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A review by smartinez9
Enclave by Ann Aguirre
3.0
Everything I wanted Under the Never Sky to be. With plausible world-building, real stakes, and a heroine made for and from the demands of a shattered, starved world, it was gripping and perfectly bloody. Plot-wise, I enjoyed it. BUT—
Two things really bothered me: 1) naming the protagonist “Deuce” (just why) and 2) the validation of Striker. Given that he enabled, if not participated in, the rape of countless women, his inclusion in the group and the excuses they made for him were verrry uncomfy, as was Deuce’s disregard for Tegan’s feelings. All that aside, I personally still enjoyed the book as a whole, and understood the author’s point about Deuce having to acknowledge her own complicity and start to identify with Striker as someone who did what they thought they must to survive in the context of their ravaged world. For some readers, however, I think this would be insurmountable and unnecessarily triggering. Proceed with caution.
Two things really bothered me: 1) naming the protagonist “Deuce” (just why) and 2) the validation of Striker. Given that he enabled, if not participated in, the rape of countless women, his inclusion in the group and the excuses they made for him were verrry uncomfy, as was Deuce’s disregard for Tegan’s feelings. All that aside, I personally still enjoyed the book as a whole, and understood the author’s point about Deuce having to acknowledge her own complicity and start to identify with Striker as someone who did what they thought they must to survive in the context of their ravaged world. For some readers, however, I think this would be insurmountable and unnecessarily triggering. Proceed with caution.