Kalahari by Jessica Khoury is an adventure/thriller, a (light) science fiction story, and, probably most importantly, a survival story. The setting is fabulous, the characters are likeable, and the plot is intriguing. This is a novel that at times feels like an action movie, and it never, ever lags.
The author keeps the interactions and dialogue among the teenagers real; the swings in group dynamics and emotions lend additional authenticity. The hodge-podge group of characters struggles under extremely difficult circumstances and the author shares that struggle and the protagonist’s self doubts with the reader. These elements are critical to grounding a story that has other fantastic, science fiction elements. There is a romance element, but it is more of a sidebar and doesn’t become the focus of the narrative, thus opening this book to a wide audience. The conclusion is pulled together rapidly (maybe a bit too rapidly), but satisfactorily and the reader doesn’t have to deal with this being the beginning of yet another series.
Frankly, this is just an exciting read and a page-turner that should find a wide and varied young adult audience. Highly recommended!
This book was sent to Compass Book Ratings for review by Razorbill
Content Analysis:
Profanity/Language: 12 religious exclamations; 10 mild obscenities; 1 derogatory name; 1 anatomical term; 1 offensive hand gesture.
Violence/Gore: Report of death of parent in accident; gunshots heard; character encounters animal resulting in minor injuries; character is found shot, eventually dies from wounds, mention of blood; destruction of property; character slaps another; animal is shot; animal kills another animal; characters come upon many dead animal bodies; character knocked unconscious with blunt object; extended scene of confrontation involving tackling, shooting, deaths of people and animals (non-descriptive); animal attacks humans; characters kill birds for food; animal charges characters resulting in injuries; character hit in the face with butt of pistol; non-detailed report of finding dead animals; report of shooting and a couple of deaths; bee stings; extended multi-page fight scene (general/non-descriptive) involving shooting, animals attacking, injuries, implied deaths, chasing, crashing, mention of blood; character shoots self in head.
Sex/Nudity: Reference to a “sexually frustrated elephant”; characters kiss; characters kiss passionately; character strokes hair of another; characters of the opposite sex hold each other and sleep next to each other (sexual activity not implied); character finds another attractive.
Mature Subject Matter:
Scientific ethics, animal experimentation, murder, illness, death of a parent/family member, suicide.
Alcohol / Drug Use:
Adults smoke.
