An Interesting Gothic Tale for Young Adults

Review by Ronica Wahi

The Adamson Family

By Lee Allen Howard

Edition reviewed: October 25, 2017, Three First Names, Kindle Edition.

Pages: 144.

ASIN: B076V1MYV9

The Adamson Family is a piece of young adult fiction, but it can certainly be enjoyed by adults too. As the genre is Gothic, there are secrets from the past, a haunted house, emotional distress, suicide, and turmoil in the life of the young protagonist, Rendo Flex.

Ren wants to be smarter and able at exercising greater control over his life. When his mother, who has been undergoing treatment since years for her instability, wants to visit to meet him and his sister - Calista - whom he fears will walk down the same path as their mother, he wishes for an escape. As he plans this, he finds the means for an adventure instead. For he discovers that the stories about the old, dilapidated house near where he lives are probably not untrue.

There is certainly thrill in the story. But there are also elements of pain and sadness concerning the history of the Adamson family; there is the issue of how a disturbed individual can wreak havoc on self and family. Alongside are presented various challenges, motivations, aspirations of young adults with distinct personality traits; the traits and shades of the major characters do stand out as these characters are etched out well.

Lee Allen Howard has decades of experience with words for he has been working as a technical writer and an editor since 1985. Where his fiction writing is concerned, he has a fascination for dark tales; he has written horror, psychological thrillers, and crime fiction. This experience has ensured The Adamson Family’s turning out an engaging read. The scenes wherein Ren is inside the haunted house are particularly well-crafted, for they manage to evoke the intended feelings of anxiety and fear. It would have made the read even more enjoyable had the horror aspects been given more space.

It’s quite likely that much before the reveal, the reader will guess what’s going on. But this doesn’t really take from the interest factor as the narrative progresses in an intriguing style and keeps the reader eager to know how things are going to unravel.

Howard presents life in 1918-19 and in 1977 in small-town Berne, Indiana and suitably presents a slower pace of life, yet the narrative reads quickly and smoothly. Overall, The Adamson Family is a good read, fit engagement for a leisurely hour.

 

Check out The Adamson Family (Kindle edition) on Amazon India:

https://amzn.to/3GB45mp

 


DISCLAIMER: Ronica Wahi is a participant in the Amazon Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon. If you make a purchase through any of the Amazon links provided by Ronica here, she may receive a small commission, without any extra cost to you.

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