THE FLICKER - H. E. Edgmon


 In a post-apocalyptic world (a result of significant climate crisis), a pair of step-siblings must navigate a newly dangerous world and find some kind of long-term safety. They connect with a theatre troupe - safety in numbers - and work their way toward 'Sanctuary' where they should find safety and perhaps relatives. But it's a dangerous journey as lawlessness reigns and ruthless bands of thugs are looking to take whatever they can, including people.

The journey becomes a metaphor for one of the siblings who is on a personal journey as well, struggling to understand their own sexual identity, coming to terms with and admitting to those around them, that they are trans.

I think it's important that young readers who struggle with their sexual identity have books and characters that they can identify with. In this sense, this book works quite nicely.  It's an important part of the character development, but it's not the focus of the story which is appreciated.

But...

The story is extremely generic. There is nothing special about this post apocalyptic world.  It's a tamed-down version (it's soft YA) of every post-apocalyptic story you've ever read or watched. As a sci-fi adventure it struggles to set itself apart from overflowing bookstore shelves. As a character study, unless you are specifically looking for a young trans character with whom to identify, there's really nothing here. This is a passage of time, focused on some young adults making their way in a depressing world. <shrug>

I definitely didn't hate anything here. Nothing rubbed me the wrong way, but I waited and waited for something interesting to happen.  Is waiting for a character to realize that they are a 'they' enough? Perhaps for some, but not for this reader.

Looking for a good book? The Flicker by H.E. Edgmon is a YA adventure in a post-apocalyptic (climate crises) world with one of the main characters coming to terms with being trans. Sadly, not much happens.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

3 stars

* * * * * *

The Flicker

author: H.E. Edgmon

publisher: Feiwel and Friends

ISBN: 9781250873972

hardcover, 288 pages

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

VINYL RESTING PLACE - Olivia Blacke

Image
 Juni Jessup and her two sister, Tansy and Maggie, have gone into business together in their hometown of Cedar River, Texas, opening a combination record store and coffee shop. Vinyl LPs are making a comeback after all, despite critics thinking the medium was dead.  But speaking of 'dead' ... finding a dead body in the supply closet just as they are looking to have a grand opening is not part of the plan.  Juni's life gets more complicated when their uncle, Calvin, already a suspect in the murder, disappears. And the police officer leading the investigation is Juni's EX-boyfriend (who passive-aggressively keeps putting himself back into her life). Convinced that her uncle would never murder anyone, Juni sets out to prove his innocence - which isn't easy since he's making himself look guilty - because Calvin is family and family is EVERYthing to Juni. As readers of my blog know, I'm not a big fan of most cozy mysteries, but the setting caught my eye and my in...
Read more

THE WALLED CITY - Ryan Graudin

Image
  Jin and her sister, Mei Yee, were taken and sold and then sent to the lawless Walled City to serve as prostitutes or slaves to anyone willing to pay. Jin managed to escape her captivity, but not the Walled City and she now lurks about, disguised as a boy and is trying to track down the brothel where her sister is still captive. Jin will work odd delivery jobs to earn a small bit of money and hopefully have a legitimate means of coming in contact with her sister's captors.  This is how she meets up with Dai, a mysterious boy who has somehow managed to avoid running with any of the gangs in the city but he seems to have his own unusual connections, which Jon could desperately use if she has any hope of finding Mei Yee. But Dai has his own desperate needs.  The story is told from the different perspectives of each character and we do bounce around quite a bit as the chapters are generally short. This never bothered me, which is slightly unusual as often I find this techni...
Read more

THE RAVEN THIEF - Gigi Pandian

Image
 With Tempest Raj now a member of the company, Secret Staircase Construction (a company who, as their title suggests, builds mystery-themed, secret rooms inside homes) has finished their first job. Their client now wants to celebrate to kick off her new beginning - new home and new life now that she's divorced from her cheating ex-husband, famous mystery author Corbin Colt. First up, a mock séance to remove any trace of Corbin from the property, led by Tempest's friend, Sanjay.   But during that séance, while all those gathered sat in a dark room holding hands, Corbin's dead body crashes the party, falling across the table in front of everyone. There were eight people in the room, and they were all holding hands, but all the evidence points to one of them being the murderer.  Suspicions point to Ash, Tempest's grandfather, because he was the only one with Corbin's blood on him. Of course, as a doctor, he was also the only one who checked on the body - ...
Read more