Strangers was surprising in every way. Cole’s narration is humorous and emotional. I absolutely adored the themes that Strangers examines: returning back to your small town home and trying to figure out your place in the community.
Summary
When Cole Harper is compelled to return to Wounded Sky First Nation, he finds his community in chaos: a series of shocking murders, a mysterious illness ravaging the residents, and reemerging questions about Cole’s role in the tragedy that drove him away 10 years ago. With the aid of an unhelpful spirit, a disfigured ghost, and his two oldest friends, Cole tries to figure out his purpose, and unravel the mysteries he left behind a decade ago. Will he find the answers in time to save his community?
Review
(Disclaimer: I received this free book from Netgalley. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
So I felt like I thought this book was going to go a very different direction than I figured. Looking back on the synopsis, I can see where I went wrong, but I have this one not in my book about a quarter of the way in that says, “OMG what is happening”. But I loved that about this book.
Strangers was continually surprising me. Cole as a character was fascinating. There’s this genuine painful past and it’s only unraveled a fraction in Strangers. At the same time, there were really wonderful side characters that were detailed. It’s my pet peeve when the side characters are not well described – but Robertson nails it! Not only is there diversity (First Nation teenagers, and two gay characters), but they share memories and relationships. The side characters form a net of connections.
(Choch was hilarious. I loved his interjections in the book, but also his overall personality).
Strangers begins with a fantastic hook that makes you want to read, and it never really lets up. Robertson only confounds our expectations, merging superhero and the ‘fantastic’. The hidden mystery of why Cole left is expertly revealed in little snippets. Strangers is about how we change as people and about how we make sense of the past, come to terms with our guilt, and lay our debts to rest. I loved the direction this book went in – the melding of the genres, the characters and their own stories, and the future of the series at the end. I would highly recommend.
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this book was ok. reading it for school made it worse.
ugh yeah, that can be the worst