Book Review: Drought by Pam Bachorz
Drought reimagines the story of Pocahontas by switching a chieftain's daughter and an Englishman with an enslaved cultist and her master. When Ruby, the leader of the Congregation, falls in love with one of her Overseers, she desires nothing more than to run away with him—but she also knows that without her power to provide eternal life, all of her friends and family will die.
Bachorz writes with terse style, hitting all the right notes in her dark young adult romance. Her dialogue is particularly spot-on, displaying the effects of desperate love and choked down anger with ease. Additionally, much of the characterization stuck with me: the protagonist's struggle with selfishness keeps her from ever turning unlikable, and Jonah Pelling's aggression juxtaposes perfectly with the reserved nature of the other Congregants.
Unfortunately, these positive qualities fail to completely salvage all of the author's mistakes. For instance, Ruby spends almost the entire novel demonstrating her complete ineptitude in standing up for herself. She allows herself to be convinced into an escape attempt, then keeps her head down as her mother berates her for trying to run away. Secondly, I found myself confused by some aspects of the world. Ruby is two hundred years old, and she is considered a teenager—were these people originally pilgrims? Native Americans? I have no idea. Furthermore, the reader never gets any significant details about Otto. I do not know why he left the Congregation in the first place, let alone why he is expected to return.
Overall, Drought falls short of my recommendation. I enjoyed this read, but not enough to give it my stamp of approval. That said, if you need to fill your appetite for young adult romance, you could do far worse than this novel.
SCORE:
For more reviews:
0 comments: