Janie Chodosh's Blog - Posts Tagged "suspense"

Since I write for a young adult audience, I read a lot of YA fiction. I recently read Laurie Halse Anderson’s The Impossible Knife of Memory. Laurie Halse Anderson is one of my favorite young adult writers. In fact, one of the first YA books I read was her novel, Catalyst. The Impossible Knife of Memory lived up to my high standards. What I loved most about this book was the snappy dialogue between Hayley, the protagonist, and her eventual love interest, Finn. Their banter, which ranges from snarky/sarcastic to hilarious to poignant, hums with real-life teenage vitality. Teens do so love to take linguistic jabs at each other, and the dialogue perfectly captures that artful use of language. There is a deeper side to this story, too, the relationship between a veteran father suffering from PTSD and his teenage daughter. Haley’s first person narration is interwoven with her father’s flashbacks of his devastating war experience, allowing the reader a glimpse into the root of his suffering. The book is nuanced with themes of memory and trust and how to move on when you’ve hit rock bottom.