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usetheforcekate's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
What it really comes down to for me is this (TW btw)
Was it absolutely vital to the story for one of the female characters to be raped, impregnated via that rape, induce a miscarriage by smashing her own abdomen with rocks and eventually be torn apart by wolves? I think not.
And was it absolutely vital for an eight year old to witness all of that via whatever supernatural means were at play? Definitely not.
Apparently men will do anything except go to therapy.
Was it absolutely vital to the story for one of the female characters to be raped, impregnated via that rape, induce a miscarriage by smashing her own abdomen with rocks and eventually be torn apart by wolves? I think not.
And was it absolutely vital for an eight year old to witness all of that via whatever supernatural means were at play? Definitely not.
Apparently men will do anything except go to therapy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abortion
Moderate: Sexual violence, Rape, and Violence
batwoman411's review against another edition
3.0
Great premise but the plot was too dark and never really resolved. I enjoyed Evison’s Lawn Boy more.
need_to_read's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
duranceau22ced's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
whitmc's review against another edition
5.0
The pages here just turn themselves. The premise is intriguing: man is worn down by life, PTSD, pain and worry for his daughter, decides to live simply which happens to be a cave in the Cascades. It's written in a way that you get where he's coming from, and can't stop until you see how it plays out. Add to that the contrast against the story of people living in the cave thousands of years ago fighting to simply survive, its remarkable. I recommend it highly to anyone.
northwesternrain's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Unfortunately this book mostly did not work for me. I wanted more about the mountains and survival but instead what I got was a semi-boring family drama and way more about the marines and football than I ever wanted. The main character, Dave, has big "I peaked in high school" energy. Also I did not think it was that well-written and there were some questionable word choices (dingus? really??).
On the positive side, I thought the historical secondary story was a nice parallel and offered something at least new and interesting. I also think the second half of the book was better than the first half. This book definitely has an audience, it just wasn't totally for me.
On the positive side, I thought the historical secondary story was a nice parallel and offered something at least new and interesting. I also think the second half of the book was better than the first half. This book definitely has an audience, it just wasn't totally for me.
livrad's review against another edition
2.0
2.5 Stars
Dave Cartwright was already suffering from PTSD from his tours in Iraq, when he suddenly lost his wife. Even though their marriage had been on the brink of collapse, in his grief, he packs up some survival gear and decides to move with his 7-year-old daughter, Bella, to a remote cave in the North Cascades.
The reading of this book felt very disjointed. I love a good non-linear plot in a book and books that play with narrative style. However, the jumpy format of Legends of the North Cascades felt hectic, undeveloped, and without purpose. In the story of Dave and Bella in the mountains, we get occasional chapters of Dave’s time in the Marines and shortly after his return. These chapters don’t build toward anything, though, and have no rhythm to their insertion. It reads as if the author just didn’t want them to wind up “on the cutting room floor” after writing them and then deciding to start the book at at a later point in Dave’s life. We also see brief snippets of people talking about Dave years later, like from his high school football coach, or a town librarian, his brother-in-law, etc. Most of these felt like intrusions and weren’t included with finesse. The real element that distracted from the plot were flashes Bella gets of a family who lived near the cave at the end of the Ice Age. These sections seem pointless and lack a connection to the current plot line or character development of those in that timeline—until it is already too late in the book. Again, it felt like the author couldn’t decide what story he wanted to write, just used a flimsy reason to include elements, and hope it stuck for the reader. It didn’t.
This slapdash group of chapters in the novel reminded me of another book I had read, _This Is Your Life, Harriet Chance!_ and it turns out that Jonathan Evison wrote them both. After reading that book, I said, “[T]here is little cohesion in the order of the flashbacks, and it has a very ‘spin the wheel’ flavor to it. We land on whatever flashback has been chosen at random.” It appears that this grab bag style of plotting is Evison’s hallmark, and I don’t have the patience for it. Add in some stilted dialogue and an ending so rushed, I had to look back to check that I didn’t skip pages, and even though I said after reading his other work, “You can see the writing craft in this book, and I would be tempted to read other works by the author to see his writing elsewhere,” I will not chance another Evison novel. Just like with Harriet Chance, I could see that if he just stuck to Dave and Bella’s story, the book would have been considerably better. However, I don’t want to spend my time reading books that “could have been,” so this Evison was definitely my last.
