Review Detail

4.0 1
Young Adult Fiction 208
Oasis
Overall rating
 
4.0
Plot
 
N/A
Characters
 
N/A
Writing Style
 
N/A
Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)
 
N/A
The insatiable oasis will hunt down the thieves of this book and tear them
apart, limb by limb, devouring their screaming souls and spitting out bones.

The first thing that caught my eye about this book was the absolutely beautiful and brilliant cover. Elynn Cohen is listed as the book designer and I assume this also means she designed the cover but can't be sure. Whoever the artist is, brava!

The second thing that got my attention about this book was the synopsis---there is nothing I like better than an archaeology setting in a crossgenre science fiction and mystery story and this one offers hints of horror and supernatural goings on.

The third thing that struck me about this book was the statement shown above, found on the copyright page, hilarious and very much to the point ?

So, did Oasis and its author come through for me after so much promise? You betcha, but with a tiny bit of disappointment because I was hoping for a creepy horror show and this doesn't quite get there. Having said that, I was intrigued by the author's continual introduction of one strange thing after another, such as a desperate man who walks out of the desert, a mindblowing sandstorm (no pun intended), equipment that doesn't work, an oasis that seems to mean survival but, hmm, perhaps not...

The oasis has a weird and frightening effect on the six people who have reached it and I enjoyed seeing their darker sides and how Alif, in particular, copes with unexpected personality changes in herself and others. In fact, it was refreshing to have characters whose friendships are not all sunshine and lollipops for a change.

When all is said and done, what's real, what's hallucination? Or is there maybe something out there?
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