Villains, throughout history, have been depicted as having a physical appearance that is unnerving. I enjoyed VanRynken’s description of Marilyn, whose face adjusted unnaturally, like tectonic plates, even while she smiled. It also sets the stage for the shiftiness of the character later.
The Red Texts Club digs deeply and creatively into the teenage mind—more specifically the minds of teens dealing with depression. I struggled a little with some repetitive descriptive phrases, but overall enjoyed the read. Andrea VanRyken creates a diverse cast of colorful, talented, yet insecure teens that converge in a sci-fi world designed by and fitting for a person experiencing depression: bland landscape, murky shadows, faceless monsters, and more. The author also ties in characters that teens are bound to love, a curious puzzle-solver, a talented gamer, and a handsome athlete, all whom excel at something, but still question their worth. It featured kid-sized horror coupled with big-time creativity, and the story cleverly addresses depression, a real-life issues facing many of our young people today. (If that’s doesn’t describe most teens—and many adults—I don’t know what does.) You can learn more about Andrea and her work in GoodReads.
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