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Dark Fusion #1
Dread Locks
Dread Locks is the first entry in the Dark Fusion series from master storyteller Neal Shusterman. He cleverly weaves together familiar parts of fairy tales and Greek mythology to tell the story of fourteen-year-old Parker Bear, rich and utterly bored with life?until a new girl arrives in town. Tara's eyes are always hidden behind designer sunglasses, and her hair, blond with glimmering spirals, seems almost alive. Parker watches, fascinated, as one by one Tara chooses high school students to befriend; he even helps her by making the necessary introductions. Over time, her ?friends? develop strange quirks, such as drinking gallons of milk, eating dirt, and becoming lethargic. By the time Parker realizes what Tara is doing, he is too embroiled to stop her. In fact, she has endowed him with certain cravings of his own. . . .To say more would spoil the spooky fun of this wild thriller?let the twist speak for itself and leave you still as a statue.
176 pages, ebook
First published May 5, 2005
43 people are currently reading
1952 people want to read
About the author
Neal Shusterman
90 books29.8k followersAward-winning author Neal Shusterman grew up in Brooklyn, New York, where he began writing at an early age. After spending his junior and senior years of high school at the American School of Mexico City, Neal went on to UC Irvine, where he made his mark on the UCI swim team, and wrote a successful humor column. Within a year of graduating, he had his first book deal, and was hired to write a movie script.
In the years since, Neal has made his mark as a successful novelist, screenwriter, and television writer. As a full-time writer, he claims to be his own hardest task-master, always at work creating new stories to tell. His books have received many awards from organizations such as the International Reading Association, and the American Library Association, as well as garnering a myriad of state and local awards across the country. Neal's talents range from film directing (two short films he directed won him the coveted CINE Golden Eagle Awards) to writing music and stage plays – including book and lyrical contributions to “American Twistory,” which is currently playing in Boston. He has even tried his hand at creating Games, having developed three successful "How to Host a Mystery" game for teens, as well as seven "How to Host a Murder" games.
As a screen and TV writer, Neal has written for the "Goosebumps" and “Animorphs” TV series, and wrote the Disney Channel Original Movie “Pixel Perfect”. Currently Neal is adapting his novel Everlost as a feature film for Universal Studios.
Wherever Neal goes, he quickly earns a reputation as a storyteller and dynamic speaker. Much of his fiction is traceable back to stories he tells to large audiences of children and teenagers -- such as his novel The Eyes of Kid Midas. As a speaker, Neal is in constant demand at schools and conferences. Degrees in both psychology and drama give Neal a unique approach to writing. Neal's novels always deal with topics that appeal to adults as well as teens, weaving true-to-life characters into sensitive and riveting issues, and binding it all together with a unique and entertaining sense of humor.
Of Everlost, School Library Journal wrote: “Shusterman has reimagined what happens after death and questions power and the meaning of charity. While all this is going on, he has also managed to write a rip-roaring adventure…”
Of What Daddy Did, Voice of Youth Advocates wrote; "This is a compelling, spell-binding story... A stunning novel, impossible to put down once begun.
Of The Schwa Was Here, School Library Journal wrote: “Shusterman's characters–reminiscent of those crafted by E. L. Konigsburg and Jerry Spinelli–are infused with the kind of controlled, precocious improbability that magically vivifies the finest children's classics.
Of Scorpion Shards, Publisher's Weekly wrote: "Shusterman takes an outlandish comic-book concept, and, through the sheer audacity and breadth of his imagination makes it stunningly believable. A spellbinder."
And of The Eyes of Kid Midas, The Midwest Book Review wrote "This wins our vote as one of the best young-adult titles of the year" and was called "Inspired and hypnotically readable" by School Library Journal.
Neal Shusterman lives in Southern California with his children Brendan, Jarrod, Joelle, and Erin, who are a constant source of inspiration!
In the years since, Neal has made his mark as a successful novelist, screenwriter, and television writer. As a full-time writer, he claims to be his own hardest task-master, always at work creating new stories to tell. His books have received many awards from organizations such as the International Reading Association, and the American Library Association, as well as garnering a myriad of state and local awards across the country. Neal's talents range from film directing (two short films he directed won him the coveted CINE Golden Eagle Awards) to writing music and stage plays – including book and lyrical contributions to “American Twistory,” which is currently playing in Boston. He has even tried his hand at creating Games, having developed three successful "How to Host a Mystery" game for teens, as well as seven "How to Host a Murder" games.
As a screen and TV writer, Neal has written for the "Goosebumps" and “Animorphs” TV series, and wrote the Disney Channel Original Movie “Pixel Perfect”. Currently Neal is adapting his novel Everlost as a feature film for Universal Studios.
Wherever Neal goes, he quickly earns a reputation as a storyteller and dynamic speaker. Much of his fiction is traceable back to stories he tells to large audiences of children and teenagers -- such as his novel The Eyes of Kid Midas. As a speaker, Neal is in constant demand at schools and conferences. Degrees in both psychology and drama give Neal a unique approach to writing. Neal's novels always deal with topics that appeal to adults as well as teens, weaving true-to-life characters into sensitive and riveting issues, and binding it all together with a unique and entertaining sense of humor.
Of Everlost, School Library Journal wrote: “Shusterman has reimagined what happens after death and questions power and the meaning of charity. While all this is going on, he has also managed to write a rip-roaring adventure…”
Of What Daddy Did, Voice of Youth Advocates wrote; "This is a compelling, spell-binding story... A stunning novel, impossible to put down once begun.
