Tag: Fiction

Out of Air- Rachel Reiss

Don’t forget to hold your breath while reading Rachel Reiss‘s 2025 YA thriller Out of Air. A group of teens having their last hurrah together before college take a trip down under on a scooba trip in Australia. Looking forward to a futuer of acting as her ailing grandmothers primary caretaker, Pheobe dreads the end of their final trip. Knowing that her friends have endless possiblities awating them and she may likely fall behind. While white knuckling their quickly ending adventure, Pheobe finds a mysterious treasure that brings more trouble than any gold is worth.

The constantly changing character dynamics were the most interesting part of the whole story. Each teenager had their own daming secrets that could easily tear the group apart at the seams. Everytime I thought I figured out the mystery a new secret emerged to throw off all my theories. But Phobe was by far the most interesting.

The wealth inequality between her and her cohort was an obvious point of tension in the book. Phobe had strong feelings of inadequecy within a group of wealthy friends. All thorughout her naration you could feel a growing fear of stagnation while the rest of her friends have a bright and prosphorus future.

Phobe’s fear of loss is such an interesting drive in her characters development throughout the book. It seems to be her primary motivator thoughout most of her interactions in the book. She fears losing the, “Salt Squad,” she fears losing Gabe’s affection. In the end, her actions lead to the question. If you love something, should you let it go?

How High We Go In the Dark

Sequoia Nagamatsu brings our current reality to fiction with his new novel, How High We Go in the Dark. Life on Earth is changed forever after a group of archaeologists in the artic circle re-discover an ancient virus in the mummified remains of a young girl. Nagamatsu’s ensemble of characters find themselves struggling to re-stabilize a crumbing society in the midst of a pandemic of astronomical proportions. Nagamatsu’s work holds a mirror to our current experiences as the characters face no only an deadly virus but global warming, corporate greed, and the degradation of community and interpersonal relationships.

I found How High We Go in the Dark to be almost too close to reality. I don’t typically enjoy novels that parallel this closely with current events, but How High We Go In the Dark is definitely an exception to that rule. Nagamatsu’s reference to crypto currency, global warming, infidelity, addiction , and virtual reality were an interesting addition to his novel. These additions allowed for more tension in the storyline than the virus alone, in addition to making the characters more relatable and multifaceted. These conflicts challenged relationships, pulled characters away from their reality, and allowed for creative and community oriented solutions.

Each chapter in Nagamatsu’s work was from a different character’s perspective. I thought that this was a fantastic choice, but I wish there was a stronger connection between chapters. As a reader I really had to think about how the characters were connected, which took me away from the story. Even so, How High We Go in the Dark, is a fantastic twist on the pandemic novel and is a great read for anyone who is a dystopian fan.