HuckleBuck411
For the most part, I liked this book, but there were a few aspects that prevented me from giving it four stars. The story begins in 1994 when the main characters (one girl among several boys) are teenagers. They are a diverse bunch that sit at the fringe of the general teenage school population, except for one. Despite their parental and other problems, they eventually bond with each other and form what they call The Covenant, a sort of loyalty pledge to one another. On a drunk and drugged camping trip in the local woods, the smart, good-looking, jock of the bunch goes poof after daring the group, invoking The Covenant, and climbing a mysterious staircase in the woods. Unable to find their missing member, the group becomes a pariah in the eyes of the town, the townsfolk believing they had most likely murdered their friend. In adulthood, The Covenant breaks up and disperses into their individual lives, haunted by what had occurred in the past. Then one of their group manages to cajole the members to come back to their hometown using a specious argument that he is dying of cancer. Needless to say, another mysterious staircase and a climb into horror await The Covenant.
So, what bothered me about the book? The characters were very hard to like. They all carried around major baggage from poor home lives in their formative years. It became tedious as the characters continuously mulled over the state of their lives and why they were unhappy and unsatisfied. However, what bothered me the most was that the story ended without answering one of the biggest questions of interest to this reader. Also, being an independent conservative, the sprinkling of liberal bias throughout was rankling. In my opinion, in a non-political book, it's always better to remain politically neutral in storytelling; that way, the majority of readers can enjoy the story without being subtly triggered one way or the other.
For the most part, I liked this book, but there were a few aspects that prevented me from giving it four stars. The story begins in 1994 when the main characters (one girl among several boys) are teenagers. They are a diverse bunch that sit at the fringe of the general teenage school population, except for one. Despite their parental and other problems, they eventually bond with each other and form what they call The Covenant, a sort of loyalty pledge to one another. On a drunk and drugged camping trip in the local woods, the smart, good-looking, jock of the bunch goes poof after daring the group, invoking The Covenant, and climbing a mysterious staircase in the woods. Unable to find their missing member, the group becomes a pariah in the eyes of the town, the townsfolk believing they had most likely murdered their friend. In adulthood, The Covenant breaks up and disperses into their individual lives, haunted by what had occurred in the past. Then one of their group manages to cajole the members to come back to their hometown using a specious argument that he is dying of cancer. Needless to say, another mysterious staircase and a climb into horror await The Covenant.
So, what bothered me about the book? The characters were very hard to like. They all carried around major baggage from poor home lives in their formative years. It became tedious as the characters continuously mulled over the state of their lives and why they were unhappy and unsatisfied. However, what bothered me the most was that the story ended without answering one of the biggest questions of interest to this reader. Also, being an independent conservative, the sprinkling of liberal bias throughout was rankling. In my opinion, in a non-political book, it's always better to remain politically neutral in storytelling; that way, the majority of readers can enjoy the story without being subtly triggered one way or the other.