Of The Schwa Was Here, School Library Journal wrote: “Shusterman's characters–reminiscent of those crafted by E. L. Konigsburg and Jerry Spinelli–are infused with the kind of controlled, precocious improbability that magically vivifies the finest children's classics.
Of Scorpion Shards, Publisher's Weekly wrote: "Shusterman takes an outlandish comic-book concept, and, through the sheer audacity and breadth of his imagination makes it stunningly believable. A spellbinder."
And of The Eyes of Kid Midas, The Midwest Book Review wrote "This wins our vote as one of the best young-adult titles of the year" and was called "Inspired and hypnotically readable" by School Library Journal.
Neal Shusterman lives in Southern California with his children Brendan, Jarrod, Joelle, and Erin, who are a constant source of inspiration!
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 264 reviews
November 8, 2013
God bless Neal Shusterman. A couple of weeks ago I was looking for something to give my son Haley to read. He starts every day of home schooling with silent reading time, and it's often difficult to find books he'll enjoy. Though he's made great strides with his dyslexia, he is still a fairly reluctant reader. I rummaged through my bookshelves and found a copy of Dark Fusion: Dread Locks, which Neal had signed for me at NCTE a couple of years ago. I gave it to Haley, selling it on the Greek mythology angle, and he agreed to give it a try. I came in thirty minutes later to start him on math, and I couldn't tear him away from the book. This doesn't happen very often. When he gets engrossed in a story, I usually let him keep reading. That's one of the advantages of home school -- flexible schedule. As long as the work gets done, it doesn't matter when you do it. So I let him read. A few hours later, he was done with the book. One sitting. I was amazed.
The next day, I handed him Red Rider's Hood, another Dark Fusion title. Haley devoured it. The next day, I handed him Downsiders. Haley usually gets a twenty minute break during his school day. That particular day, he used his break time to read. That has NEVER happened before.
Well, you get the idea. Haley has become a huge Shusterman fan. His most recent read was Everlost, which is a much longer book. Still, he finished it in a day. We have since scoured the local bookshops for all of Neal's titles, and I'm hoping we can make them last at least another week. What we'll do after that, I'm not sure. But it is so wonderful to see my reluctant reader son eating up books. So thanks, Neal! You've got a new devoted reader and made this dad's job a whole lot easier!
The next day, I handed him Red Rider's Hood, another Dark Fusion title. Haley devoured it. The next day, I handed him Downsiders. Haley usually gets a twenty minute break during his school day. That particular day, he used his break time to read. That has NEVER happened before.
Well, you get the idea. Haley has become a huge Shusterman fan. His most recent read was Everlost, which is a much longer book. Still, he finished it in a day. We have since scoured the local bookshops for all of Neal's titles, and I'm hoping we can make them last at least another week. What we'll do after that, I'm not sure. But it is so wonderful to see my reluctant reader son eating up books. So thanks, Neal! You've got a new devoted reader and made this dad's job a whole lot easier!
July 6, 2021
I feel as if I'm always saying this in my reviews of Neal Shusterman's books, but I can't think of another contemporary author who hits the mark so resoundingly time after time, coming up with stories that mix powerful philosophy, gripping suspense, painfully real characters and shocking twists to an effect that I have rarely, if ever, seen from anyone else. Neal Shusterman simply won't ever settle for anything less than the very best that he has to offer, and the big winner is his readers, who have been the beneficiaries of a long line of his outstanding novels from Unwind to Full Tilt, The Shadow Club to Bruiser. It seems to me that Neal Shusterman is already deserving of mention among the recent greats in the young-adult field, authors like Robert Cormier, Katherine Paterson, J.D. Salinger and William Golding, and I hope that some day his legacy may even be talked about on the same level as literary demigods from the past such as Jules Verne, Robert Louis Stevenson, Louisa May Alcott and Charles Dickens. I see no limit to how high Neal Shusterman can ascend as a writer, to what he can accomplish going forward from this point in his career.
The surprises that build up so masterfully in Dread Locks go beyond what I ever would have guessed, getting behind our normal reactionary defenses to reach our hearts in a way that wouldn't otherwise be possible. Other books do this, too, but Dread Locks carries a message (more than one, really) that is eminently worth being delivered, an indispensable challenge to the misguided rationales that all of us erect around our lives to protect the tenets that we've convinced ourselves are true even if they obviously aren't. It's so easy to wrap ourselves in a cocoon of what we want to pretend is real, and put on our blinders just as the equine handlers do for racing horses, so that we can go straight ahead and not have to worry about being spooked by the truths that jut up around us like unscalable mountains. No one is capable of ripping off our blinders the way that Neal Shusterman does, giving light the chance to stream in and illuminate reality for us even if we'd rather not look; however, souls brave enough to be shown the truth might find that as their comprehension of their own unfathomably deep lack of understanding increases, so does their ability to accept the things they cannot change, and therefore to stay afloat when the swift rivers of life threaten to drag them beneath the turbulent waters' surface.
"If love of money is the root of all evil, then having money is the root of all boredom. When you can have everything, you find there's nothing you really want. When you can do anything, you find there's nothing you really care to do. You become lazy. Life feels like a boulder you don't want to lift."
