The only character I really like or connect to in this story is the narrator.

My favorite scene involves a gun, a waterfall and a maneating reptile.I received this via First Reads and greatly appreciated the opportunity to experience Klavan's work. I think the messages would have been more profoundly received without the heavy hand. The narrator himself becomes less shallow and more introspective as the story develops.Īlthough I enjoyed the introspection, I think the 'God' talk in the book was overdone. It stands to reason that he might just view his experiences, at least initially, via his media riddled and cliche laden worldview. I wonder if this isn't a purposeful tool used by the author to make the narrator more realistic.Īfter all, the narrator is 16 years old. In the beginning the characters all seem a little cliche and two dimensional but they acquire at least a little depth as the story climaxes and rolls toward its conclusion. I think the characters are developed via the worldview and perspective of the teenager who is telling us his story. My first instinct was to feel this was a result of bad character development. I received this via First Reads and greatly appreciated the opportunity to experience Klavan's work. I don't need to own this one, but I am likely to recommend it to my young teen friends or anyone else who wants a fun, lively read. If I could give it 3.5, that's what I would do, but I'll push it up to 4 in this case. The writing is from a teen boy's point of view which had me unsure at the beginning, but it didn't take long to get into and relate to the character, so it became almost endearing as the story went along.

Just the kind of story I would have thrived on as a young teen, which is the intended audience. It kept me interested in the story and kept me turning the pages. This was a thriller/action book and the intensity was there from very early on to the last few pages. The fact that the main character prayed was mentioned more than it needed to be, but it didn't detract from the action or the story line like Klavan has done before. This one was on the edge, and thankfully stayed more palpable. I'm not athiest by any means and believe in prayer, however, it was in your face during that book. I tried to read another book by Klavan last year (The Last Thing I Remember) and found it extremely heavy on the 'God front'. Thanks to Goodreads for sending this First Reads book for free through Goodreads Giveaways.

If we survive by andrew klavan