Reviewed by nannah on
Book content warnings:
abuse
child abuse
racial slurs (Chinese, specifically)
After losing his abusive grandfather, Stephen Quinn and his father feel like they're making a new start as they wander post-apocalyptic America for scraps of whatever they can find that could be worth something to a trader down in what used to be Florida. But after a fight with slavers, Stephen's father falls into a coma. Stephen and his father are rescued by the people of Settler's Landing, a town that's so pre-Collapse it seems too good to be true. Then again, nothing is without it's secrets . . .
The beginning of the book sounded promising: a boy and his father escape from the tyranny of an abusive leader/family member and make a new start together in a post-apocalyptic wasteland. But nah, the book isn't about that at all. The first fifty pages of setup don't go anywhere, which is so disappointing. Instead, the book takes that mediocre turn and plops the plot down into a stationary spot, Settler's Landing, and goes into baseball, a rushed romance, and a war that doesn't make sense (and doesn't have any build up, either).
There's also some racial tension that makes me . . . cringe? I guess? Because there's about two black people, one Chinese girl, and then as far as anyone knows, the rest are white people, because the book is pretty specific about describing people's races when they aren't white. Of course one of those black people are the big baddies (the one with dreadlocks, of course), and the other is in Settler's Landing. But what I don't understand is that Jenny Tan (the Chinese girl) is called racial slurs left and right, and the nice ol' white people lean down and tell her, don't worry, these are just words. Of course, Jenny is like, Umm, no?? But the black man, and if there are truly other characters of color in this town . . . stay silent?
They are old enough to have lived when the United States existed as it was (before the great Wars--and before the Chinese sent that strain of flu or whatever that killed so many people). I can't imagine they just forgot how racism existed now that white people primarily "hate the Chinese now". I can't imagine racism just ceases to exist because it's the post-apocalyptic United States . . . I probably shouldn't expect much from a white author after all. Disclaimer, I'm white too, so I don't want to speak over any person of color here, but this is just some observations I made while reading.
The plot during the second half doesn't have any stakes. Characters say things are important to them, but I don't feel it. When the climax comes around, it's almost laughable. Every chapter progresses as follows:
Oh damn! Something else awful happened! We need to act! Good, we solved it.
Next chapter:
Oh damn! Something else awful happened! We need to act! Good, we solved it.
Next chapter:
Oh damn! . . .
And all this in maybe 3-4 pages each. I understand wanting to keep a steady flow of action in the climax, but this is a little ridiculous. The resolution doesn't make much sense, either. I feel like the author just sat back and thought, "How in the world do I resolve this? Oh wait! That invisible enemy they were talking about the entire book that never actually appeared! Let's have them come and help the main characters! Just because." (except they only talked for a page or two, never to be mentioned again.)
Then there was no actual gradual sigh after the climax. It just . . . stopped. Cut off. Bam!
Things actually happened in the epilogue, but it wasn't actually much of a breather. The "mysterious" Chinese love interest (eye roll?) had to roll out of the protagonist's life because she's so damn mysterious (plus, she's one of those "strong female characters" who's only interesting because she's better than the male protagonist in every way. :/ She had such promise, and I was so let down).
I don't know. This book was just such a little, strange let down.
Reading updates
- Started reading
- 2 January, 2017: Finished reading
- 2 January, 2017: Reviewed