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A review by kblincoln
City of Savages by Lee Kelly
4.0
There are a lot of post-apocalyptic novels featuring spunky, female heroines out there these days. Alot. So in order to get the 5 stars from me, a book either has to have some kind of fresh approach or having very compelling characters who undergo Emotional Arcs of Significance.
And City of Savages almost does it. There's a sextet of relationships here that could yield emotional gold. There's two sisters--one tough, one cerebral-- who love each other fiercely but don't get each other at all, a mother with a secret past who has kept them apart from the other survivors/prisoners, a prison warden named Rolladin with a heartless reputation, and two British boys who come to the island/prison of New York searching for hope.
And once in a while in Phee and Sky's relationship I got some emotional depth. They learn to appreciate each other-- up until the jealousy over the boy happens. Then I want to hit them both over the head. Sky is much, much too whiny about how the boy likes Phee so much, and Phee is much, much too dismissive of Sky and overwhelmingly blind to how little she has in common with the boy. Or maybe it's the story hitting us over the head with how Phee is so unsuited.
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Or the story hitting us over the head with the obviousness of who Rolladin is.
Or maybe its the stock-character "Feeders" that no one but the mom believes in (cannibalistic tunnel dwellers...I keep wondering who they were eating all these years if everyone is either in Rolladin's Park or the Standard) who are much like zombie/vampires in many other post-apocalyptic novels.
But there's adventure, danger, street-fights, escaping from sexually repressive cults (but I thought the shying away from the night Trevor spent with Phee in the Standard was a disservice to the emotional arcs of the main characters. Thus the 4 stars).
This is ye olde post-apocalyptic novel with some love triangle thrown in. It's certainly engaging, but just not meaty enough for me to want to follow up on.
And City of Savages almost does it. There's a sextet of relationships here that could yield emotional gold. There's two sisters--one tough, one cerebral-- who love each other fiercely but don't get each other at all, a mother with a secret past who has kept them apart from the other survivors/prisoners, a prison warden named Rolladin with a heartless reputation, and two British boys who come to the island/prison of New York searching for hope.
And once in a while in Phee and Sky's relationship I got some emotional depth. They learn to appreciate each other-- up until the jealousy over the boy happens. Then I want to hit them both over the head. Sky is much, much too whiny about how the boy likes Phee so much, and Phee is much, much too dismissive of Sky and overwhelmingly blind to how little she has in common with the boy. Or maybe it's the story hitting us over the head with how Phee is so unsuited.
a
Or the story hitting us over the head with the obviousness of who Rolladin is.
Or maybe its the stock-character "Feeders" that no one but the mom believes in (cannibalistic tunnel dwellers...I keep wondering who they were eating all these years if everyone is either in Rolladin's Park or the Standard) who are much like zombie/vampires in many other post-apocalyptic novels.
But there's adventure, danger, street-fights, escaping from sexually repressive cults (but I thought the shying away from the night Trevor spent with Phee in the Standard was a disservice to the emotional arcs of the main characters. Thus the 4 stars).
This is ye olde post-apocalyptic novel with some love triangle thrown in. It's certainly engaging, but just not meaty enough for me to want to follow up on.