A Review - Mayhem by Estelle Laure
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I joined NetGalley a couple of years ago, planning to become a blogger of secret, unreleased things. And so far, that hasn't been the case. I've been itching to write blogs again, even fired off a few salvos, but I haven't found the thing yet to get me back into stride. In the meantime, here is a review of a book I received because of my account on NetGalley.
Mayhem is a little bit spooky, a little bit mysterious, and a lot a bit matriarchal family drama. The jacket copy compares it to The Lost Boys and Wilder Girls, neither of which I have any experience with, though I had intentions to watch The Lost Boys. Time slipped away. It gave me more Practical Magic vibes. And I did very much enjoy the place and the characters, though the first half or so left me feeling like I had skipped some vital information. A little too head scratchy for me, but that may be because I missed some other references.
The only book I've read with a trigger warning for rape, I didn't know what I was getting into when I started the book. It turns out there's a whole slew of violence against women and girls throughout the book, and one incident catalyzes a family's existence and power in the story. It is ultimately about a woman taking back control after having her sovereignty taken from her. That's a common enough literary trope. I didn't have a particularly strong reaction to it. Though, it has started me wondering in my own story developing, how to tell a story without trauma, without reducing violence to a plot point. It may be a futile exercise. But I do enjoy a book that causes me to think deeply about how we create and what we put into the world. Whether it humanizes a victim and shows violence for the terrible thing that it is, or it uses it as a quick way to gain an emotional reaction.
Mayhem and her mother's experiences felt real and truthful to me, not contrived or unearned. Some other elements of the story did not seem to be much more than plot points. I felt the ending was a bit rushed and neat. I very much enjoyed the central relationship of Mayhem, her mother, and her aunt, and through a journal, the connection Mayhem found with the other women in her family. It's what kept me interested, though I found the delivery of journal entries a bit clunky since they started before introducing any of the main characters or the main storyline.
All in all, I think this is a good summer read. A little spooky, a little nostalgia for the days that feel like they'll last forever, and never quite getting the smell of ocean water and sand off your skin. And just a little bit of magic. I hope you read it and enjoy it. And let me know if you have a copy of The Lost Boys I can borrow. Happy Reading!