—Parker Baer, Dread Locks, P. 137
And this is exactly the situation in which Parker Baer finds himself as Dread Locks begins. He's a fifteen-year-old "fat cat" living with wealthy parents in a wealthy neighborhood, never really wanting for anything that his parents can't give him. A common theme in Neal Shusterman's novels is the idea that we humans tend to stagnate if we stop moving forward, even if that halt in movement is a result of our getting everything we think we really want. The idea is that humans can't maintain relevant lives without a continual flow of new challenges and demands—and yes, even troubles—coming our way. When we stop growing we immediately start dying, regardless of our circumstances, and so we always need that push to movement to keep us from growing fatally complacent. Parker has simply been given a life of too much luxury; therefore, when temptation and seduction arrive next door all in the form of one teenage girl, he's halfway done for before he even meets her.
Tara is her name, and she has a style about her that could captivate anyone, and they would never even realize that they had indeed been taken prisoner. But Tara isn't what she seems, not in any way, shape or form, and as Parker dives deeper into the cesspool of secrets that she holds back from the rest of the world, he'll have to find a way to hold out against her strange power over him if he wants to win back control over his own life, or save the lives of his friends and family. Successfully resisting Tara's mesmerizing pull is the only way for Parker to earn a happy ending; if there is, in fact, a happy ending left to salvage.
If you pick up Dread Locks and notice that it's book one of the Dark Fusion series, I implore you not to write it off as a typical "toss-off" beginning book to a new series. If every other author in the world would write a toss-off in this case, I can assure you that Neal Shusterman has done nothing of the kind. Dread Locks packs the punch of some of Neal Shusterman's greatest novels, filled with all of the escalating suspense and powerful philosophy that you'll find in stand-alones such as Downsiders and Bruiser. Dread Locks is an incredibly potent story that kept me riveted until the awesome, stunning conclusion, and I would give it three and a half stars.
The surprises that build up so masterfully in Dread Locks go beyond what I ever would have guessed, getting behind our normal reactionary defenses to reach our hearts in a way that wouldn't otherwise be possible. Other books do this, too, but Dread Locks carries a message (more than one, really) that is eminently worth being delivered, an indispensable challenge to the misguided rationales that all of us erect around our lives to protect the tenets that we've convinced ourselves are true even if they obviously aren't. It's so easy to wrap ourselves in a cocoon of what we want to pretend is real, and put on our blinders just as the equine handlers do for racing horses, so that we can go straight ahead and not have to worry about being spooked by the truths that jut up around us like unscalable mountains. No one is capable of ripping off our blinders the way that Neal Shusterman does, giving light the chance to stream in and illuminate reality for us even if we'd rather not look; however, souls brave enough to be shown the truth might find that as their comprehension of their own unfathomably deep lack of understanding increases, so does their ability to accept the things they cannot change, and therefore to stay afloat when the swift rivers of life threaten to drag them beneath the turbulent waters' surface.
"If love of money is the root of all evil, then having money is the root of all boredom. When you can have everything, you find there's nothing you really want. When you can do anything, you find there's nothing you really care to do. You become lazy. Life feels like a boulder you don't want to lift."
—Parker Baer, Dread Locks, P. 137
And this is exactly the situation in which Parker Baer finds himself as Dread Locks begins. He's a fifteen-year-old "fat cat" living with wealthy parents in a wealthy neighborhood, never really wanting for anything that his parents can't give him. A common theme in Neal Shusterman's novels is the idea that we humans tend to stagnate if we stop moving forward, even if that halt in movement is a result of our getting everything we think we really want. The idea is that humans can't maintain relevant lives without a continual flow of new challenges and demands—and yes, even troubles—coming our way. When we stop growing we immediately start dying, regardless of our circumstances, and so we always need that push to movement to keep us from growing fatally complacent. Parker has simply been given a life of too much luxury; therefore, when temptation and seduction arrive next door all in the form of one teenage girl, he's halfway done for before he even meets her.
Tara is her name, and she has a style about her that could captivate anyone, and they would never even realize that they had indeed been taken prisoner. But Tara isn't what she seems, not in any way, shape or form, and as Parker dives deeper into the cesspool of secrets that she holds back from the rest of the world, he'll have to find a way to hold out against her strange power over him if he wants to win back control over his own life, or save the lives of his friends and family. Successfully resisting Tara's mesmerizing pull is the only way for Parker to earn a happy ending; if there is, in fact, a happy ending left to salvage.
If you pick up Dread Locks and notice that it's book one of the Dark Fusion series, I implore you not to write it off as a typical "toss-off" beginning book to a new series. If every other author in the world would write a toss-off in this case, I can assure you that Neal Shusterman has done nothing of the kind. Dread Locks packs the punch of some of Neal Shusterman's greatest novels, filled with all of the escalating suspense and powerful philosophy that you'll find in stand-alones such as Downsiders and Bruiser. Dread Locks is an incredibly potent story that kept me riveted until the awesome, stunning conclusion, and I would give it three and a half stars.
