Review: Realistic young adult fiction
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 11 15, 2013
"The Shepherd" by Travis Luedke is a paranormal thriller slash romance for young adults, the emphasis on adult. It is the kind of book that will probably not be in the high school library but one that most high school kids would like to find there and will find someplace else.Luedke freshens up the genre by writing a book about how kids really are, not how they are written in young adult books to please the parents. The kids are hormone driven, obnoxious at times and are still finding their bearings in the world - and they certainly don't just hold hands. Lifelike and real. The realistic writing style is the strongest part of this book.The story is expertly told with several strands of plot intertwining: The rivalry of our hero Mike with other high school boys, the odd relationship Mike has with his best female friend Anita and his encounters with the mysterious Nadia.Mike has school, family issues and then he has visions that keep flashing in front of his eyes, intuition that changes his perspective and lets him see into the future. But the past also catches up with him.The main characters are excellently chosen and there is an unpretentiousness and fundamental realism in this set up that makes this a very easy and for this reader a very rewarding experience. Innovative and original, at times witty and very humorous, at others action driven and full of suspense this is a book that could easily achieve cult status amongst the younger readers and have us older ones look over their shoulders with keen interest. Very well done.