So, be honest–we’ve all been there at some point in time. That jerk–you know the one I mean–just won’t have off and leave you alone. And because, for some inexplicable reason, the rest of the school actually cares what this idiot thinks, now all the sheep following their lead are joining in. . . and turning what was a one or two class period joke into full-time torture.
Ok, so hopefully (and I do mean that truthfully!) no one’s really experienced bullying to that extreme a level. However, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen. Regularly. All the time. I’m sufficiently old enough to be able to confess honestly myself that, when bullied in school, I would speak to teachers and even Vice Principals and Principals about what was happening, asking for help dealing with it. What was their response? Just ignore them–bullying’s a part of growing up, and you just have to learn to deal with it.
Thankfully, my understanding is that people have become smarter and more savvy to this issue, and as a result they’re realizing that quietly waiting for kids to change their minds/get distracted with someone else isn’t enough to fix the problem. And doesn’t stop the danger to the person who’s the center of attention. Enter Edith or Edie of, as her sensitive peers put it, “Eat-it”, in Ann Aguirre’s Mortal Danger. She’s unattractive, overweight, socially inept, friendless, and generally prefers to just keep to herself. What’s more, she’s not the standard platinum-card-platinum-blond lining the halls of her fancy private school in Boston–her parents are mere mortals themselves, as professors at area universities.
We open the story with Edie deciding that enough is enough: she walks defeated, she talks defeated, she acts defeated–but for at least an understandable reason (we don’t learn what that reason is exactly until later in the story, and while I’m a spoiler usually, I’m saving it because a) it’s worth reading, b) it’s pretty horrible, and c) I’m curious whether other people found this to be as bad as I did). At the moment she’s planned for–not taking her SATs (no point if you’re not going to be around for college, right?), not preparing for a summer smart kids camp (ditto), she heads to her bridge of choice and. . .
Meets a really hot guy who convinces her to stop. Kian, a representative of a group he doesn’t really explain or define, is willing to help her through this difficult time with three wishes. Her payment? She has to agree to the life that his agency expects of her: either she’s going to create the greatness that they want to see happen in the world (but won’t tell her what this greatness is) or she has to continue to work in a position like Kian’s, a representative of the group reaching out to other people “in extremis,” or (basically) at wit’s end.
Edie’s one smart cookie, but as she continues through the plot of the story, she demonstrates an interesting and unique character intelligence and sensitivity that we don’t see in other YA Lit heroines. She’s somewhat street savvy a la Katniss, but far more worldly and political. However, not a political as, say, June of Lu’s Legend fame. She’s *a lot* smarter than Bella of Twilight and even America of Cass’s Selection series. Personality-wise, she has an initial tendency to fall in the more prickly category, somewhat reminiscent of Katniss/Divergent‘s Beatrice. But she seems far more justified in her over-defensiveness.
What I Liked About It:
1. It’s a unique story with an interesting take on the idea of one trading their soul in exchange for immediate relief from whatever their current ailment is. I’m not sure what the original of this story is called, but have read stories of essentially the same ilk from all over the world. I think what it most reminded me of (and indeed, there are several references scattered throughout the text to it, is W.W. Jacobs’s The Monkey’s Paw, in which a generally contented older couple get ahold of a monkey’s paw that supposedly grants wishes. However, for each wish that’s granted, a) it never turns out the way that the wishers had intended, b) there is always something paid (usually negative) in exchange, and c) it ends up being more of a curse than a smiling fairy godmother in disguise.
2. I liked Edie and, although she does make a few stupid decisions, by no means falls into the category of supposedly uber smart protagonist who just happens to always make stupid decisions. Plus, her struggles are issues that both teens and adults face today, in such an appearance-driven society.
3. There is a clear message from the author. I’m not going to ruin it (again, I’m trying not to spoil!) but the fact that there’s one at all makes this unique from a number of other books I’ve been reading lately. . .
4. The characters are deliciously complex. This is an area that YA Lit has really taken criticism (a lot of it appropriate) for. It’s not that there aren’t occasional surprises presented by YA authors, but anything more that those surprises are few and far between. What’s more, they’re not enough to create dynamic characters. Every character presented in this book–and I mean that literally–is complex, dynamic, and builds an interesting cast for this story.
5. It is a cliffhanger, but I want to know where it’s going to go. My understanding is that this is book one of a series (The Immortal Games), and the ending reads that way. I like that the book ended without everything neatly tied with a ribbon; without every issue resolved, but also without my feeling that everything had been left wide open and completely unresolved, negating the work that went into the reading of this book. I tend to get really annoyed with authors who build to complete non-endings because they want to make sure you have to read the next book to get any closure. Aguirre’s been around this block a few times, and her knowledge of it is clear and appreciated.
What Could Use Improvement:
1. Holy crapcakes, but this is a long book! Tiny font, packed into a LOT of dense pages means that, good writing or no, it’s going to take a large chunk of time to get through! (If you’re wondering about my writing hiatus, I fully blame Aguirre! 🙂 ) But beyond it’s being long, it doesn’t feel like it needs to be. Yes, we’re building characters, scene, complexity, etc, but man–do we really need this much?
2. There are a few characters that I don’t understand/trust. Kian is actually one of them, and I sense that this is intentional on the part of the author, based on Edie’s own switching of her mind. But I did find that this was kind of frustrating, especially in light of the fact that without him, Edie’s still lost in what’s happening to her and the fact that none of her wishes is really turning out the way it was planned.
3. Edie references the importance of her summer pal Vi repeatedly, but it’s hard to see how this character is so important to her that she spends one of her wishes on her. I know, I know–cold and heartless, I am–but despite the writing up of this ensemble cast, I still didn’t see how that could be the case.
4. Totally not buying that her parents would believe/accept that she had so drastically and completely changed her appearance during summer at math camp. Seriously? Based on her own description, she’d need some pretty serious plastic surgery to end up the way she did. I had a lot of trouble swallowing that, even if they were distanced parents.
5. There are a number of events that happen at Edie’s school that seem fairly unbelievable. Yes, it’s fiction–and YA horror at that–but still. I have to assume more of these wealthy parents would be concerned when one kid after another turned up dead, missing, deformed, etc.
Overall, this was an admittedly lengthy but page-turning read. If you’re looking for something to savor slowly, this is an interesting one, and a read that you’ll keep thinking about. The themes are classic: revenge, love, hope, trust . . . but they’re all turned upside down by the context and the possibilities that Edie’s presented with. Topped with a highly intelligent and savvy protagonist, and sprinkled with thrills and chills along the way, this is a very interesting read!
What did you think? Anyone read this and have comparisons to make?
The Alpha and the Omega: The Endless Ramblings of a YA Lit Lover 