Marieke Nijkamp

Locked-door mysteries are tricky. Done well, they are thrilling reads because you can rarely solve the mystery before the author reveals the answer. Done poorly, they are predictable and painful. I jumped at the change to read Even If We Break by Marieke Nijkamp because I enjoyed another novel of hers and hoped that she would write a good locked-door mystery. It turns out she did not, and the experience was a lot more trying than I expected.

Even If We Break starts well. Ms. Nijkamp works to show more establish an appropriate setting – remote, mysterious, a grand house that comes with its own ghost story – as well as to introduce the cast of characters. She does well with the setting and with the characters. Like any good locked-door mystery, the characters have diverse backgrounds, but their differences do not end there. Ms. Nijkamp adds more diversity in the form of gender identification and sexual preference to make this group as unalike as possible. Sadly, these differences are what weaken the story.

I say this not because the diverse traits of the characters are bad. In fact, that was my favorite aspect of the story. I say this because their differences weaken the premise, which then limits the believability of certain plot points, making the riddle way too easy to solve. The idea that a group of high school students who are no longer friends would agree to get together for a weekend, not to mend fences but to play the game one last time, is one I struggled to accept. It didn’t matter if there was a murder or not, you knew upon a clear explanation of the weekend’s agenda that nothing good could come of it. High school kids rarely make up with former friends so soon after their rifts. It takes the clarity and wisdom of age for that to happen, something graduating seniors still do not have.

Plus, Ms. Nijkamp really hammers this idea of friends growing apart but coming back together in the spirit of forgiveness and solidarity. If half of the plot is about the murder that occurs, the other half is about friendship and what a person’s responsibility is to that friendship when things go sour. It is an odd dichotomy, one I found distracting as well as annoying. Even at the height of the suspense, as the survivors were about to find out who the murderer is, Ms. Nijkamp manages to squeeze in a few paragraphs about friendship. Not exactly what I wanted to read about at that point in the story!

I mentioned the predictability, but I have to stress just how predictable it was. I knew who the murderer was upon the discovery of the first crime, and there were four more to go after that. The mystery aspect of the story reads like a mystery checklist. You can almost see Ms. Nijkamp going down the list to check off each element as she adds it. There is no real attempt to confuse readers; she adds one or two red herrings, but they were obvious as obvious to me as if she had used red font to identify them as such. Again, this is not what you want when reading a mystery.

I had high hopes for Even If We Break. The publisher’s synopsis is fabulous. The problem is that it makes it sound a lot more exciting than it really is. I never felt any of the characters were in danger. In truth, I never really felt for any of the characters in general. I welcome the diversity among them, but I believe Ms. Nijkamp never bothered to develop her characters beyond their differences. Add to that heavy-handed messaging and a mystery that really is not a mystery, and the whole experience is a disappointment. show less

The plague book. Literally, there is a plague, and kids in a facility are abandoned to handle it by themselves. I am immunosuppressed and I now have long-covid, so this book spoke to me. I was beyond delighted to watch these kids turn not to violence as in so many books and shows, but turn to compassion. It filled me with hope. As usual, there are multiple povs and reading the thoughts of these kids about a literal plague and seeing how different they are from the adults who abandoned them show more is sad and also wonderful. I highly recommend this book. show less

I've reviewed this book as a part of an event I am hosting in September 2021 called GeekDis. GeekDis is a collaborative event for members of the disability community to talk about disability representation in pop culture. You can learn more about GeekDis here!

Originally posted on Just Geeking by.

The Oracle Code is the fourth title in DC’s new middle school and young adult range. I’m making a point by starting with this because these titles are noticeably different from other DC titles show more in a number of ways. The most obvious one is that the characters, familiar DC heroes, anti-heroes and villains, are all teenagers. For those of you who are familiar with DC comics you’re probably scratching your forehead right now and thinking, umm, how does that work exactly? And you’d be right to do so. For those who are confused, let me explain a little. Not many DC characters were even close to being who we know them as now in their teens, so how can you have a teenage version of them in a novel/graphic novel?

It’s pretty simple; DC have changed the origin stories for the purpose of this range. Considering the DC universe has multiple universes, it is possible to just look at them as alternate universes. Personally, it annoys me because there really is no need to create a new range just to cater to young people. Many of us grew up on comic books in one form or another, whether it was actual comic books, TV shows, or animation. I also feel that instead of changing the origin stories of currently existing characters, they could just create brand her characters that the new generation of fans could identify with and grow up with.