October 23, 2012
Dread Locks is a book meant for people who like to read books that are about regular people meeting irregular people who change people after having a short conversation with them. That is because exactly that happens. Parker is a son of a rich family who lives in a fairly mansion like house. For his birthday he gets a statue of himself from his parents, and better yet a motorbike from his brother. He has gotten everything he wants when he wanted it. His sister and brother got presents on HIS birthday, and vise virsa on their's. What more could you want? On a sunny day a family moves into the house next door to them. At least they think it is a family. The first time that they meet is when Parker walks into his room and finds someone sleeping in his bed. Her name is Sarah. She goes to the same school as Parker and hangs out with him a lot. Yet when she meets and talks with some students they change, drastically. Parker notices what is happening and tries to figure out who Sarah really is, and tries not to die in the process.
June 24, 2010
I think that this book had a good concept, but for me it just didn't follow through in the 'interesting' category. Honestly, I didn't like the girl, Tara, from the beginning. She was pretty jerky. Also, I just don't get the dark chills from this book everybody else gets... I mean, it's pretty obvious what is happening. This book is very predictable, so I don't see the shock factor some people get. Then some of the parts were just so slow it took me a while just to read them. Then to top it all off, the ending was horrible. I would not recommend this book to anyone.
May 9, 2018
Modern day Medusa comes to town and people are getting stoned :)
I just adore Neal Shusterman and always tear through his books. I know they are not meant for an older person like me but that won't stop me from reading just about anything of his.
I just adore Neal Shusterman and always tear through his books. I know they are not meant for an older person like me but that won't stop me from reading just about anything of his.
July 19, 2016
Thank you, Neal Shusterman. Just thank you.
November 24, 2021
I didn't enjoy this one at all unfortunately :(
May 7, 2020
The book was alright, but I didn't think the characters were all that realistic. If you go to your house and find someone sleeping in your bed, I doubt you would casually tell someone "Hey, this random person is in my bed." Parker didn't even seem that surprised.
But one thing I liked about this book was the suspense. Tara was so unpredictable, and I wanted to keep reading to see what she would do next.
To be honest, I didn't care for the ending that much. It wasn't very climatic and somewhat predictable.
In conclusion, it wasn't a terrible read, but it's up to you if it's worth your time.
But one thing I liked about this book was the suspense. Tara was so unpredictable, and I wanted to keep reading to see what she would do next.
To be honest, I didn't care for the ending that much. It wasn't very climatic and somewhat predictable.
In conclusion, it wasn't a terrible read, but it's up to you if it's worth your time.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 27, 2018
Modern-day horror twist on fairytales and myth. Medusa comes to high school and starts exposing the petrifying cores of rich suburbia. Good short read with a creep, no-holds-barred ending.
Read
July 31, 2025book club 8/25
November 22, 2012
Slightly disappointing, especially since this is the author of two of my favorite books, Unwind and Bruiser. I'll spare the summary, and, well, everything else because this is my first review and I lack an audience.
Things I liked:
Parker's realistic view and opinions of his family's wealth
The beginning of the end. It was a much needed twist
The fact that it took me less than an hour to read this
The goldilocks and medusa references. It is to be expected though, as this is a modern retelling of the story of Medusa. Oh wait- was that a spoiler? My apologies, it's just that this surprise was obvious after simply looking at the cover. More on this in a second.
The end reminded me of The Angels Take Manhattan, I think it was
Things I didn't like
None of the characters reacted realistically to anything Medusa did. Shush. She IS Medusa, so I'll call her that, thank you. I would definitely reacted a bit differently to finding someone in my bed
Medusa's unexplained kleptomania. If it was explained, I must have skimmed over that part
The very end. It was rather anticlimactic, although there will be a sequel, I guess, which better be good.
The fact that it took two seconds for me to guess that she is medusa but apparently no one else has heard of medusa in the universe of Dread Locks. Except the random statue maker person, who maybe will turn into Pygmalion in the next book.
That basically sums up my thoughts. I didn't really get into this book, although I do recommend practically any of shusterman's other books.
Things I liked:
Parker's realistic view and opinions of his family's wealth
The beginning of the end. It was a much needed twist
The fact that it took me less than an hour to read this
The goldilocks and medusa references. It is to be expected though, as this is a modern retelling of the story of Medusa. Oh wait- was that a spoiler? My apologies, it's just that this surprise was obvious after simply looking at the cover. More on this in a second.
The end reminded me of The Angels Take Manhattan, I think it was
Things I didn't like
None of the characters reacted realistically to anything Medusa did. Shush. She IS Medusa, so I'll call her that, thank you. I would definitely reacted a bit differently to finding someone in my bed
Medusa's unexplained kleptomania. If it was explained, I must have skimmed over that part
The very end. It was rather anticlimactic, although there will be a sequel, I guess, which better be good.
The fact that it took two seconds for me to guess that she is medusa but apparently no one else has heard of medusa in the universe of Dread Locks. Except the random statue maker person, who maybe will turn into Pygmalion in the next book.
That basically sums up my thoughts. I didn't really get into this book, although I do recommend practically any of shusterman's other books.
September 20, 2011
And so the most common statement holds true to this story, “Different is good!” and with that being said-this was a short, dark & unique read for me. This story is a combination of Goldilocks & The Three Bears; with the added flare of Medusa and the author pulled it off perfectly. I will say this, at first; I didn’t know what Tara was and I had even hope that she would turn out to be good. But as the story started moving on and on I know that she had an ounce of evil in her or even more that an ounce (ha..Ha...ha). And so Tara started to weave a tingled web of drama, but as she laid out her plan; something unexpected happens-he lets Parker in. Tara is a mystery to be solved and Parker is just the one to solve this case. This story has a lot of good life lessons that really should be given to more people. I would defiantly recommend this book to anyone wanting something unique, fun & it will take you on an all out emotional roller coaster.
