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adillondev's review
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
I wanted to like this book, but there were two major things keeping me from that.
First was the treatment of the Indigenous characters. It was nice that the second lead was a girl – Uta – from the local tribe, and Indigenous understanding of the land was respected, and the tribe was specifically named: the Ute, who are from the land where the story takes place. However, there were too many instances of the stereoype of the mystic “other.” Probably a significant improvement from other representation around the same time as its publication, but I felt uncomfortable reading it.
Second was the main character himself – Zack. I am all for kid characters acting like kids, but that’s not what is going on with Zack. His introduction frames him as mature for his age: working a job, threatening union action against his dad’s abusive boss, and demonstrating an understanding of safe motorcycle driving. All of that flips the instant he and Uta find the raptor egg. He looses all sense of maturity and repeatedly chooses to put himself, Uta, and his dog in danger for contrived reasons (the mother raptor is “ugly” and so doesn’t deserve her chick back; his dog is his “buddy” and so will be joining them in the dangerous caves where the raptors live; he actively shouts for the raptor chick, despite them trying to sneak into the caves where the mother lives).
This is so incongruent with the Zack we are first introduced to, and as a result, these choices feel contrived in order to allow the plot to happen.
As a note, this book is very violent and very descriptive in its violence. I am neutral on its inclusion as kids have different levels of capacity for violence, but it is worth mentioning.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Gore
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