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A review by mayonessa
Children of Chicago by Cynthia Pelayo
3.0
Rating: 3.5 stars
**SPOILERS**
I had a lovely time meeting Cynthia Pelayo during a book release party for another author in Chicago this past summer. I'm very excited and looking forward to reading Loteria and The Shoemaker's Magician next. Pelayo's writing is the best part of this book. I enjoyed the voice she brought to the characters, and the stylization of the narrative. Despite some of the flaws of this book (which I will get to), a very unlikeable main character, and some odd details or lack-thereof in the writing, overall Children of Chicago was a good, quick read that can be enjoyed by readers who also liked movies such as the Sinister franchise.
I think my main issue with the book relies in it's ending and the main character herself. I'm not a big fan of cops to begin with, and it's very obvious Pelayo never intended Lauren to be a heroine. She is the protagonist, but she is not the hero. In fact Lauren is pretty insufferable throughout the majority of the book. Even though I felt sympathetic for her self-harming behaviors, that doesn't negate the fact that Lauren is more than just a deeply flawed individual. She is in fact
It's revealed (which was pretty obvious from the beginning) that Lauren had summoned the Pied Piper when she was younger and killed her younger sister in exchange for information on the whereabouts of her birth mother. While I would not have had any issue with that, it's further revealed that while Lauren plays dumb about not realizing her place in all this, she actually has faked all these years about having amnesia about her involvement in her sister's murder. She is very much aware of what the Pied Piper is and what he makes others do, but she plays dumb throughout the entire book, telling the reader she "wants" to help solve the case, but actively derailing it to save her own skin.
The ending implies that she also killed her step-mother, and has utilized her position as a cop and detective to kill MULITPLE suspects and other individuals while out on the job, as a means to "pay the Piper". She deliberately abused her power as a CPD officer to murder others in hopes of finding her mother. I give Pelayo kudos for not falling into full copaganda, which I was very worried this book would fall into. However, the last reveal of the book really cements my distaste for Lauren as a whole.
In the last three pages, it's revealed that Lauren's father, a former detective who investigated his own daughter's murder, knew that it was Lauren who killed her sister all along. He actively utilized his position and the blue wall of silence to not only TRAIN Lauren to become a cop herself, but also used his influence to shield her and place her in a seat of power as a homicide detective. He also put her to train under his former partner in order to further shield Lauren from any consequences. This just makes Lauren come off as entitled and difficult to root for, as she only made the situation with the Piper worse due to her own selfishness and need for preservation.
Lauren obnoxiously relents throughout the entire book about how she knows she is not a good person but wishes to achieve some sort of salvation by being a homicide detective and "helping the voiceless". However, this sentiment falls flat to the reader once the truth all comes to the forefront, as this makes it seem like Lauren never really wanted redemption. She wanted absolution from the consequences of her own actions, which every other character in the book enables her to do.
Pelayo writes a really compelling character, but also a very obnoxious one. Lauren mistreats everyone and gets further enabled to act this way, most likely due to her deal with the Piper. However, this revelation then makes the whole point of the story mute, as no progress is actually made in regards to the Pied Piper.
A few other pet peeves of mine is just the overall description of police and forensic work. It's difficult for me to enjoy these types of stories because I also have a background in criminal justice and forensics and there is a lot of mistakes or just inaccurate depictions of the procedure throughout the book that sort of take me out of the reading experience. And while I adore this book for being so Chicago centered, I will admit that it got VERY old, very quickly.
I was also born and raised in Chicago, like Pelayo, however I grew up on the south side of the city rather than the west and north side where this book is centered. While I appreciated the call-outs to Chicago history, architecture, and overall specific Chicago cultural aspects, I do feel like this was geared towards a reader who has never been there, rather than an actual Chicagoan. It seemed to be over-emphasized at times. While it does add a fairy-tale like quality to the story, it got kind of annoying after a certain point.
I also feel like the description of Chicago as this crime-laden city that's "evil" and "cursed" is fun as a plot device, however this can have real world repercussions. I feel this gives a bad impression of the city to outsiders who are not really aware of the complexity and beauty that the city really has and gives the wrong impression of what it's like actually living in Chicago. And it also paints a hyper-violent image of Chicago, which is only mildly true, but not to the extend that Pelayo plays it up in her book. This gives readers a poor image of life in Chicago rather than a better understanding of the complex social dynamics and issues that actually effect the city that lead to increased crime rates. Also Chicago isn't even the most dangerous city in the U.S., it doesn't even break the top 15. There are also some racial dynamics in the book that didn't play out so well, but I do not have the brain power or intelligence to accurately and appropriately discuss them here.
And another issue is just there were parts of the book that were included and emphasized in great detail that led nowhere, where there were important details that were left out that could have aided the story. Like what was Fin's motivation for ? Why did Pelayo refer to Greg Zanis, a real person whose real life actions she describes in the book, as Gerald Zanis? Little details like these caught up with me throughout my reading.
Overall, don't misconstrue my criticism for disliking this book. I enjoyed this book a lot, which is why I can have so much to talk about it. It was a fun read, and I enjoyed the crime thriller and supernatural elements mixed together. If you want a quick horror read by a Latino author for October AND Hispanic Heritage Month, this is for you.
