Roach

A war is raging. Never living up to his mother’s expectations, Griffin Scoarse is by all standards a loser. Amid the dismal environs including job loss, Griffin takes a lowly janitorial position at a military barracks. Griffin keeps his nose to the grindstone until two soldiers arrive with a box carrying the mutilated remains of his ex-girlfriend, Alex Nessler. The unnerving situation not only sparks Griffin’s curiosity, but also suspicion of clandestine activities—especially when he engages in small talk with the two soldiers. When new soldiers arrive, Griffin and his newfound soldier friends put two and two together that an attack is imminent. Yet whether or not Griffin and his friends will make it out alive is uncertain. Perederey’s page-turning dystopian debut is shrouded in mystery.

Perederey’s narrative is replete with a dark cast. Divided into five parts and set to third person viewpoints, Perederey carefully develops Griffin, her main character, by using her remaining cast as foils. Griffin is a young man who is beset with unresolved issues from his past and struggling to move on with his life in the midst of hopelessness. Perederey offers a Jekyll-and-Hyde glimpse into the lives of her characters. While skillfully throwing in elements of hope, Perederey portrays how human persona can suddenly shift under times of extreme duress.

Perederey keeps her plot flowing and suspenseful by continually alternating between unexpected character scenes. She also incorporates back stories, which creates characters and narrative cohesion. Perederey’s writing style aptly captures a dystopian environs. Zeroing on civilian and military life, Perederey’s shifts between scenes capitalizing on characters who desire to make the best of their bleak circumstances and those who follow the hard-core elements of the military. These split scenes are also captured in Perederey’s dialogue, flipping from human tenderness (civilian life) to unyielding condescendence. Roach is a definite must read for dystopian aficionados.