So I knew going into The Oracle Code that Barbara’s origin story was going to change, however, considering she became Batgirl as a teen, I didn’t think much would be different. I was wrong. For a start, she is not Batgirl at all. Barb’s Oracle identity appeared after she was paralysed when the Joker brutally shot her, and personally, I feel that rewriting that part of her story removes some of her identity as a disabled person. While I completely understand the necessity of rewriting what happened to her (because that is one of the darkest moments in DC history and even adults struggle with it), at first I did not understand Nijkamp’s decision to have Barb already have the hacker identity of Oracle prior to her accident. Then as I wrote the conclusion to this review, I realised one of the reasons for her decision; anyone can be Barbara, but not everyone can feel they can be Batgirl. That is definitely true for teenage girls who are at a point in their life where their whole world is changing. Throw in a disability and I can tell you from experience that the last thing you feel like is a superhero. However, geeky Barbara the hacker? She’s just an ordinary girl and that can be anyone.

I chose to read The Oracle Code for GeekDis because it’s one of the few graphic novels with disability representation for young readers, and in that respect it is very good. Graphic novels are a fantastic medium for representation because people tend to remember things in different ways, and while this is aimed at a younger audience, I feel that it is beneficial for people of all ages. Throughout The Oracle Code, disabled young people are not seen as overcoming their disabilities; they are seen as adapting to life with them. Barb’s friends teach her that life has irrevocably changed, but that doesn’t mean life has ended. In fact, it has opened up some new doors!

While Oracle Code is a good old fashion mystery in typical Batgirl style, it doesn’t skip over all the dark parts of suddenly finding yourself disabled and your entire life turned upside down. That is the input of Nijkamp, a disabled writer, and it shows. The plot itself was good, it just wasn’t what I was looking for, and as I said, I have some major issues with this DC range of titles. But this would make the perfect gift for young people, especially young disabled people who are struggling with a new diagnosis or feel like they don’t have a place in the world.


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One doesn't need to read the acknowledgments to guess that the author read and was inspired by Tamora Pierce's Alanna books as a child; Splinter & Ash has a strong Alanna vibe, yet is an original story that centers strong friendships, sibling relationships, and themes of power, duty, courage, and trust.

Ash is looking forward to reuniting with her mother, the queen, and her brother Lucen, the crown prince, when she returns to the palace in Haven after several years with her aunt in the show more south, but her return to court is rocky. Her brother is cold, and many nobles openly disdain the princess as fragile, weak, and unworthy. Ash uses braces and a cane as mobility aids, but she gets around fine with their help, and she's smart and dedicated to service, like her mother. The queen, though, is under strain, trying to end a war in the north, and fighting nobles that value tradition over progress.

Into this mess wades Splinter, who dreams of being a squire and making her late mother proud, like her older brother Anders. A chance meeting bonds Ash and Splinter together, and they become dedicated friends; Splinter becomes Ash's squire, putting up with all kinds of abuse and contempt from Lucen and the other (boy) squires.

*Spoilers*

But when Ash is kidnapped, both Splinter and Lucen want to find her, and they team up, getting to know each other better on their dangerous journey.

Some chapters are from Ash's close third POV, some from Splinter's. There are a few unexpected twists and betrayals, and a fascinating question about Ash's true parentage that causes her to consider the nature of family.

An exciting fantasy/adventure that concludes with Ash, Splinter, and Lucen's safe return to Haven, but Calinor is still in danger. If the second book was out now, I'd go right on with the story. (Pub date October 2025)

Quotes

The queen was charming and graceful. Aunt Jonet was brave and fair. Ash was only some of those things some of the time. She had no idea what kind of princess she wanted to - or could - be. (4)

She'd always been taught that comfort and power were part of being a royal, in return for duty and responsibility. Comfort, so they could focus all their attention on doing right by Calinor, without wanting for themselves. Power, so they could protect the realm and its people, to make sure everyone could live well and thrive. (206)

"Queen Eliane...chose tradition and power over progress and equality...[some nobles now] believe any change is weakness, and trying to improve Calinor for all makes it worse for them." (Idian, 266)

"True friends are willing to get into trouble to help when it's necessary." (Splinter, 232) show less