Great review- I loved this book and thought the way it approached religion was effective, but I do come from a background of religious deconstruction. I found you through your goodreads review of The Black Hunger which expressed a lot of what I’ve been feeling with it, but also had interesting added context.
Thanks so much, I'm glad you appreciated it! I feel like the way it explores religion _should_ work for a wide audience, but will hit especially hard if you have some sort of deconstruction experience or an experience of stepping away from the institutions of religion (even if not religious belief or spirituality). It is really about the effects of shame and what it means to try to understand who you are in the world in the face of an overbearing power system telling you who they expect/demand you to be, and that feels like something many people can relate to, regardless of their experiences with religion. I am happy you found your way here via my _The Black Hunger_ review. That was a hard review to make because even though I enjoyed the story I wanted to like it more than I did, and I did not want to be simply reactionary or judgmental, so it was hard to find a balance... I am happy to hear it resonated with you.
Her first novel is also a lot of fun. It is different than this, especially in tone... It has a very dark, satirical tone. I did enjoy it a lot, though, I am impressed at both of her novels!
i must say, i find YA fiction to be off-putting. probably because i am old! this title reminded me of American Pastoral by Roth, which i enjoyed recently. it also brought to mind The White Plague by Herbert. i hope you don't mind my free associations...
Honestly, if you had asked me before I had reading Andrew Joseph White's books, I would also say that I am not into YA stories. And to a large extent that is still true. But I am finding more and more YA titles that are really pushing and exploring just what it means to be considered YA, and it doesn't have to be the same tired tropes and gentle landings and expected plot machinations. The only real things that seem to be most consistent is that the central protagonist is a teenager and that at least part of their narrative involves learning more about themselves, making some progress on the transformation from childhood to adulthood.... But, to be honest, that inner journey is common in a _lot_ of fiction, especially fantasy, regardless of the characters' ages. Horror, too... but that metric _Carrie_ would be considered YA, and, to be honest, I don't know that it shouldn't be, when all is said and done.... This story is violent and upsetting and doesn't hold back with graphic imagery. I would say the same for the other authors I mentioned. And, again, this novel doesn't at all market itself as YA, at least I haven't seen that, but it feels of a piece with those other authors... And in that case, this kind of YA is YA I can get behind,. Yes, it has young protagonists, but it is in no way timid, and it uses that incredibly turbulent time of constant change that is being a teenager to really good effect. It doesn't coddle the audience in any way. It is definitely a novel for adults, it just feels like it fits into this trend of aggressive, no-holds-barred novels with young protagonists being included in YA considerations... I read the _American Pastoral_ a long time ago, so I don't really remember how it felt, and I haven't read _The White Plague,_ so I can't really speak to those except what Wikipedia suggests of their plots, but they don't feel too similar to this... In many ways this is modeled after a typical zombie/plague survival story, with the main character going ona quest in this apocalyptic infested wasteland, that quest being to save her family, and in the process surrounding herself with found family who help her on that quest, that journey. It has some incredibly fun active scenes and Leede does a great job at building tension, too. I don't know how well that maps on to either the Roth or Herbert, but that was what this felt like.
@@arockinsamsara it was really only the title that reminded me of Roth. i appreciate your thoughtful response. i reckon you would enjoy the White Plague. i like to mention anything from Herbert other than Dune.
@@stephenmorton8017 The White Plague does sound really interesting. I have never read anything by Herbert outside of _Dune,_ and have never heard anyone suggest anything, but now I am intrigued and will definitely look into it. Thanks!
@@arockinsamsara yes. you might like the Santaroga Barrier also. there is a book by Cordwainer Smith, "Norstrilia" that predated Dune and shares many of it's themes. essentially a fountain of youth story.
@@stephenmorton8017 My library's digital collection has _The White Plague, The Santaroga Barrier,_ and a collection of all of Herbert's short stories, and I had already put in hold requests for all three before reading this reply. Thanks for the suggestions!
Great review- I loved this book and thought the way it approached religion was effective, but I do come from a background of religious deconstruction. I found you through your goodreads review of The Black Hunger which expressed a lot of what I’ve been feeling with it, but also had interesting added context.
