Preteen Kateb longs for adventure, or as much of one as a world that is only two-hundred miles across can offer. Luckily for him he runs into a girl named Ryn, and wouldn’t you know it, she is being chased by demons. Now he must either risk everything to aide his new friend or remain in his repressive little world. Choices.
One of the first mistakes many writers of this genre (Young Adult) make is to underestimate their readers. They temper the prose, dumb down the themes, and dial back on characterization to make their novel more accessible. The issue? Many teens have better reading habits than adults.
This may not be the foil for Louise Piechota’s Waymaker, but there are plenty of construction problems that lead me to believe some of it must have been by choice. Despite this, the novel boasts solid worldbuilding and enough of a plot to keep things moving. The characters themselves are interesting enough and might appeal to teens if they were fleshed out better.
Final verdict: A light read that errs on the side of being too light, what may interest younger children, but isn’t enough to keep a teen’s attention.
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