Reviewed by Cheryl
AUTHOR: Dylan James
PUBLISHER: Deep Hearts YA
LENGTH: 140 pages
RELEASE DATE: August 8, 2019
BLURB:
Grant Peters is sixteen and wants nothing more than to just compete in calf roping at rodeos and keep winning gold. But there are two obstacles in his path.
The first is Logan Summers, also sixteen, and also into calf roping. Logan is Grant’s only real competition and every time Logan wins, he gives Grant a smug little smirk that sets Grant’s blood boiling. Deep inside, though, Grant knows that his hostility toward Logan is about more than that smirk; it’s about feelings he’s not ready to acknowledge.
The second is Grant’s parents being close to selling the family ranch and moving to the city, away from rodeo, and away from his horse, Thunder.
So when Grant discovers evidence of a deadly cougar stalking the ranch, he decides to take it upon himself to hunt down what would undoubtedly kill the little business his family has left if word got out. Of course, as soon as he sets off into the woods, he runs into Logan, who is undertaking the same hunt to save his own family’s ranch.
Now, these two teenage rodeo nemeses have to overcome their hatred for each other and their uncertainty about themselves if they have any hope of coming together to save their families’ businesses.
REVIEW:
I think what some YA authors forget is that young readers today demand as much sophistication in their reading as adults, if not more. That doesn’t necessarily mean complex plots, but it does mean complex structure and emotional depth.
The plot of Thunder is not new – young people trying to save the family farm/ranch from greedy property developers – however, there was a nice twist with the cougar and the rodeo element. I enjoyed the descriptions of the rodeo, although I would have liked it to have had better flow and more emotional connection/depth.
Another thing I particularly liked was that although the story was primarily told from Grant’s POV there were places where we saw Logan’s perspective. POV changes can sometimes be confusing, leaving us unsure of whose head we’re in at any one time. The author has cleverly got around this by changing from first person (Grant) to third person (Logan). Although there is some head hopping going on, I think this works very well.
I liked plot development and pacing in general. The story arc is very good, but it is fairly simple and I think that although there is absolutely nothing wrong with a simple, clear, story arc, you have to work harder at moving it on while keeping the audience engaged. The best way to do this is by adding depth to character development, interactions and connection with the world around them. It’s all in the detail and here I think that even when there was detail, such as with the rodeo and the dead deer, it was lacking emotional connection.
Grant and Logan are likeable characters and in the main they act in the way two sixteen-year-old might. Yeah, it was stupid to go hunting a cougar on their own. Yeah, it made no sense that they’d point guns at a campsite, or that they’d try to herd a group of criminals on a couple of hours’ trek, but a lot of things teenagers do makes no sense at all, and in that I think the author has teens nailed. They are reckless, fearless and make bad decisions.
Where it fell down was that the boys didn’t consistently think/speak like teens. I felt their voices were inconsistent and sometimes sounded far too old for their years. I’m not saying they should be cursing every other word (although for realism they probably would be) or that they should speak entirely in memes or youth lingo, but there is a dryness about it that leeches away the colour.
Where the book really fell down was with its ending. For the first two thirds, while it had its flaws, the book was building toward a climax and there was excitement in it. When it got to the campsite the scene at the lip of the bowl was thrilling, but it all went downhill from there.
The kidnappers were caricatures. They were even referred to as “the bad guys”. There was not the slightest amount of emotional depth to any of them. Yes, they were the villains, but good villains have to have an element of humanity. These were cardboard cutouts, and while there was a lot said about the boys being afraid of dying, I didn’t get any real emotion from it.
The story picked up again when Grant’s sister arrived. There was some nice humour and the trek back was entertaining. I very much liked the way the story played out and the little adventure they had on their journey.
The story threads were tied up a little too nicely in the epilogue. While I have no beef with epilogues per se, I don’t like to see them as a means for ticking off unfinished business. That being said, there was a satisfactory outcome and the book closed on a high note.
Overall, I would say the book would probably appeal to a younger audience, perhaps 11 – 12. It would definitely not appeal to adults and I think the older age range might find the language too dry and simplistic and the lack of emotional depth off-putting. It’s a nice story, but didn’t blow my socks off and doesn’t leave me wanting to read more by this author.
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