Reviewer: Andrea
I received a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
The Summary:
A blind traumatized teen learns of love, and becomes the catalyst for a revolution.
Abandoned by her parents to live on the streets, Sadie never knew kindness without first paying a terrifying price. The lessons from her childhood fuel a paranoia that makes it impossible to trust anyone, or accept their help. That all changes when she meets Fester, a young man with his own painful past. After he saves her from freezing to death, Sadie realizes that she must learn how to trust another if she wants to live; a feat that is easier said than done.
Meanwhile, a war is brewing. For decades the supernaturals have been plotting their revolt against a tyrannical government that exploits them. After using her own supernatural power against an attacker, Sadie and her friends soon find themselves in the government’s cross-hairs. To survive, they are forced to team up with a criminal who has plans for Sadie and wishes to ignite the war.
The Review:
Sadie’s War is an interesting beginning to a promising series. I’m a huge fan of the whole mutant experience. The idea of an outcast making her way in a harsh society combined with Sadie’s emotional baggage makes for a unique coming-of-age novel. When Sadie is abandoned by her mother Downtown, she has little to no experience with the real world. In her struggle to understand this alien world around her, the reader experiences the same confusion and fear. Her blindness increases her bewilderment and adds an extra layer to her dire situation. Her story was both touching and shocking, and when she finally allows Fester to break through her mistrust, the love blooming between them creates an entirely new story.
I did have some issues with the pacing, however. The story was slow to develop with little action for long sections and a great deal of rehashing the same or similar “thoughts”. Sadie’s brainwashing (from her parents) is obviously a huge issue, and I realize Sadie can’t flip a feeling switch and turn it off, but she teeters with her trust issues so much that I found myself skimming large paragraphs restating the same thing to the point of tediousness. The novel lagged because of this. Another problem is the “gutter” dialect. Michael’s dialogue was so convoluted that even reading it aloud proved ineffectual at times. It seemed like overkill. The reader can understand his lack of education as well as the effect of the setting without so much dialect. It slowed down the reading and frustrated me completely.
However, the story is unique in a saturated market, and overall, it was good.
