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A review by egelantier
Stranger by Sherwood Smith, Rachel Manija Brown
5.0
[reviewing an arc]
man, am i ever sorry this book is not out yet, because i want everybody to read it and then write me fics. it's a post-apocalyptic story done without this specific flair of post-ap noir despair: i've loved the vibrancy of the setting first, with deadly yet bright and lively fauna (or not always deadly: my favorites were squirrels that learned to telekinetically steal food), and small enclaves of people trying to survive. the book follows ross, a skittish, half-feral boy who ends up in a town of las anclas, and slowly learns to trust and love other people, and several young people of las anclas community. there's a ton of lovely understated h/c, several queer couples (with and without povs), a budding f/f/m relationship, a slowly unfolding plot (mostly setting up events for the following books, but still following a tight and self-contained narrative), lots of lovely worldbuilding details and a really appealing community.
i've came to the conclusion that los anclas reminded me a lot, in feeling, of postman book (that i love in all its b-movie glory): people genuinely trying their best to keep their world standing without resorting to violence or willful awfulness. there's some unsavory politics and unpleasant prejudices, but even these characters do try their best to stay human.
(my second favorite character is felicity, a scheming, bitter girl trying to keep her world tightly controlled and struggling with her secret identity: she starts out as something of a hidden antagonist, and then slowly unfolds in a flawed yet sympathetic, almost tragic figure. i can't wait to see what she will make herself into).
man, am i ever sorry this book is not out yet, because i want everybody to read it and then write me fics. it's a post-apocalyptic story done without this specific flair of post-ap noir despair: i've loved the vibrancy of the setting first, with deadly yet bright and lively fauna (or not always deadly: my favorites were squirrels that learned to telekinetically steal food), and small enclaves of people trying to survive. the book follows ross, a skittish, half-feral boy who ends up in a town of las anclas, and slowly learns to trust and love other people, and several young people of las anclas community. there's a ton of lovely understated h/c, several queer couples (with and without povs), a budding f/f/m relationship, a slowly unfolding plot (mostly setting up events for the following books, but still following a tight and self-contained narrative), lots of lovely worldbuilding details and a really appealing community.
i've came to the conclusion that los anclas reminded me a lot, in feeling, of postman book (that i love in all its b-movie glory): people genuinely trying their best to keep their world standing without resorting to violence or willful awfulness. there's some unsavory politics and unpleasant prejudices, but even these characters do try their best to stay human.
(my second favorite character is felicity, a scheming, bitter girl trying to keep her world tightly controlled and struggling with her secret identity: she starts out as something of a hidden antagonist, and then slowly unfolds in a flawed yet sympathetic, almost tragic figure. i can't wait to see what she will make herself into).