Action Pick: The Death and Life of Zebulon Finch

The Death and Life of Zebulon Finch: At the Edge of Empire (book 1)
by Daniel Kraus
Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
2015
656 pages
ISBN:9781481411394

Available: October 27, 2015

Review

“Fiction, like any art, can be divided between the living and the dead. THE DEATH AND LIFE OF ZEBULON FINCH is unequivocally and furiously among the former. A splendidly rendered, macabre picaresque, muscular and tender, imaginative and grotesque, cynical yet deeply moving. I was appalled one moment and laughing the next. Don't be fooled by the premise. This tale may be told by a dead man, but what's rendered here is life itself in all of life's absurd glory.” (Rick Yancey, The 5th Wave)

"Kraus' careful prose gifts Mr. Finch with a voice that retains a sheen of elegance even as it repulses readers with macabre imagery. And still, when his occasional efforts at reform fail, Mr. Finch becomes an oddly pitiable character." (Kirkus Reviews)

"Morbidly fascinating." (Publishers Weekly)

My review:

Gripping, disturbing, severe, and ever so gruesomely entertaining, The Death and Life of Zebulon Finch will grab readers by the throat, shake them up, and force them to listen to every squalid detail, every juicy tidbit, every strange nuance of  Zebulon's racy story of life and death in Chicago, during the 1890s through the turn of the century, into WWI trench warfare, to the glitter and glam of 1930s Hollywood. Gunned down and dead, Zebulon, rises from the icy waters of Lake Michigan seventeen minutes later to live "life" as a dead man and he's a rip-roaringly fantastic one! What could be better than a dead guy with an attitude? Deadpan humor--what a concept! Zebulon is everything anyone could want a protagonist to be: he is an evil man who can be loving, he is a hero who is tortured by his past,  he is compassionate at times, he is a sinner to be sure, but who is to judge a man who is destined to live for all eternity?

Pull up a chair, settle in and enjoy this epic tale told by a dead man who takes storytelling to great heights with a voice that evokes Dickensian characters of yore. Zebulon's fate--though terrible-- allows him to appreciate the true beauty of the macabre and grotesque. First "taken in" by a traveling snake oil barker, Zebulon spends all his time in a cage. Later, given a chance to discover what is keeping him "alive" and hoping to find a way to die, he makes his way East to find Dr. Leather, a man he met when performing in the traveling show. The doctor promises to help Zebulon. A series of gruesome exams and tactics ensue and if you're squeamish, it may be a bit much. But hold on to your hat, this tale is  just getting started.

Zebulon escapes and runs off to enlist and is shipped off to Europe to fight the enemy. It is in warfare we see Zebulon question life, death, friendship, valor, and war. At first terrified, Zebulon figures this is his chance to finally die and he embraces it. At war's end, our hero returns to America and cavorts his way to Hollywood where he's a pampered lapdog to a glamorous movie star who craves affection. Think film noir and Gloria Swanson in "Sunset Boulevard."

This is one whale of a book! Be ready for some late nights with no sleep--it's really that good. Whenever I begin a book this lengthy, I pray, hope, wonder, and the LOVE when it delivers. An engrossing read that just keeps giving. Zebulon Finch a character I will never forget. His name will be right up there with Atticus Finch, Scarlett O'Hara, and Ryan Dean West (Winger, Stand Off). 

This is by far the BEST YA book I've read in 2015. It is in a category all by itself. The writing is so sublime, so perfect that I often had to read a paragraph several times to revel in the sheer joy of the language.

Kudos to author Daniel Kraus! I sense a real winner here! You heard it here first: The Death and Life of Zebulon Finch WILL be on so many BEST lists and look for it soon to be a movie...Hollywood will love to get their hands on this one . Steven Spielberg, you're welcome.

So highly recommended that if you only read one book this year, make it this one!

Suitable grade 9-up. Mature content. Not suitable for middle school.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received the ARC from the publisher. I did not receive monetary compensation for this review.

This review has been posted in compliance with the FTC requirements set forth in the Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising (available at ftc.gov/os/2009/10/091005revisedendorsementguides.pdf)

Thrilling Mystery Pick: Ripper

Ripper
by Stefan Pretrucha
Philomel
2012
432 pages

Available March 1, 2012

Thrilling, scandalous, scintillating, and highly engrossing, Ripper is a real page-turner for teens. Part mystery, part history, part crime novel, part detective story, and awesomely steampunk-y cool, this book will have tons of teen fans.

Set in New York in the late 1890's, Ripper tells the story of Carver Young, an orphan abandoned as an infant who grows up in Ellis Orphanage under the tutalege of Miss Petty. When he is fourteen, he picks the lock to the attic door and finds out what the files hold about his past. There are no papers other than a mysterious letter written by someone he thinks is his father. His mother died in childbirth, yet his father could still be alive...somewhere.

The orphanage has to find homes for the older children, including Carver. They hold a big party for notable citizens to get to know the orphans, hoping someone will adopt them. The police commissioner himself--Teddy Roosevelt--attends and Carver hopes to meet him. Carter wrote to Roosevelt asking him to find his father. Sadly, Roosevelt leaves before Carter can gather the courage to speak to him. Luckily, a chance encounter with another man secures Carver a "home."

Albert Hawking agrees to take in Carver and train him to be a great detective. Hawking used to work for the Pinkerton Agency and now has his own secret agency with grand inventions worthy of visionary Jules Verne. His company develops a subway, a horseless carriage, and an office periscope.

Carter is thrilled to be in the company of such a great mind and is even more excited to be tracking down his long lost father.

There is a killer on the loose in New York who is brutally murdering young women, leaving their mutilated bodies in his wake. Roosevelt is determined to find the macabre madman. Hawking and Carter are hot on the gruesome killer's heels. As the clues unfold, Carter gets closer to finding his father. Can they stop the killer from grabbing his next victim? Can they protect Roosevelt and his daughter?

Highly, highly recommended for reluctant male readers (and females who love mystery and detective novels) grades 7-up---even though page count is 432 pages, each chapter is short--2-6 pages--and each ends with the reader hopelessly immersed in the story and wanting to read on. I dare a teen not to read this voraciously! This novel is for fans of Sherlock Holmes and steampunk lit. No language, no sex, some gruesome details, mystery.

FTC Required Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. I did not receive monetary compensation for this review.