Review: Great start to a new series
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 06 2, 2012
"Shotgun Gravy" is the first installment in a series of novellas about Atlanta Burns, a teenage girl who's committed a murder in self-defense and then goes on to act as a sort of vigilante-for-hire for kids who are being bullied.Atlanta is a great character; she was full of contradictions and felt quite real to me most of the time. However, the fact that she swears like a sailor, yet refuses to say the word "damn" (she's not religious, and gives no other explanation) seems more like a quirky character "gimmick" than anything else. If she had a reason for it, no matter how odd, I could buy it. Given everything else that comes out of her mouth, I find her reticence to say that word unbelievable. There are also times when her thoughts and/or dialogue sound more like what I'd expect from an older person (particularly a man) rather than a teenage girl.The action scenes, the settings, and the secondary characters were clearly drawn, with well-chosen details that made them pop. Once I started the story, I didn't want to put it down.I look forward to the rest of this series. Chuck Wendig is a writer to watch.