Thanks so much, I'm glad you appreciated it! I feel like the way it explores religion _should_ work for a wide audience, but will hit especially hard if you have some sort of deconstruction experience or an experience of stepping away from the institutions of religion (even if not religious belief or spirituality). It is really about the effects of shame and what it means to try to understand who you are in the world in the face of an overbearing power system telling you who they expect/demand you to be, and that feels like something many people can relate to, regardless of their experiences with religion.
I am happy you found your way here via my _The Black Hunger_ review. That was a hard review to make because even though I enjoyed the story I wanted to like it more than I did, and I did not want to be simply reactionary or judgmental, so it was hard to find a balance... I am happy to hear it resonated with you.
Finished reading it. It was a pretty entertaining read. Maybe will read Leede's first novel at some point.
Her first novel is also a lot of fun. It is different than this, especially in tone... It has a very dark, satirical tone. I did enjoy it a lot, though, I am impressed at both of her novels!
I think you should should consider buying some fish and feeding them. That is too nice of a tank to not at least have a goldfish.
Satire!
My cat agrees with you...
i must say, i find YA fiction to be off-putting. probably because i am old! this title reminded me of American Pastoral by Roth, which i enjoyed recently. it also brought to mind The White Plague by Herbert. i hope you don't mind my free associations...
Honestly, if you had asked me before I had reading Andrew Joseph White's books, I would also say that I am not into YA stories. And to a large extent that is still true. But I am finding more and more YA titles that are really pushing and exploring just what it means to be considered YA, and it doesn't have to be the same tired tropes and gentle landings and expected plot machinations. The only real things that seem to be most consistent is that the central protagonist is a teenager and that at least part of their narrative involves learning more about themselves, making some progress on the transformation from childhood to adulthood.... But, to be honest, that inner journey is common in a _lot_ of fiction, especially fantasy, regardless of the characters' ages. Horror, too... but that metric _Carrie_ would be considered YA, and, to be honest, I don't know that it shouldn't be, when all is said and done....
This story is violent and upsetting and doesn't hold back with graphic imagery. I would say the same for the other authors I mentioned. And, again, this novel doesn't at all market itself as YA, at least I haven't seen that, but it feels of a piece with those other authors... And in that case, this kind of YA is YA I can get behind,. Yes, it has young protagonists, but it is in no way timid, and it uses that incredibly turbulent time of constant change that is being a teenager to really good effect. It doesn't coddle the audience in any way. It is definitely a novel for adults, it just feels like it fits into this trend of aggressive, no-holds-barred novels with young protagonists being included in YA considerations...
I read the _American Pastoral_ a long time ago, so I don't really remember how it felt, and I haven't read _The White Plague,_ so I can't really speak to those except what Wikipedia suggests of their plots, but they don't feel too similar to this... In many ways this is modeled after a typical zombie/plague survival story, with the main character going ona quest in this apocalyptic infested wasteland, that quest being to save her family, and in the process surrounding herself with found family who help her on that quest, that journey. It has some incredibly fun active scenes and Leede does a great job at building tension, too. I don't know how well that maps on to either the Roth or Herbert, but that was what this felt like.
@@arockinsamsara it was really only the title that reminded me of Roth.
i appreciate your thoughtful response.
i reckon you would enjoy the White Plague.
i like to mention anything from Herbert other than Dune.
@@stephenmorton8017 The White Plague does sound really interesting. I have never read anything by Herbert outside of _Dune,_ and have never heard anyone suggest anything, but now I am intrigued and will definitely look into it. Thanks!
@@arockinsamsara yes. you might like the Santaroga Barrier also.
there is a book by Cordwainer Smith, "Norstrilia" that predated Dune and shares many of it's themes.
essentially a fountain of youth story.
@@stephenmorton8017 My library's digital collection has _The White Plague, The Santaroga Barrier,_ and a collection of all of Herbert's short stories, and I had already put in hold requests for all three before reading this reply. Thanks for the suggestions!