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A review by see_sadie_read
The Devil's Revolver by V.S. McGrath
4.0
A YA novel that avoids a lot of the common YA traps. I'm not entirely sure I even realized this was going to be YA, that the protagonist is 17ish, when I started it. (Yes, it's in the blurb, but I didn't reread it between buying the book and actually reading it.) Even once I did realize, I never felt Hettie fell into the simpering, angst-filled role that annoys me so much in so many YA stories. What's more, while there is a male character that MIGHT later fulfill a romantic pairing, this story wasn't cluttered up with ill-timed youthful luuurve.
I did feel Hettie's obsessive determination wasn't wholly explained. I mean, yes, she wanted her last family member saved, but she seemed a little too driven and compulsive. This may have been because the reader is never really given the opportunity to see Hettie interact with Abby, so Abby is forever a theoretical motivation. Also, I felt some of the magic system was a bit hand-wavy.
I enjoyed the writing, which I found clean and easy to read. It have enough Western slang to give it character, but not enough to clutter the narrative. All in all, I enjoyed it and would happily read another McGrath book.
I did feel Hettie's obsessive determination wasn't wholly explained. I mean, yes, she wanted her last family member saved, but she seemed a little too driven and compulsive. This may have been because the reader is never really given the opportunity to see Hettie interact with Abby, so Abby is forever a theoretical motivation. Also, I felt some of the magic system was a bit hand-wavy.
I enjoyed the writing, which I found clean and easy to read. It have enough Western slang to give it character, but not enough to clutter the narrative. All in all, I enjoyed it and would happily read another McGrath book.