American Rapture by C.J. Leede
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
**4.5-stars**
💙💚💙💚💙💚💙💚💙💚💙💚💙
Oofhhh. American Rapture hit me like a punch to the gut. The Author’s Note made me cry legitimate grown-lady tears.
This is such a well-executed Apocalypse story; completely successful, IMO, with the topics Leede chose to explore. This is going to stick in my mind for a very long time.
Let’s talk about the elephant in the room, shall we? Maeve Fly. When I read Maeve Fly last year, I found it to be shocking, yes, but also smart and visceral.
That story was presented in a biting stream of consciousness narrative style from the perspective of the MC. That type of narrative choice isn’t my favorite and I often find myself struggling to determine what exactly the author is hoping for me to get out of it.
American Rapture is nothing like Maeve Fly.
I mean, I guess I shouldn’t say that, because in some ways it is. It’s also smart and visceral, as well as certainly memorable, but the tone throughout, and the way the story is presented, is vastly different.
This is a truly realistic Apocalypse story. We follow a teen girl named, Sophie, who was raised in an extremely zealous Catholic household.
Sophie has been very sheltered from the world, and as you get to know her, she feels emotionally stunted; certainly more naive than she should be at her age.
We discover that she has a twin brother, Noah, who has been removed from the household and sent away for unknown reasons. On the brink of the societal collapse, Sophie sets out to try to find him. On her own for the first time, Sophie is quickly schooled in the ways of the world.
The synopsis alludes to sexual elements and sex, as well as sexuality, are def amongst the topics explored here.
The virus in question has many symptoms, but one of the most shocking is that infected individuals act out in sexual ways, often attacking in violent, lust-filled rages. Sophie is witness to these on more than a few occasions.
For Sophie, having been completely sexually repressed, this is beyond incomprehensible. She was on the verge of her own sexual awakening when this all started, which further complicates her confusion, guilt and shame.
In a lot of ways, Sophie made me think of Carrie White. This is what would have happened if an Apocalypse had hit just prior to Carrie going to the prom.
I did love going on this journey with Sophie though. I had such empathy for her. I wished I could have been there to help guide her and reassure her through many of her most difficult moments; clearly, her parents were useless.
I will be honest, I did skip Chapter 44. I had been warned ahead of time of some content contained therein, that because of circumstances going on in my life, I wouldn’t have handled well at the moment.
Even skipping that chapter though, I still feel like I easily understood everything that was happening in the story directly thereafter.
I did listen to the audiobook and loved the narration by Moniqua Plante. They did a great job bringing Sophie to life. I felt like I was listening to her recount these events first hand. It drew me in and held me.
I do feel like even though disaster struck numerous times over the course of this story, the world was literally falling apart, it nevertheless left me with a sense of hope and light.
An understanding that no matter what you are going through, no matter what your losses, as long as you are breathing, you can push through. You can come out the other side, maybe not the same, not undamaged, but alive and with the chance to be happy again.
If you pick this up, and I recommend you do, please be sure to read the Author’s Note at the end. I appreciate the novel even more after learning a bit about Leede’s own journey and the struggles that she had recently been going through.
I feel she put a lot of heart into this story. It’s thoughtful, impactful and gripping throughout. I was really impressed, and more importantly, moved by it.
Thank you to the publisher, Tor Nightfire and Macmillan Audio, for providing me with copies to read and review.
It’s clear that C.J. Leede is an incredible talent with a lot of versatility in her writing. I cannot wait for more!!!