Dave Cartwright was already suffering from PTSD from his tours in Iraq, when he suddenly lost his wife. Even though their marriage had been on the brink of collapse, in his grief, he packs up some survival gear and decides to move with his 7-year-old daughter, Bella, to a remote cave in the North Cascades.
The reading of this book felt very disjointed. I love a good non-linear plot in a book and books that play with narrative style. However, the jumpy format of Legends of the North Cascades felt hectic, undeveloped, and without purpose. In the story of Dave and Bella in the mountains, we get occasional chapters of Dave’s time in the Marines and shortly after his return. These chapters don’t build toward anything, though, and have no rhythm to their insertion. It reads as if the author just didn’t want them to wind up “on the cutting room floor” after writing them and then deciding to start the book at at a later point in Dave’s life. We also see brief snippets of people talking about Dave years later, like from his high school football coach, or a town librarian, his brother-in-law, etc. Most of these felt like intrusions and weren’t included with finesse. The real element that distracted from the plot were flashes Bella gets of a family who lived near the cave at the end of the Ice Age. These sections seem pointless and lack a connection to the current plot line or character development of those in that timeline—until it is already too late in the book. Again, it felt like the author couldn’t decide what story he wanted to write, just used a flimsy reason to include elements, and hope it stuck for the reader. It didn’t.
This slapdash group of chapters in the novel reminded me of another book I had read, _This Is Your Life, Harriet Chance!_ and it turns out that Jonathan Evison wrote them both. After reading that book, I said, “[T]here is little cohesion in the order of the flashbacks, and it has a very ‘spin the wheel’ flavor to it. We land on whatever flashback has been chosen at random.” It appears that this grab bag style of plotting is Evison’s hallmark, and I don’t have the patience for it. Add in some stilted dialogue and an ending so rushed, I had to look back to check that I didn’t skip pages, and even though I said after reading his other work, “You can see the writing craft in this book, and I would be tempted to read other works by the author to see his writing elsewhere,” I will not chance another Evison novel. Just like with Harriet Chance, I could see that if he just stuck to Dave and Bella’s story, the book would have been considerably better. However, I don’t want to spend my time reading books that “could have been,” so this Evison was definitely my last.
jacieandbooks's review against another edition
2.0
I was given an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review...
DNF @29% This description had so much potential to me... and was extremely disappointing. Other than a list of supplies and chopping firewood, we don’t learn all that much about how Dave and Bella survive in the wilderness. So, don’t go into this thinking it’s a survivor story. I think the part this upset me the most of the when St’ka’s story really gets going, it paints Native Americans as savages. The main Native American character is described as eating an animal with blood dripping down her face. Like they’re Neanderthals but it serves no purpose to the story to write them so grotesquely. The mention of presumed rape, St’ka doesn’t know which of the men fathers her child... that’s where I finally called it quits. The writing around Nadene’s death is pretty emotionless, even from Bella’s perspective. Definitely not for me.
DNF @29% This description had so much potential to me... and was extremely disappointing. Other than a list of supplies and chopping firewood, we don’t learn all that much about how Dave and Bella survive in the wilderness. So, don’t go into this thinking it’s a survivor story. I think the part this upset me the most of the when St’ka’s story really gets going, it paints Native Americans as savages. The main Native American character is described as eating an animal with blood dripping down her face. Like they’re Neanderthals but it serves no purpose to the story to write them so grotesquely. The mention of presumed rape, St’ka doesn’t know which of the men fathers her child... that’s where I finally called it quits. The writing around Nadene’s death is pretty emotionless, even from Bella’s perspective. Definitely not for me.
jdglasgow's review against another edition
3.0
I wanted to read LEGENDS OF THE NORTH CASCADES as a resident of Northwest Washington and a fan of that national park in particular. I had seen a few negative reviews before I began reading, though, and so I was somewhat skeptical of the book going in. I mainly chose it because I planned to hike at Cascade Pass trail over this past weekend and thought a North Cascades inspired book would feel appropriate to go along with it.
Let me tell you: this book definitely references areas in Northwest Washington! Bellingham, Mount Vernon, Highway 20, Wenatchee, and even Everett (
Let me tell you: this book definitely references areas in Northwest Washington! Bellingham, Mount Vernon, Highway 20, Wenatchee, and even Everett (