Rift, by American author Steven James, is Book One of the Rift Trilogy, which is set in the Appalachian Mountains. This is one of the most biodiverse places in North America, boasting a rich tapestry of flora and fauna. As showcased in Elizabeth Gilbert’s 2002 book The Last American Man, the people here are known for their self-reliance, resilience, and connection to nature.
The isolation of traditional life in these mountainous communities led to the development of distinctive myths and superstitions. The X-Files features many episodes based on Appalachian folklore, while local legends such as Bigfoot and Mothman persist until today. Equally fascinating is the quirky history of the town of Erwin in Eastern Tennessee, where Rift is set.
The YA novel’s first-person narrator, 17-year-old Sahara, relocated from Wisconsin to Tennessee after the tragic death of her father. Estranged from her mother and now living with her grandmother, Sahara feels despondent, tormented by grief and guilt. Her only consolation is reading, imagining and telling all sorts of stories.
While working at the local library, Sahara discovers a rift into the realm of lore. Life in her quiet small town suddenly turns upside down as some of the most haunting stories she has heard and shared become reality, with unexpected twists. Soon she finds herself confronting nightmarish entities that threaten to overtake the world.
The novel’s major flaw is its uneven pacing. The first half of the story is frustratingly meandering, its wording often tedious and repetitive. It feels like the author tries to be impactful by filling out the pages, but ends up making Sahara constantly wallow in self-pity and self-induced overthinking and worrying.
With that said, Sahara’s grief is genuine and vividly illustrated, especially in the second half of the story where the author finally picks up pace. Perhaps this is a familiar territory – stories of ghosts and haints, of changelings and fae folks lurking behind the thin membrane that separates our world and the supernatural. Here, Sahara becomes natural and likeable, her quest more about understanding her own strengths than solving the mysteries around town.
Through Sahara’s grandmother, the author makes a point about stories and the importance of storytelling, especially oral storytelling that creates connection and intimacy between the storyteller and her audience. It reminds this reviewer of Australian author Lili Wilkinson’s 2023 YA novel A Hunger of Thorns, where stories are ambiguous borderlands between truths and lies, between facts and potentials/possibilities, between what we are told/taught about certain things and what they could/might really be. Both novels also touch upon the theme of girls being brave and true, i.e. girls should and do rescue themselves.
Finally, the plot twist at the story’s end is surprising, even when everything feels rushed and needing a bit of elaboration. Over all, though wordy and unevenly paced, Rift is a good start of a story arc examining themes such as loss, grief, longing and growth. This reviewer looks forward to delving further into the trilogy.
Note: This book review was originally titled “Wordy and unevenly paced… but good”.
Voices under the Sun 陽光下的聲音 