It’s always nice to get a good review.
What’s nicer is to get a good, smart review that shows that the reviewer took the time to actually read the entire book. D. Donovan of Midwest Book Review gave my book a fair review, and I love that.
The Itinerant
Elizabeth Engstrom
IFD Publishing
978-1-7342978-9-8 Paperback: $11.95/Kindle: $6.95
Author Website: www.elizabethengstrom.com
Publisher: www.ifdpublishing.com
The Itinerant is a dystopian suspense story that centers on fifteen-year-old Parker Montrose, who tries to navigate a chaotic world after an apocalypse leaves him in charge of his younger sister Sherilyn.
The pandemic world which introduces his situation will prove quite familiar to those navigating COVID today, where Parker’s household appears normal even as frightening news grows about the illness. Their little town of Rowan, Oregon seems safe from the winds that carry the sickness…until it is not.
Parker has been charged with caring for his sibling; one of the last tasks his parents presented to him. And, just before their demise, a miracle has occurred: “Something had happened. Something terrible, something wonderful, something unimaginable had just happened, because Parker, her sweet, beautiful son, in all his sixteen years, had never before spoken.”
Elizabeth Engstrom builds a world suddenly and vastly changed by an epidemic, and a teenager who adapts along with it to grow his own potential in order to survive in ways his parents and society could never have prepared him for.
As different characters come into Parker’s life and interact, he realizes that he’s not the one speaking. Something is speaking through him. That entity may be offering the only real hope humanity has left, as it’s decimated by the virus.
There is violence along the way as characters face a new world and tests of their ability to survive. From encounters with bad guys to community-building against all odds, Parker is the pivot point for hope and transformation that teaches other teens how to adapt and survive.
Hope springs eternal. But, does Parker’s ability mean he can heal those wounded during this effort?
Engstrom create a thought-provoking story that sojourns through adversity, changed objectives, and a world completely transformed.
There are many unexpected moments that affect both Parker and his mission in life as he encounters others who also face changes and challenges to their core values.
The spiritual component and message of unity and preservation that runs through Parker’s experiences and story are delightful threads that will keep young adults reading and involved.
Anyone interested in stories of post-apocalyptic survival and transformation will find The Itinerant more intriguing, holding a deeper message about humanity’s objectives and survival, than most genre reads.
–D, Donovan, Senior Reviewer
Midwest Book Review
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