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A review by adamyeti
American Rapture by CJ Leede
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
American Rapture is a brutal, merciless story with a heart of gold. As a big fan of Maeve Fly, I was incredibly excited to check out C.J. Leede's latest offering. I was worried that it wouldn't live up to my own expectations after enjoying Maeve Fly so much, but ultimately, I think American Rapture is the stronger book.
Stories that take place just before and during the apocalypse are right up my alley, and C.J. did a fantastic job of making me just as interested in the before times as I was in the later chaos. Sophie's home life was rough enough that it could have been a horror story on its own...
Overall, this is essentially an incredibly dark, apocalyptic coming of age story. The main themes center around religious trauma, womanhood, and the intersection of the two.
For most of the book, I had a hard time setting it down. I don't think many—if any—pages could have been culled. There was a slowdown about three quarters in, but otherwise, I was thoroughly captivated the entire time.
While not incredibly gory or gruesome, its content is incredibly dark and disturbing. Cheap shocks aren't necessary when the entire premise is this vile.
For me, this type of content bothers me more than a lot of other things due to how possible it feels. After experiencing a global pandemic and seeing how governments and individuals reacted to it, this book felt so painfully and disappointingly real at times. The story was awful and beautiful, and the ending could not have been any better. This is, to me, a near perfect book.
There were a couple of things that I disliked, such as a bizarre sequence that almost seemed like a dream due to how impossible it sounded but turned out to be real. Additionally, there was a bit of plot armor and a few other moments that I felt needed an explanation. (There was a bit of "somehow Palpatine returned.") In the end, everything else was so good that these things didn't bother me that much.
If you are up for the content and think you are remotely interested, absolutely read this. It is one of my favorites of the year, and C.J. Leede has cemented her spot as one of my favorite authors.
Thanks to Tor Nightfire and NetGalley for the advance copy.
Stories that take place just before and during the apocalypse are right up my alley, and C.J. did a fantastic job of making me just as interested in the before times as I was in the later chaos. Sophie's home life was rough enough that it could have been a horror story on its own...
Overall, this is essentially an incredibly dark, apocalyptic coming of age story. The main themes center around religious trauma, womanhood, and the intersection of the two.
For most of the book, I had a hard time setting it down. I don't think many—if any—pages could have been culled. There was a slowdown about three quarters in, but otherwise, I was thoroughly captivated the entire time.
While not incredibly gory or gruesome, its content is incredibly dark and disturbing. Cheap shocks aren't necessary when the entire premise is this vile.
For me, this type of content bothers me more than a lot of other things due to how possible it feels. After experiencing a global pandemic and seeing how governments and individuals reacted to it, this book felt so painfully and disappointingly real at times. The story was awful and beautiful, and the ending could not have been any better. This is, to me, a near perfect book.
There were a couple of things that I disliked, such as a bizarre sequence that almost seemed like a dream due to how impossible it sounded but turned out to be real. Additionally, there was a bit of plot armor and a few other moments that I felt needed an explanation. (There was a bit of "somehow Palpatine returned.") In the end, everything else was so good that these things didn't bother me that much.
If you are up for the content and think you are remotely interested, absolutely read this. It is one of my favorites of the year, and C.J. Leede has cemented her spot as one of my favorite authors.
Thanks to Tor Nightfire and NetGalley for the advance copy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Rape, Sexual assault, and Murder