Source: Bought
I am a huge Jacqueline Carey fan! Although I was a little hesitant to leave Terre d'Ange, I was confident that Santa Olivia would be just as well-written, and I'm glad I was willing to try it.
Santa Olivia is a border town, but when Mexican leader El Segundo declares war on the US, Santa Olivia is transformed into a buffer zone, and they are forgotten about. Carmen Garron is now stuck in this town in a dead-end waitressing job, and the only thing that changes is which soldiers come through town. Her first true love is a good-old-boy who is one of the General's boxers, but he's killed, leaving her and his baby son behind. Carmen's next love, though, is different-as in a genetic experiment; he's a Lost Boy, a group of wolf-men raised in a lab in Haiti, and he's trying to escape to a place in Mexico where others like him are rumored to be. Although he wants to stay when he finds out Carmen's pregnant, people in the town are suspicious, and Carmen urges him to flee.
So, Tommy and his little sister Loup grow up with just their mom. When she urges them to go to school, they're kicked out the first day because of Loup. As it turns out, she's just like her father-strong, fast, and not afraid of anything, including the teacher. Wandering around town, they end up in the gym, where citizens hone their boxing skills (since winning a boxing match against the General's champion is the only ticket out of the town). Tommy begins working, then training, and Loup follows him. When their mom dies and Loup goes to the orphanage, Tommy lives and trains at the gym, working to win his chance for him and his sister, while Loup tries to fit in with the kids she's now with. When they notice she's weird, she shares her secret, and they use that knowledge to begin righting some of the injustices imposed on Santa Olivia.
I wasn't quite sure what I was going to get with this book. I guess the easiest way to categorize it is urban fantasy (of which I'll admit to having very little), but the paranormal is really a small part, in a way. Yes, Loup has, for lack of a better term, superhuman powers, but it's not really all that she is. That aspect of Loup is just a fact, and we move on-the other characters and her relationships with them play a much bigger part of most of the story.
The characters were what made me fall in love with this book. They are unique and interesting. I loved the odd mix of kids at the orphanage and how their little clique changed as they all hit puberty and started pairing off in couples, and then would break up and re-arrange. Basically, although aspects of the story don't seem like they could be real, the characters are; they seem like people I'd meet on the streets. The characters also complicate the story wonderfully; it's not just Tommy trying to win a boxing match, with Loup looking on. Instead, there are undercurrents of romance, anger, and, later, heartbreak, which is all tied together in a beautifully written coming of age story, something at which Ms. Carey excels.
Although this is not a super fast-paced novel (although there are definitely some moments), I never really got bored, because there's so much that does happen. So when there's not a fight/boxing match, there's a romance developing, or friendships developing. Plus, the prose is very elegant and flows so well that there never seems to be a discernable drag in the story-telling. There is a pretty epic scene towards the end that had me on the edge of me seat, but it's not inundated with blood and gore (definitely not a typical werewolf story). Which was highly refreshing-I love conventional ideas told in new ways (although, like I said, I don't read very many werewolf books, so this might not be as new to other people).
The story might not have tons of action, but it's character-driven and beautifully written. I was not really expecting to like it (boxing is not really my thing), but I was completely drawn in. The sequel, Saints Astray, is due in November, and I'm very excited. I absolutely cannot wait to see how the story turns out.
Grade: 4/5, leaning towards 4.5/5
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