September 3, 2009
Part of the Darkfusion series. This novel and others of the series are what the series says it is: fusion of two mythical or traditional fairytales in a contemporary setting with a definitely DARK tone. This one fuses Goldilocks of the three bears fame with…well, that would be telling, wouldn’t it. When Parker Baer discovers beautiful, but cryptic Tara sleeping peacefully in his bed, he begins an adventure that affects his friends and family—and reveals the stone-cold hearts of some of his socially prominent peers. Positive, with a dark ending
January 3, 2011
A modern retelling of Goldilocks and the three bears with some Greek mythology thrown in. Very good read and remarkably clean. The characters are well drawn and believable, which doesn't surprise me because I've enjoyed the few books by Shusterman that I've read. I'll definately be reading more by him.
I bought this for myself, thinking it was a bit old for my ten year old (the characters are highschoolers), but because it was free of language and innuendo, I thought it appropriate for my ten-year-old who loved Percy Jackson. I want more books like this!
I bought this for myself, thinking it was a bit old for my ten year old (the characters are highschoolers), but because it was free of language and innuendo, I thought it appropriate for my ten-year-old who loved Percy Jackson. I want more books like this!
September 1, 2014
I like the premise of the Dark Fusion series, fairy tale meets myth. And I thought this was a good story. The fairy tale it spins from is "Goldilocks and the Three Bears". I won't mention the myth as that would be spoiler-y, but Dreadlocks was creative and I'll probably pick up another Dark Fusion read.
August 11, 2016
This is one of those books, where I was reading along, knowing that Shusterman doesn't put things into his books without a reason, yet I couldn't figure out all the foreshadowing till the end.
February 24, 2020
a horror story about when white people have dreads. and a retelling of goldilocks that turns out to be fused with medusa! this was ahead of its time and i still think about it. it didn't hit as hard as duckling ugly, but duckling ugly is a high bar.
November 6, 2014
Not a good reading day for me. I also didn't love this. Maybe it works very well for the younger audience, but Parker's slowness on the uptake was maddening. and although I get the idea of the fusion (and think it is cool) the reality felt kind of awkward and forced.
Library copy
Library copy
November 18, 2019
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July 24, 2024
Such a good book, I couldn't stop reading it.
January 28, 2020
Concept:
Ennui-laden protagonist gets way more excitement than he bargained for when a mysterious girl moves in next door and starts fucking with the lives of everyone around him.
Thoughts:
1. I'll admit- Shusterman has been an author I've been pretty content to bypass so far. Most of this stems from being majorly creeped out by the concept of Unwind (yes, despite knowing it's subverted and explained and all that) to the point where every time I get a few pages into the first chapter I feel physically nauseous. I suspect there may be a psychological block or something.
2. Not that being creeped out by a story is generally a bad thing. I think a more appropriate word here is triggered. Something about the concept of state mandated compulsory pregnancy combined with the removal of personhood for the people born that way kinda pounds on a ton of my nope buttons all at the same time. It's hard to concentrate when your brain is in a constant feedback loop of fuckfuckfuckfuckMOTHERfuckwhattheFUCK.
3. Thankfully for me, all Dread Locks had was . Which is probably objectively not any better and arguably worse, but it doesn't hit any of my NOPE buttons so I just sat there going "huh" and "i'm reasonably sure that Shusterman did not intend this as a critique of capitalism but damn if I'm not reading it that way anyway."
Pros
1. There are plenty of pretty deep themes that are explored in this book. I call it a critique of capitalism because one of the central themes of the plot is how people who are by birth and wealth given virtually everything in life soon develop a shell of cynicism and been-there-done-that that effectively saps the driving force of life in general. Excessive haves and excessive have-nots existing in the same world with both sets of people being unhappy with their situation? Not something that's really explored all that much in general.
2. It's also just one line in a book that otherwise ignores it, but I found the idea of Parker "my parents commissioned a life size statue of me as one of the gifts for my birthday" Baer calling someone else "flilthy rich" hilarious. Plus, it pounds home the sheer ridiculousness of the concept of "enough" money.
3. I appreciate the foreshadowing of Parker I knew that was a book-end too good to not use.
4. Tara? Is an excellent character?
5. That one scene where Parker talks to his brother when his brother is trying to is just pure pathos. I vote it the most emotionally intense scene in this entire book.
Cons:
1. Listen, I like the idea of combining Greek Mythology with Fairytales, I really do. But I have to admit that the Goldilocks elements in this book were really stretching things a lot. It had so little impact on the actual plot that it came across as a gimmick more than anything else.
2. While I liked the scene where Parker and the artist incrementally learn more and more about the statues, I was less thrilled with . Just why? What could possibly have been earned from that scene that couldn't have been taken care of by the characters already there?
Verdict:
Engrossing and fast-paced. The most interesting part of this book was the theme, and that's not a bad thing because there's plenty of themes in there to sustain the whole thing.
Fanfic Ideas: Parker's little sister totally grows up to be an eccentric monster hunter.
Ennui-laden protagonist gets way more excitement than he bargained for when a mysterious girl moves in next door and starts fucking with the lives of everyone around him.
