Like a Child’s New Toy

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Meet Abby Brooks Worthington, a white, wealthy divorcee in her 30s and a struggling author; Abby gets involved with Spencer Gibson, a black man in his 20s. Outwardly, Abby has it made. But, underneath, she is cold-blooded, insecure, and deals with depression. Besides obsessing over her ex, Abby is tormented by a young girl who unremittingly haunts her. Next, meet Elijah Redwater, a black college student in his 20s with high hopes of becoming a writer; he, too, is insecure and deals with depression. Elijah also struggles with his sexual identity, until he meets his Jewish lover, Noah Cohen. Although Abby and Elijah don’t know each other, the two have an eerie connection—much more than expected.

Reeves pens a color-coded story steeped in introspection. Divided into seven sections, Reeves third-person narrative is split between his main characters, Abby and Elijah. Reeves’s featured cast is undoubtedly complex. Riddled with troubled pasts, it is a toss-up whether Abby and Elijah choose to face and conquer their fears. Spicing up his character development, Reeves literally changes font hues to reflect personality traits, demeanor, and overall mood. A few examples include “cold-blooded” (blue-red) and word colors (red, pink, green).

Reeves incorporates a variety of literary tools to keep his plot flowing. In addition to splashes of colorful fonts, Reeves frequently shifts scenes while alternating between Abby and Elijah’s accounts. While much of the scenes are laced with everything sexual, Reeves also focuses on interactions between his main and supplementary characters. The dialogue can be quite maddening at times because Abby and Elijah have moments when they are at the cusp of emotional breakthroughs. Yet, to break the tension, Reeves includes discourses on Christianity (pros and cons) as well as black, white, and Jewish stereotyping.

While combining the above-mentioned aspects, Reeves attempt at humor is weird at best. Pixie dust, a fairy, and an interesting character named Pube suddenly enter the story in the most unexpected moments. One simply has to read these scenes to understand. Seriously!

Aside of the little foul-mouthed creatures, Reeves has produced an intriguing one-of-a-kind read.


Reviewed By:

Author
Star Count 4/5
Format Trade
Page Count 263 pages
Publisher Magical Thinker
Publish Date 31-Oct-2014
ISBN
Bookshop.org Buy this Book
Issue November 2015
Category Modern Literature
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