When 14-year-old Elizabeth is found dead in the haunted house of a failing Catskills theme park, most of the citizens of nearby Eden Grove believe she must have taken her own life. However, the town's promising snowboard star, Danielle, thinks otherwise. She suspects a motive much darker than depression and becomes preoccupied with the circumstances surrounding the case. As the evidence grows, Danielle finds reasons to suspect many of her friends—and then she discovers that Avery, the runaway son of the park's owner, has turned up, living in the hayloft of the petting zoo barn. Even more disturbing, he's convinced he's on a mission from God.
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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Coleman's freshman effort, a schizophrenic tangle that can't decide whether it's a mystery or a coming-of-age soap opera, follows several self-absorbed adolescents during their last summer working at the titular Catskills theme park. Recent high school grad Danielle is more interested in snowboarding and her friend Sophie's love life than the suspicious death of a 14-year-old girl in the park's haunted hotel. Sophie's brother, Nick, a smarmy born-again Christian, is a wizard with the ladies, while Dungeons and Dragons geek Adam can't get to first base with Sophie, who plays him against hunky fireman Joey. Toby, the son of Desperado City's owner, complains about being expected to take over the doomed family business. When the murderer is revealed halfway through the book, the significance is lost among so many trivial and unoriginal tales of teenage angst. (Aug.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Review
"Desperado City is a serious work, one that a parent might read and pass along to a youngster hoping to offer an example that life can be hard." —InternetReviewofBooks.com
"Coleman slices deep into her characters' lives with sympathy and unflinching candor that by the end is more than just a sum of their stories and blesses us with grace." —Richard Lewis, author, The Killing Sea
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More About the Author
Rebecca Coleman is the author of "The Kingdom of Childhood," an ABNA 2010 semifinalist. She received her B.A. in English literature from the University of Maryland at College Park and speaks to writers' groups on the subjects of creative writing and publishing. A native New Yorker, she now lives and works near Washington, D.C. Visit her at www.RebeccaColeman.net.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Gorgeous writing, wonderful story,
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This review is from: Desperado City (Mass Market Paperback)
Don't be fooled by the cover - this is not a mystery! Rebecca Coleman's first book, "Desperado City," is a beautifully crafted literary novel examining the lives of a group of teenagers. It is the summer after their high school graduation and most of their time is spent working at the western theme park, Desperado City.The writing sparkles: Coleman's ear for dialogue is pitch-perfect and her scenes are original, funny, heart-breaking. The characters are vibrant and fully realized; they range from the innocent Lativian girl Irina, working in the theme-park gift shop to the enigmatic Avery, whose presence at Desperado City might be the most mysterious element of the book. This is not a bad thing; Avery is quite compelling and though he doesn't have a chapter of his own until the end, he enlivens every scene he is in. Coleman manages to pull off a fine juggling act. The cast of characters is large, and the problems and challenges they face many, but she handles their stories with grace and candor, making this both a thoughtful and thought-provoking read.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Modern yet reminiscent,
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This review is from: Desperado City (Mass Market Paperback)
A varied cast of interesting and intertwined characters provides ample opportunity for the close and changing friendships of the teenage years. I reminisced about my own teen years while getting to know the main characters and related to their patents at the same time. The story masterfully exemplifies the tangle of relationships while growing up without relying entirely on those relationships to further the plot.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliantly crafted ... a superb read,
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This review is from: Desperado City (Mass Market Paperback)
Desperado City is not a mystery. It is a brilliantly crafted novel about a group of teenagers working at a decrepit Wild West theme park in the Catskills. As they struggle to define themselves and find their paths forward, they face universal challenges: overbearing family members, competitive co-workers, low self-esteem, uncertainty about the future.There is a sinister edge to the story. A young girl's body is found, wrists slit, on a bed in the crumbling Haunted House. The park owner's outcast son returns to prowl the decaying premises of Desperado City. He lurks at the edge of the action, watching over former friends and family like a demented guardian angel. And the clean-cut leader of the Raiders for Christ cheerfully pursues converts by day and much less ethical undertakings by night. Coleman's writing is finely nuanced, spare and evocative. She takes you inside the skins of her youthful characters; you experience their desperation and their euphoria. What at first seems a breezy coming of age story plumbs unusual depths. It's a superb read.
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