**SPOILERS**
I had a lovely time meeting Cynthia Pelayo during a book release party for another author in Chicago this past summer. I'm very excited and looking forward to reading Loteria and The Shoemaker's Magician next. Pelayo's writing is the best part of this book. I enjoyed the voice she brought to the characters, and the stylization of the narrative. Despite some of the flaws of this book (which I will get to), a very unlikeable main character, and some odd details or lack-thereof in the writing, overall Children of Chicago was a good, quick read that can be enjoyed by readers who also liked movies such as the Sinister franchise.
I think my main issue with the book relies in it's ending and the main character herself. I'm not a big fan of cops to begin with, and it's very obvious Pelayo never intended Lauren to be a heroine. She is the protagonist, but she is not the hero. In fact Lauren is pretty insufferable throughout the majority of the book. Even though I felt sympathetic for her self-harming behaviors, that doesn't negate the fact that Lauren is more than just a deeply flawed individual. She is in fact
Spoiler
the actual villain in this entire story (negating the evil trickster god).It's revealed (which was pretty obvious from the beginning) that Lauren had summoned the Pied Piper when she was younger and killed her younger sister in exchange for information on the whereabouts of her birth mother. While I would not have had any issue with that, it's further revealed that while Lauren plays dumb about not realizing her place in all this, she actually has faked all these years about having amnesia about her involvement in her sister's murder. She is very much aware of what the Pied Piper is and what he makes others do, but she plays dumb throughout the entire book, telling the reader she "wants" to help solve the case, but actively derailing it to save her own skin.
The ending implies that she also killed her step-mother, and has utilized her position as a cop and detective to kill MULITPLE suspects and other individuals while out on the job, as a means to "pay the Piper". She deliberately abused her power as a CPD officer to murder others in hopes of finding her mother. I give Pelayo kudos for not falling into full copaganda, which I was very worried this book would fall into. However, the last reveal of the book really cements my distaste for Lauren as a whole.
In the last three pages, it's revealed that Lauren's father, a former detective who investigated his own daughter's murder, knew that it was Lauren who killed her sister all along. He actively utilized his position and the blue wall of silence to not only TRAIN Lauren to become a cop herself, but also used his influence to shield her and place her in a seat of power as a homicide detective. He also put her to train under his former partner in order to further shield Lauren from any consequences. This just makes Lauren come off as entitled and difficult to root for, as she only made the situation with the Piper worse due to her own selfishness and need for preservation.
Lauren obnoxiously relents throughout the entire book about how she knows she is not a good person but wishes to achieve some sort of salvation by being a homicide detective and "helping the voiceless". However, this sentiment falls flat to the reader once the truth all comes to the forefront, as this makes it seem like Lauren never really wanted redemption. She wanted absolution from the consequences of her own actions, which every other character in the book enables her to do.
Pelayo writes a really compelling character, but also a very obnoxious one. Lauren mistreats everyone and gets further enabled to act this way, most likely due to her deal with the Piper. However, this revelation then makes the whole point of the story mute, as no progress is actually made in regards to the Pied Piper.
A few other pet peeves of mine is just the overall description of police and forensic work. It's difficult for me to enjoy these types of stories because I also have a background in criminal justice and forensics and there is a lot of mistakes or just inaccurate depictions of the procedure throughout the book that sort of take me out of the reading experience. And while I adore this book for being so Chicago centered, I will admit that it got VERY old, very quickly.
I was also born and raised in Chicago, like Pelayo, however I grew up on the south side of the city rather than the west and north side where this book is centered. While I appreciated the call-outs to Chicago history, architecture, and overall specific Chicago cultural aspects, I do feel like this was geared towards a reader who has never been there, rather than an actual Chicagoan. It seemed to be over-emphasized at times. While it does add a fairy-tale like quality to the story, it got kind of annoying after a certain point.
I also feel like the description of Chicago as this crime-laden city that's "evil" and "cursed" is fun as a plot device, however this can have real world repercussions. I feel this gives a bad impression of the city to outsiders who are not really aware of the complexity and beauty that the city really has and gives the wrong impression of what it's like actually living in Chicago. And it also paints a hyper-violent image of Chicago, which is only mildly true, but not to the extend that Pelayo plays it up in her book. This gives readers a poor image of life in Chicago rather than a better understanding of the complex social dynamics and issues that actually effect the city that lead to increased crime rates. Also Chicago isn't even the most dangerous city in the U.S., it doesn't even break the top 15. There are also some racial dynamics in the book that didn't play out so well, but I do not have the brain power or intelligence to accurately and appropriately discuss them here.
And another issue is just there were parts of the book that were included and emphasized in great detail that led nowhere, where there were important details that were left out that could have aided the story. Like what was Fin's motivation for
Spoiler
getting rid of her momOverall, don't misconstrue my criticism for disliking this book. I enjoyed this book a lot, which is why I can have so much to talk about it. It was a fun read, and I enjoyed the crime thriller and supernatural elements mixed together. If you want a quick horror read by a Latino author for October AND Hispanic Heritage Month, this is for you.