Sunday 11 September 2016

Edna in the Desert by Maddy Lederman (Young Adult, 9/10E, short 'n' sweet review)

I would with the craft projects!
April 2016, Electio Publishing, 185 pages, Ebook, Review copy

Book summary 
Edna is a precocious trouble-maker wreaking havoc at her Beverly Hills school. Her therapist advocates medication, but her parents come up with an alternative cure: Edna will spend the summer in the desert with her grandparents. Their remote cabin is cut off from cell phone service, Internet and television. Edna’s determined to rebel until she meets an older local boy and falls in love for the first time. How can she get to know him from the edge of nowhere?

Nayu's thoughts 
Edna is an ungrateful brat, a drama queen who has no idea how priviliged she is. Her self-centred attitude undergoes a mild reform during her exile, not a radical one, but enough that she starts thinking of others. I smiled when she ends up organising a party which while not having the result she longed for, did help someone else in the long term. 

There were several moments when I got teary eyed because of the emotion of the writing. It was fun watching how fed up Edna was without technology as a constant companion, something so many teens are used to. I thought the outcome of her love interest was a positive one, as he was a decent guy and clearly wanted someone who understood the desert way of life. However, this is also the part I wasn't keen on in the book, not because I have little interest in romance but there's one point where the strength of the romance felt too strong for the characters involved, it felt unreal and awkward. 

Aside from that I loved unravelling the reasons behind Edna's grandparents living where and how they did. I had no idea that PTSD could be that severe, and in that unusual a form of symptoms. I felt so sorry for her grandfather, and for her grandmother who remains faithful and cares for him even though she gets no love back. I sincerely hope that Edna doesn't go back to her old ways on returning to civilisation.

Find out more on Maddy's website.

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