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A review by jenpaul13
Lucha of the Night Forest by Tehlor Kay Mejia
3.0
With a life that provides few options for protecting loved ones from harm, striking a dangerous bargain may seem like the only path forward in Lucha of the Night Forest by Tehlor Kay Mejia.
To read this, and other book reviews, visit my website: http://makinggoodstories.wordpress.com/.
Living in Robado, Lucha laments her time there as much as the next person, especially with the horrors she experiences of Olvida, a forgetting drug, which her mother is addicted to, and the hunting of dangerous creatures in the forest Lucha undertakes to make ends meet for herself and her younger sister Lis. When their mother hasn’t been home or reported to work, the sisters face the threat of eviction; determined to save them, Lucha leaves to sort things out but when she returns home finds that Lis is gone, offering herself as collateral to stave off eviction. Angered by this turn of events, Lucha unleashes a display of power aided by El Sediento, a legend of the forest, that results in her being held captive. Caged, Lucha has little to do but seethe and plan; striking a bargain with El Sediento to rid Robado of Olvida in exchange for her help on a task at a lightening stricken tree deep within the forest, Lucha’s escape and rescue of Lis, with assistance from Paz, a goddess devotee helping addicts Lucha encountered on the street, leads them on a journey through the thought-to-be uninhabitable forest. Emotions are high while trying to survive but the tension between Lucha and Paz grows, reaching reach new heights when the trio are ambushed by followers of the goddess and taken in; Lucha learns vital information that helps her with her decision on how to deal with El Sediento, protect her sister, and manage to have freedom.
Quickly paced, the story progresses at a rapid clip, moving from action point to action point; while most of the major questions raised throughout are answered to some degree there’s still a lingering sense of absence of deeper development of both character and plot beyond more surface-level changes, especially with the long time that Lucha spent locked away that was glossed over rather quickly. The world and the social structure that has kept corruption and drugs at the forefront to manipulate its people is well-portrayed but the role of the acolytes of the goddess within the world and how they became a discouraged group didn’t come across overly well or organically and neither did Lucha’s mystical creature hunting role feel adequately contextualized, apart from serving as an indicator of her strength and independence. Using the concept of a “chosen one” through Lucha, it was refreshing to have a perspective on it that emphasized the importance of an individual’s will and choice in influencing events as they unfold and that if it weren’t through Lucha then the events would come to pass through someone else in time.
*I received a copy of the book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
To read this, and other book reviews, visit my website: http://makinggoodstories.wordpress.com/.
Living in Robado, Lucha laments her time there as much as the next person, especially with the horrors she experiences of Olvida, a forgetting drug, which her mother is addicted to, and the hunting of dangerous creatures in the forest Lucha undertakes to make ends meet for herself and her younger sister Lis. When their mother hasn’t been home or reported to work, the sisters face the threat of eviction; determined to save them, Lucha leaves to sort things out but when she returns home finds that Lis is gone, offering herself as collateral to stave off eviction. Angered by this turn of events, Lucha unleashes a display of power aided by El Sediento, a legend of the forest, that results in her being held captive. Caged, Lucha has little to do but seethe and plan; striking a bargain with El Sediento to rid Robado of Olvida in exchange for her help on a task at a lightening stricken tree deep within the forest, Lucha’s escape and rescue of Lis, with assistance from Paz, a goddess devotee helping addicts Lucha encountered on the street, leads them on a journey through the thought-to-be uninhabitable forest. Emotions are high while trying to survive but the tension between Lucha and Paz grows, reaching reach new heights when the trio are ambushed by followers of the goddess and taken in; Lucha learns vital information that helps her with her decision on how to deal with El Sediento, protect her sister, and manage to have freedom.
Quickly paced, the story progresses at a rapid clip, moving from action point to action point; while most of the major questions raised throughout are answered to some degree there’s still a lingering sense of absence of deeper development of both character and plot beyond more surface-level changes, especially with the long time that Lucha spent locked away that was glossed over rather quickly. The world and the social structure that has kept corruption and drugs at the forefront to manipulate its people is well-portrayed but the role of the acolytes of the goddess within the world and how they became a discouraged group didn’t come across overly well or organically and neither did Lucha’s mystical creature hunting role feel adequately contextualized, apart from serving as an indicator of her strength and independence. Using the concept of a “chosen one” through Lucha, it was refreshing to have a perspective on it that emphasized the importance of an individual’s will and choice in influencing events as they unfold and that if it weren’t through Lucha then the events would come to pass through someone else in time.
*I received a copy of the book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.