Monday, October 14, 2013

review Renegade byJ.A. Souder














   Having grown up on "Aquaman" and Henry Kuttner's fine novel Fury I was eager to see how a writer from a far different generation handled the the trope of an underwater world.

   J.A. Souder not only honors but enriches this this particular trope with her Young Adult novel  Renegade.  Groomed to be the leader of Elysium, raised in a realm so perfect anything else is unimaginable, young Evelyn Winters can't believe what the real Elysium is explained to her.

  Souder's storyline is filled with constant tension and surprise. About mid-point I made the mistake of thinking I knew where she was going. She's way too talented for that.

  The world building here is masterful as is the color and pacing when young about-to-be-leader becomes the Renegade of the title. Souder to manages to create a young woman as complex as the world she inhabits so that what might have been a routine chase novel becomes an expertly written character study as well.


Publisher: Tor Teen
Publication Date: November 2012
Hardcover: 364 Pages

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