Book Review: Scorch by Gina Damico
The Review:
Croak was Gina Damico's first novel and Scorch
is certainly a worthy successor. The third book, Rogue will be out later
this year and I'm pretty excited. Scorch picks up a little bit after
where Croak left off. Lex is still reeling from what Zara did to her
sister and dealing with new problems. At the end of the last book, when
Zara absorbed Lex's ability, there was a bit of a backfire and now Lex
is drawn to Damning. So Damico starts us off in complexity. Lex has a
lot to deal with right from the start. Not just her family problems, but
the town she came to love has transformed her and her friends into
scapegoats and soon enough they find themselves on the wrong end of a
witch hunt and must flee. This is an excellent move on Damico's part as
it allows her to show us more of the Grim world and seamlessly integrate
new characters into the narrative.
The other thing Damico does
well is have actual stakes for her characters. I was stunned in the
first one when the sister died and in this book, more people die. Now,
yes, there is a bit of that death cop-out thing going on, but with this
series it fits better than in others. Damico also addresses the
"Afterlife is too awesome and easy" issue that she set up in the first
book.
But what I think makes the series strong, besides the great idea and plot, is the character of Lex.
Lex
has never been a typical teenager. She's violent, eccentric, a bit
self-centered (ok that might be typical) but she also has a strong moral
compass. She's also very different from most YA heroines. There is a
dark side to her that Damico lets come through. Now, I don't want to
call her an "antihero" because I despise that term. I believe she is a
hero, but she is violent and makes huge mistakes sometimes. Damico does a
nice job of not always giving her the "out" when Lex does some rather
intense things during her struggle.
Anyway, I can't recommend these books enough, and I'm eagerly waiting for more work from Gina Damico.
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