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A review by nchinnici
The Revenant by Sonia Gensler
3.0
The Revenant is a historical fiction coming of age story peppered with mysterious and ghostly events.
This story follows Willie, who has assumes the name of her former classmate to become a teacher in Indian Territory to escape returning to the home she hates. When she arrives at the school, she discovers that one of the students died the previous year and strange occurrences have been happening. This main plot line was intriguing and unfolded at an even pace, but there is also a romantic subplot that didn’t quite match up to it. That being said, the story moved along quickly and was easy to read.
Some of the characters in this book were more fleshed out than others, and many fell a bit flat. But the way the author used them to explore the social structures in that place and time was nicely done. However, the strongest aspect of The Revenant is the setting. The boarding school and its surroundings were described clearly and were easy to visualize. Which makes sense given the author’s note at the end explaining all of Gensler’s research and how she tried to remain true to the history of the setting.
In the end, I liked The Revenant. But I can’t help but think that if I’d come across it when I was a teenager, I probably would have enjoyed it a lot more.
This story follows Willie, who has assumes the name of her former classmate to become a teacher in Indian Territory to escape returning to the home she hates. When she arrives at the school, she discovers that one of the students died the previous year and strange occurrences have been happening. This main plot line was intriguing and unfolded at an even pace, but there is also a romantic subplot that didn’t quite match up to it. That being said, the story moved along quickly and was easy to read.
Some of the characters in this book were more fleshed out than others, and many fell a bit flat. But the way the author used them to explore the social structures in that place and time was nicely done. However, the strongest aspect of The Revenant is the setting. The boarding school and its surroundings were described clearly and were easy to visualize. Which makes sense given the author’s note at the end explaining all of Gensler’s research and how she tried to remain true to the history of the setting.
In the end, I liked The Revenant. But I can’t help but think that if I’d come across it when I was a teenager, I probably would have enjoyed it a lot more.