Thoughts:
1. I'll admit- Shusterman has been an author I've been pretty content to bypass so far. Most of this stems from being majorly creeped out by the concept of Unwind (yes, despite knowing it's subverted and explained and all that) to the point where every time I get a few pages into the first chapter I feel physically nauseous. I suspect there may be a psychological block or something.
2. Not that being creeped out by a story is generally a bad thing. I think a more appropriate word here is triggered. Something about the concept of state mandated compulsory pregnancy combined with the removal of personhood for the people born that way kinda pounds on a ton of my nope buttons all at the same time. It's hard to concentrate when your brain is in a constant feedback loop of fuckfuckfuckfuckMOTHERfuckwhattheFUCK.
3. Thankfully for me, all Dread Locks had was . Which is probably objectively not any better and arguably worse, but it doesn't hit any of my NOPE buttons so I just sat there going "huh" and "i'm reasonably sure that Shusterman did not intend this as a critique of capitalism but damn if I'm not reading it that way anyway."
Pros
1. There are plenty of pretty deep themes that are explored in this book. I call it a critique of capitalism because one of the central themes of the plot is how people who are by birth and wealth given virtually everything in life soon develop a shell of cynicism and been-there-done-that that effectively saps the driving force of life in general. Excessive haves and excessive have-nots existing in the same world with both sets of people being unhappy with their situation? Not something that's really explored all that much in general.
2. It's also just one line in a book that otherwise ignores it, but I found the idea of Parker "my parents commissioned a life size statue of me as one of the gifts for my birthday" Baer calling someone else "flilthy rich" hilarious. Plus, it pounds home the sheer ridiculousness of the concept of "enough" money.
3. I appreciate the foreshadowing of Parker I knew that was a book-end too good to not use.
4. Tara? Is an excellent character?
5. That one scene where Parker talks to his brother when his brother is trying to is just pure pathos. I vote it the most emotionally intense scene in this entire book.
Cons:
1. Listen, I like the idea of combining Greek Mythology with Fairytales, I really do. But I have to admit that the Goldilocks elements in this book were really stretching things a lot. It had so little impact on the actual plot that it came across as a gimmick more than anything else.
2. While I liked the scene where Parker and the artist incrementally learn more and more about the statues, I was less thrilled with . Just why? What could possibly have been earned from that scene that couldn't have been taken care of by the characters already there?
Verdict:
Engrossing and fast-paced. The most interesting part of this book was the theme, and that's not a bad thing because there's plenty of themes in there to sustain the whole thing.
Fanfic Ideas: Parker's little sister totally grows up to be an eccentric monster hunter.
July 1, 2019
Holy crap, this was good! I blew through this and have already ordered the next two in the trilogy, I have to know what happens next!
Okay, let me calm myself before this review becomes a rant. There were a lot things about this novel that I liked, but there were a few issues I had that keep my from giving it five stars. First, the positives.
The pacing in this book is blisteringly fast, as per Neal Shusterman, and it definitely works. I feel like a concept like this would have been drawn out for dramatic effect and overstay its welcome, but the pacing was spot on. I adore Shusterman for always cutting to the chase and starting with the chase, thank you for not wasting my time. The story was well-done and it didn't feel too childish or too graphic. It was light enough for a younger audience (more on that later) but was dark enough that even an adult like me had to pause at times and go "well, that's a thing..."
Tara was definitely the stand-out character in this novel and she carries so many alarming personality traits I'm not quite sure what she's supposed to represent. If I'm imagining a younger audience member reading this, I feel like she would represent a "bad influence" or something along those lines, but as an adult reader she reminded me more of a toxic friend/emotionally manipulative partner. I don't want to go into great detail because of spoilers, but there were definitely interactions between her and Parker that gave me that impression. Speaking of Parker, and moving on to the negatives in one swoop...
For those who are not familiar with Shusterman's work, he tends to write stories in multiple perspectives and while others tend to have trouble with that, I happen to enjoy it. Unfortunately, this novel is entirely in Parker's perspective and he alone cannot carry this story. This is why, in my opinion, Tara was the stand-out character despite not being the main one. Parker's development is impressive and I adored the ending, but he does not have the same character strength as Citra from Scythe or Caden from Challenger Deep. Make no mistake, he wasn't a terrible character, but he wasn't as strong as other main characters in Shusterman's novels.
The other unfortunate aspect of this novel is that it is clear that this is his early work. Again, this is by no means a bad novel, but as someone who has thoroughly enjoyed Challenger Deep, Dry, and Scythe, this novel is much more...simple by comparison. Granted, it has a lot of interesting things to say, but the language is very simple even by Shusterman's standards and it makes me wonder if this whole trilogy was meant for a junior/early YA audience. I still believe that anyone would really enjoy this book, but it does seem more simple than his other works, whether that was by design or not is up in the air.
Honestly, those are my only real complaints. I still enjoyed this novel and am dying to know what happens next in the trilogy. A little more simple than his other works, but by no means bad, I definitely recommend people give this a shot.
Okay, let me calm myself before this review becomes a rant. There were a lot things about this novel that I liked, but there were a few issues I had that keep my from giving it five stars. First, the positives.
The pacing in this book is blisteringly fast, as per Neal Shusterman, and it definitely works. I feel like a concept like this would have been drawn out for dramatic effect and overstay its welcome, but the pacing was spot on. I adore Shusterman for always cutting to the chase and starting with the chase, thank you for not wasting my time. The story was well-done and it didn't feel too childish or too graphic. It was light enough for a younger audience (more on that later) but was dark enough that even an adult like me had to pause at times and go "well, that's a thing..."
