Re-educating a societal cult

First things first – the cover or the title isn’t really representative of the engaging YA story that is told by author Bodurtha.  This is an active-paced story of a group of teens that rebelled against a usurious elite and an inhuman tradition.  Yes, the main characters are teens.  Teens that are subject to emotional immaturity and infatuation, but also full of passion and courage.  However, they do deliver.  Hence the title.

Background:  The story is premised on a fictional Aztec society that engages a priest to offer as a godly sacrifice the life of one person a day in exchange for the opportunity to see the sun rise again the next day.  The endless source of these “sacrifices” are the underprivileged of society (aka poor).  The key character is a young woman from the upper class, who comes of age and is now informed of the truth behind the practice.  She crosses paths with a rebel group and gets involved in a saga to unveil the truth to the larger society, with the intent to stop the practice of human sacrifice and destroy the wall between the rich and poor.

Review notes:  I am pleasantly surprised and delighted by the excellent storytelling of Bodurtha.  The characters are initially introduced with only one dimension – e.g., shallow, pretty, arrogant, strong, etc. – but as the story progresses, layers upon layers of values and personality are added to each character.  I am particularly impressed by how the antagonist, Amihan, was given flesh and character.  In the end, it is hard to blame this person for how skewed her perspective is.  However, I agree, that a cause against violence can never be won by violence.  This war is won from within – hence, education, societal unity and collaboration are key to rebuilding.  The ending was a little too abrupt and summarized – but this isn’t unusual nowadays.  At least, the tension aftermath and uncertainty weren’t glossed over.  The rebuild of a broken society is never a smooth road.  Cambodia comes to mind as an example.  I just wish a lengthier epilogue was appended.

Conclusion:  This is a good quality novel.  The setting did not need to be in Mesoamerica, it could have been any fictional society for that matter, but the story will still stand on its own. 

Recommendation:  Pick this up as your next read over the holidays.  P.S.  Thanks to Jared for introducing me to this book.