Recently Read: Revolver

Author: Marcus Sedgwick
Genre: Young Adult Historical Fiction/Thriller
Status: Stand Alone
Publication Date: 2011
Page Count: 201
Rating: 4/5
Printz Award Nominee for the year 2011

Also by Marcus Sedgwick: Midwinterblood

Revolver is my second Marcus Sedgwick book I have completed. I had high hopes for this one and I was not disappointed.

The summary from the back of the book is so attention grabbing, I have to let you guys hear it. "In an isolated cabin in the Arctic Wilderness, fourteen year old Sig is alone with a corpse- his father, who fell through the ice of the lake and froze to death only hours earlier. Then, a stranger appears outside his door: a huge bear-like man claiming that Sig's father ran off with his gold- and threatening awful violence if Sig doesn't tell him where it is. Sig knows nothing about the gold, but he does know that there's a loaded Colt revolver hidden in the cabin. But even if Sig can get his hands on it, will he be able to shoot first?" 

Yeah, I know. Whoa.

This book was pretty intense, and is the perfect one sitting read. It's pretty short and so fast paced and suspenseful that you won't want to put it down until you know how it ends. The desolate arctic setting is so eerie and well staged.

I love how Sedgwick commands and bends time in his novels. Both books of his that I have read show off his ability to weave time to fit his plot and he seamless goes from past to present. This book is set in 1910, 1899 and 1967. I also found the ideas and questions that this book proposes interesting. This book really examines guns, violence, and humans reliance on them. Any one who has ever shot a gun will recognize what Sig feels when he shoots for the first time as a young boy. But just because this book raises questions and sparks discussion on guns, doesn't mean that this book is anit-gun. It just raises the questions and leaves the reader to answer them for themselves. 

I really recommend you check out something by Sedgwick. So far I have been really impressed by how unique his books are, and how beautifully time is displayed in each of them. He has quite a few books out that I have not read yet, and that I am eager to check out. Next on my list is The Book of Dead Days which I believe is the first book in a dualology.