Tara was definitely the stand-out character in this novel and she carries so many alarming personality traits I'm not quite sure what she's supposed to represent. If I'm imagining a younger audience member reading this, I feel like she would represent a "bad influence" or something along those lines, but as an adult reader she reminded me more of a toxic friend/emotionally manipulative partner. I don't want to go into great detail because of spoilers, but there were definitely interactions between her and Parker that gave me that impression. Speaking of Parker, and moving on to the negatives in one swoop...
For those who are not familiar with Shusterman's work, he tends to write stories in multiple perspectives and while others tend to have trouble with that, I happen to enjoy it. Unfortunately, this novel is entirely in Parker's perspective and he alone cannot carry this story. This is why, in my opinion, Tara was the stand-out character despite not being the main one. Parker's development is impressive and I adored the ending, but he does not have the same character strength as Citra from Scythe or Caden from Challenger Deep. Make no mistake, he wasn't a terrible character, but he wasn't as strong as other main characters in Shusterman's novels.
The other unfortunate aspect of this novel is that it is clear that this is his early work. Again, this is by no means a bad novel, but as someone who has thoroughly enjoyed Challenger Deep, Dry, and Scythe, this novel is much more...simple by comparison. Granted, it has a lot of interesting things to say, but the language is very simple even by Shusterman's standards and it makes me wonder if this whole trilogy was meant for a junior/early YA audience. I still believe that anyone would really enjoy this book, but it does seem more simple than his other works, whether that was by design or not is up in the air.
Honestly, those are my only real complaints. I still enjoyed this novel and am dying to know what happens next in the trilogy. A little more simple than his other works, but by no means bad, I definitely recommend people give this a shot.
December 9, 2021
I liked the book Dread Locks, by Neal Shustrman, which is in the genre of horror. In my opinion I don’t think that it had much horror in it. The only bit that I think that had much horror in it was when Tara was looking at people in the eyes and would turn them into stone. The book took a long time to get to the point. The entire book was in the POV of Parker, the main character, and how he figured out that Tara was Medusa, and that she didn’t die. Also, Tara was suspicious about everything, like when she said that nothing belonged to anyone. Like when she was sleeping in Parkers bed at the beginning of the book. She just helped herself to anything in anyone’s house. She also let anyone in her house as well. I did like when Parker started turning into Tara. Like when she drove off a high cliff and neither of them hurt but their clothes got ripped up and destroyed. I also liked when Tara started turning Parker’s brother and sister into stone. After that he went to Tara and she freed them. The only part that really made me sad was when Parker turned into the last stage of being like Tara and turned his cat into stone. A part that really was not my favorite was when Parker turned on of his best friends into stone. When they turn people into stone it takes a lot of anger to immediately turn someone into stone. The cat and every other animal take a few seconds to fully solidify. A part of the book that I found boring was the part when the crafter of the statue of Parker (that he got at the beginning of the book for his birthday) was examining the rock of a lizard that Tara gave him. It was boring was because they talked about a lot of different kinds of rocks and types of stones. Also not only were the rocks boring it was the fact that the guy had to use a magnifying glass to see the rock to see how detailed it was. Something that I don’t understand about this guy was when he was able to find where Tara and Parker were, because they were in an oil field that no one knew about. I did like the ending of the book when Parker turned Tara into stone and Tara turned Parker into stone. I liked that he sacrificed himself for the rest of the world and no one knew about it.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 1, 2018
Shusterman, Neal. Dread Locks Speak. 2006. 176 p. 978-0142405994
Genre: Young Adult, Greek mythology, fairy tale, horror
Summary and Analysis: Parker Baer is a 14-year-old rich kid bored with his family's wealth, his friends, and his life until a mysterious next door neighbor, Tara, moves in. Tara is unlike anyone Parker has ever met, but he soon realizes there's a good reason for that. The more he gets to know her, the stranger everyone around him acts until he realizes he needs to stop her. Will he be able to reverse Tara's influence before it's too late?
I would recommend this book for junior high students, as the writing may feel too young for high schoolers, and the content may feel too old for elementary schoolers. The integration of Greek mythology and fairy tales felt a little heavy-handed (Tara's hair was golden and looked like snakes; she never takes her sunglasses off; she breaks into the Baers' home and sits in their chairs, eats their food, and sleeps in their beds; a lot of statue mentions and motifs, etc., etc.) and it was hard for me to like even one of the characters, but a junior high student may be able to relate to a character and how they feel, or an event in the book and enjoy it more.
Teaching Ideas: This book could be used in a Greek mythology unit, or possibly as an example of a modern fairy tale. Projects and assignments could include literature circles or Socratic seminars to keep students involved throughout reading. Students could also be paired off and given a list of Greek myths to research, present, and teach the rest of the class about the myth. Students could also compare Dread Locks to another modern Greek myth retelling, such as The Lightning Thief , one of the books in the Medusa Girls series, or another Greek myth retelling book. Teachers could use one of George O'Connor's Olympians books as background for Greek mythology.
