Andrew Klavan

Cameron Winter, an English professor in his late thirties, regularly confides in Margaret Whitaker, his insightful and caring therapist. At their sessions, we learn disturbing details about Cam's traumatic past. Whitaker has worked for the Division, a shadowy American spy network. His handler, known as the Recruiter, is a harsh and scornful religious fanatic. Winter is haunted by the fact that, in the line of duty, he has arranged killings and also committed murder.

In addition, Cam is show more fixated on Charlotte Shaefer, a pretty girl whom he idolized when he was a lonely little boy whose parents were "distant and unloving." Sadly, Charlotte became estranged from her family and took up with a far-right extremist. Cam decides to look for Charlotte, for whom he still yearns. His therapist believes that as long as he remains obsessed with what happened long ago, he has little hope of achieving inner peace.

In flashbacks, Andrew Klavan, author of the elegantly written "A Woman Underground," offers glimpses of Charlotte's and Cam's experiences, as well as those of others in their circle. Klavan's themes include the corruption of well-connected individuals who consider themselves to be untouchable; how firmly-held delusions can adversely affect a person's attitude and behavior; and the challenge of emerging from depression when one considers himself to be a lost cause. This is a lyrical, melancholy, and imaginative novel that delves into the consequences of enduring childhood trauma, associating with brutal individuals, and a reluctance to face reality. show less

This book has been billed as "24" for teens. In a way it is. What attracted me to it (as an adult), aside from the author's reputation, is that by today's standards, Charlie West is an unlikely hero. He is not a rebel- he loves his family, his country, his life; he even gets good grades. He is not a brooding loner- he has friends and even a girlfriend. He is strong, physically and mentally. He prays. A lot. Given all of that, how does an author make such a character interesting? By putting show more him in an impossible situation and seeing what happens. That of course is where Klavan shines as a writer, exploring what makes this character tick, and in a way making the readers question their own personalities. If everything you have and know is stripped away, what is left? What makes you carry on? These are really questions that go well beyond the YA genre, and Klavan deserves a lot of credit for bringing them up under the guise of a simple thriller.

A couple of warnings. There's a lot of violence for a teen book, which is not unexpected given the subject matter, but it's not as graphic as it could be (cleverly, the torture part happens before the book opens). Also, this definitely qualifies as a conservative book and even borderline Christian fiction, so be warned if that's not your cup of tea. Finally, this is Book One of 4, and it's not self-contained. If you get into the story, don't be disappointed it does not get resolved. The mystery of Charlie's memory loss unfolds over time, intermingled with some pretty awesome action sequences. Be patient and you will be rewarded if you stick with the series till the end. show less

I enjoyed the premise of jumping between LA and the fantasy world of Galiana, but every time an interaction was described with a woman, I found myself wondering if it was written by someone who has never actually talked with a woman. They are such OBJECTS rather than people in the story.

I honestly had a moment of thinking, “Man, 13 year old me could have come up with this story. And, apparently, had a similar understanding of girls.”

“Jane sat beside me and cleaned my wound, fussing show more over me with a womanly care that made me yearn up into her blue-green eyes.”

“The door swung open, and out from the darkness walked a woman into the firelight, a woman like no woman I had ever seen before.”

“It was the way she kept her hands clasped beneath her breasts in a position of such modesty and self-containment. Everything about her—it was all just so incredibly...what was the word? Womanly. So incredibly womanly.”

“It occurred to me somewhere in the back of my mind that I had never seen a woman blush like that before—blush because she was speaking about romantic stuff, I mean. I had only read about women doing that in books.”

And on and on and on. That’s just within the first 65 pages.

It took some effort to stop being shaken out of the story by the language, but I was finally able to. And, again, I like the premise of bouncing between realities/worlds with each helping the narrator struggle through the other. So, 3.5 stars if Goodreads would let me, but I’ll round up since I’d like to read more of this tale to find out what happens next. show less

4.5 stars.

I loved, loved, loved this book. It revived my interest in the Romantic poets, made me feel better about not being an English major (and honestly I came away feeling like I _was_ one after reading this), and challenged my faith and Christian walk (in the best way). A powerful read and one I’ll revisit again for sure.