, where GMOs are considered government property, could mean losing her liberty. Driven by love and loyalty, Pilar promises to help her.
It will take a daring and absurd caper to extricate Miguel from the mess he's created; and an even greater risk to make their actions count, to shed light on the plight of the forgotten citizens of Santa Olivia.
But once again, Loup is prepared to risk everything... and this time, she has help.

• ISBN10: 1455504688
• ISBN13: 9781455504688
• Publish Date: 22 November 2011 (first published 1 January 2011)
• Publish Status: Active
• Imprint: Grand Central Publishing
• Format: eBook
• Pages: 368
• Language: English

Reviews

[Angie]

Proceed With Caution

This book contains violence, attempted murder, and mentions of rape.

The Basics

Just like the first book, Saints Astray is narrated in third person by Loup Garron, a teenage girl who inherited her genetically-modified father’s superhuman abilities.

It takes place from Mexico to Scotland to London to Sicily to Vegas, basically all over the world as Loup and her girlfriend Pilar depart on the next adventure of their young lives. You will need to have read Santa Olivia before picking up this one.

My Thoughts

Saints Astray picks up exactly where Santa Olivia ended. Loup and Pilar are being smuggled into Mexico by one of Loup’s cousins. At this point, they’re relatively safe from anyone who is looking for Loup, but their peaceful life is soon interrupted when Loup is recruited as the first GMO bodyguard. Of course, she refuses to leave Pilar behind, and thus the two being their globetrotting adventure.

I was quite disappointed with Saints Astray in the beginning. It’s not bad at all, but the tone is the complete opposite of the previous book. It felt like a completely different series! When Loup and Pilar are going through training, I was getting some major Cadet Kelly vibes. It was the cliche montage of someone who is not at all physical going through military-grade training, failing spectacularly, but then putting their own unique spin on it and coming out on top. Except it wasn’t a montage. It was more like half the book. It was cheesy to say the least.

After that, Saints Astray read more like a holiday special complete with British boyband hijinks. I wish I was kidding, but that’s what happened. I thought these books were suppose to be about revolution and social justice! Overcoming odds! Championing for the little guy! Instead I got nearly 300 pages of Loup and Pilar making googly eyes at each other and touring with popstars.

However, once it got on track, it was really good. I actually came to appreciate how the author showed that you don’t need to be directly in the action or starting war to make change. Loup got her face and her message out into the world through marketing ploys. It was actually quite genius. And I do love a happy ending.

[g2pro]

Continuing the story from the first book. You need to read Santa Olivia first.