Genre: Young Adult, Greek mythology, fairy tale, horror
Summary and Analysis: Parker Baer is a 14-year-old rich kid bored with his family's wealth, his friends, and his life until a mysterious next door neighbor, Tara, moves in. Tara is unlike anyone Parker has ever met, but he soon realizes there's a good reason for that. The more he gets to know her, the stranger everyone around him acts until he realizes he needs to stop her. Will he be able to reverse Tara's influence before it's too late?
I would recommend this book for junior high students, as the writing may feel too young for high schoolers, and the content may feel too old for elementary schoolers. The integration of Greek mythology and fairy tales felt a little heavy-handed (Tara's hair was golden and looked like snakes; she never takes her sunglasses off; she breaks into the Baers' home and sits in their chairs, eats their food, and sleeps in their beds; a lot of statue mentions and motifs, etc., etc.) and it was hard for me to like even one of the characters, but a junior high student may be able to relate to a character and how they feel, or an event in the book and enjoy it more.
Teaching Ideas: This book could be used in a Greek mythology unit, or possibly as an example of a modern fairy tale. Projects and assignments could include literature circles or Socratic seminars to keep students involved throughout reading. Students could also be paired off and given a list of Greek myths to research, present, and teach the rest of the class about the myth. Students could also compare Dread Locks to another modern Greek myth retelling, such as The Lightning Thief , one of the books in the Medusa Girls series, or another Greek myth retelling book. Teachers could use one of George O'Connor's Olympians books as background for Greek mythology.
February 18, 2018
Neal Shusterman is easily becoming one of my all time favorite authors! Everything he writes holds me enthralled thru the whole story! I found Dread Locks at 2nd & Charles and I got so excited! I was waiting for the next book in another series that Shusterman wrote to get here from Amazon, and this one is short so I read it, and loved it! Shusterman has a way of being philosophical without being pompous or hard to understand. Dread Locks is a mix of fairy tale and myth. Yes, there is a subtle difference between the two and Shusterman weaves them together flawlessly. I honestly have no critique to give with this book. It’s an imaginative story that’s meant to be experienced thru your imagination so don’t expect to take it all literally. There are little lessons to learn throughout; the characters are likeable, they could have easily moved into annoying, but they never did. And my very favorite part of this story is the ending! Holy cow!!! But I can’t tell you, you just gotta read it for yourself!!!! 😊 I’d recommend this to any teen, I think this is a good book to get them into reading. I’d also recommend it to anyone look for a short but interesting read.
November 18, 2019
In this book, they combine Goldie Locks and Madusa into one book. Parker Bear is the main character and he saw that a new person (Tara) moved in. They first meat when Tara sat in his dad's chair, ate his sister's cereal and slept in his bed. Then Parker goes to Tara's house to give her a basket and he sees that Tara collects statues. Tara tells Parker that her sisters and parents are in Europe. They go to school and Tara acts weird and starts to give Parker curls with her finger. Parker goes to Tara's house and sees and smashes statues in her basement. Later he goes to her house again and finds a picture of the Parthenon but it looked like it was just built. Then Parker goes to a sculptor and brings him a hand that he broke off of one of Tara's statues. The sculptor looks at the stone and said that it was the best sculpting job he had ever seen. He later looks at it with his magnifying glass and sees fingerprints. They later meat up and Parker tells Tara that she turned him into a monster and then they have a stare-off and turn each into stone.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 18, 2019
I liked this book a lot, it has a very good layout. The storyline was very good and what I liked about it was how parts would leave off and keep you thinking and have many thoughts on what may happen next. This book is a good book for you if you like myth type topics, this story puts the myth medusa and a fairytale, Goldilocks and the three bears together. How the author did his Fusion between the stories was very good, but he could have used Goldilocks just a little more. The story is about a kid named Parker and his life. He would say it was great, just boring. Until one day he got a new neighbor, Tera. Then things started to change, at school and at home. The ending between the two characters was very good. I think that if he used the little sister in the story a little bit more some parts of the story would have been more touching in some ways. Overall this was a good book and I do recommend it.
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November 18, 2019 What I think about the book was that it was very good. And why I think it was a good is because that in the beggining of the book when Terra was in Parker's room sleeping in his bed and when he found her she was there to kill him. Because if you thought about it whenever Parker was turned into one of them and when he was in the families house, he was there to kill that family but he got caught. Another part I liked was at the very end of the book when Parker finally caught Terra off guard and stoned her and Parker finally became a hero in the book but he turned to stone but he doesn't die because he's immortal. What I didn't like about the book was at the end of the book whenever Parker turned to stone, what should've happened is that Parker stays alive tell his parents what he had become and that he runs away and kills the bad and saves the good so like he would pretty much become Robin Hood.
November 18, 2019
This was a very funny, surprising, and spooky book to read in class. (spoilers) It shows a 15-year-old boy (Parker) who met a new girl that moved in next door, but there was something different about her. She goes by Terra and lived in the biggest house on the street. Strange how? She snuck into Parker's house and sat in Paker's father's chair, ate and took the small toy out of the little sister's cereal, and was found sleeping in Parker's own bed! Terra didn't find anything wrong with that. Later on, Terra and Parker became good friends and hung out a lot! Parker introduced her to his friends and went out to go eat. Over time, Parker noticed something strange about an action that Terra was doing. SHe would ask Parker to introduce new people and he did so. The catch is one she met that person and hung out with them for a few days, they would get a strange disease and would die over it. Everyone thought it was bad luck and a coincidence, but really... it was Terra.
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