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A review by booksamongstfriends
Jackal by Erin E. Adams
3.0
I was really looking forward to reading Jackal, but unfortunately, it fell short in several aspects. While I appreciated the dimensions of the main character, Liz, I ultimately felt she needed another character to balance her out. While the book touches on assimilation, self hatred, the exploration of Blackness, and white proximity. Nothing feels fully developed.
The story begins with Liz returning to her hometown for her white best friend Mel’s wedding. Throughout the novel, it seems like Liz is constantly bending for this friend until she finally snaps. Mel is the type of white friend who says, “I don’t see color.” From a reader’s standpoint, it’s obvious their friendship is shaky and borderline transactional, as they both provide each other with some kind of access or protection. It felt unrealistic that only now, during her best friend's wedding weekend, Liz starts coming to terms with these realizations.
When Mel’s biracial daughter, Caroline, goes missing, we embark on Liz’s journey of self-discovery and the unearthing of missing Black girls and violent crimes. It felt strange that Liz would be the one to discover these crimes, showing more passion than the victims' own mothers. The crimes are so violent, it's unfathomable they wouldn’t have been in the news. They’ve been happening for 20 years, and while it is a sad reality that Black bodies do go missing without much attention, the ritualistic nature of these crimes alone would’ve received some kind of notice or sent alerts to other counties and states. The parents of these children were all involved in the community at some point and were targeted. It made little sense that suddenly, Liz comes back home and now she’s the one to solve this case with ease. This only further highlighted her proximity to whiteness.
It also made figuring out who the killer was quite obvious. Given the town's dynamics, why would this person want to help her so badly? The ending really bothered me. I don’t mind the incorporation of supernatural or mythological elements, but they should be accurate. Including a jackal and Anubis didn’t make sense since Anubis, although a god of death, is also the protector of the dead and wouldn’t have approved of what was happening. If anything, the author could’ve depicted him as someone who would’ve protected these girls in the afterlife.
Some aspects of Liz’s character were compelling, and there were potentially great bits here. The concept and perception of the “good” Black girl and the burdens it carries was starting to be explored. But racism isn’t actually handled; it’s merely discussed. And when the discussion goes too far, Liz is left in the woods. A redeeming quality was the genuine relationship with her mother, which many readers might relate to. The use of her past relationship turned against her was interesting as well. Additionally, the incorporation of historical Johnstown folklore and events that inspired the writing was pretty cool.
The best parts of this book were the flashbacks capturing the voices of the missing girls, especially in the first half. However, there didn’t seem to be any powerful revelation or redemption for these missing girls. Only the “good” ones make it out, I guess.
The story begins with Liz returning to her hometown for her white best friend Mel’s wedding. Throughout the novel, it seems like Liz is constantly bending for this friend until she finally snaps. Mel is the type of white friend who says, “I don’t see color.” From a reader’s standpoint, it’s obvious their friendship is shaky and borderline transactional, as they both provide each other with some kind of access or protection. It felt unrealistic that only now, during her best friend's wedding weekend, Liz starts coming to terms with these realizations.
When Mel’s biracial daughter, Caroline, goes missing, we embark on Liz’s journey of self-discovery and the unearthing of missing Black girls and violent crimes. It felt strange that Liz would be the one to discover these crimes, showing more passion than the victims' own mothers. The crimes are so violent, it's unfathomable they wouldn’t have been in the news. They’ve been happening for 20 years, and while it is a sad reality that Black bodies do go missing without much attention, the ritualistic nature of these crimes alone would’ve received some kind of notice or sent alerts to other counties and states. The parents of these children were all involved in the community at some point and were targeted. It made little sense that suddenly, Liz comes back home and now she’s the one to solve this case with ease. This only further highlighted her proximity to whiteness.
It also made figuring out who the killer was quite obvious. Given the town's dynamics, why would this person want to help her so badly? The ending really bothered me. I don’t mind the incorporation of supernatural or mythological elements, but they should be accurate. Including a jackal and Anubis didn’t make sense since Anubis, although a god of death, is also the protector of the dead and wouldn’t have approved of what was happening. If anything, the author could’ve depicted him as someone who would’ve protected these girls in the afterlife.
Some aspects of Liz’s character were compelling, and there were potentially great bits here. The concept and perception of the “good” Black girl and the burdens it carries was starting to be explored. But racism isn’t actually handled; it’s merely discussed. And when the discussion goes too far, Liz is left in the woods. A redeeming quality was the genuine relationship with her mother, which many readers might relate to. The use of her past relationship turned against her was interesting as well. Additionally, the incorporation of historical Johnstown folklore and events that inspired the writing was pretty cool.
The best parts of this book were the flashbacks capturing the voices of the missing girls, especially in the first half. However, there didn’t seem to be any powerful revelation or redemption for these missing girls. Only the “good” ones make it out, I guess.