Saint Death by Marcus Sedgwick
Published October 6th 2016
A propulsive, compelling, and unsparing novel set in the grimly violent world of the human and drug trade on the US-Mexican border.
On the outskirts of Juarez, Arturo scrapes together a living working odd jobs and staying out of sight. But his friend Faustino is in trouble: he’s stolen money from the narcos to smuggle his girlfriend and her baby into the US, and needs Arturo’s help to get it back. To help his friend, Arturo must face the remorseless world of drug and human traffickers that surrounds him, and contend with a murky past.
Hovering over his story is the unsparing divinity Santa Muerte, Saint Death–and the relentless economic and social inequalities that haunt the border between Mexico and its rich northern neighbor. Crafted with poetry and cinematic pace and narrated with cold fury, Saint Death is a provocative tour de force from three-time Printz Award honoree Marcus Sedgwick.
This was a very interesting book. It was very serious and not really a book to read for fun, if that makes sense. The tone of this book very intense and I feel like it’s more a of an educational read than something to read to relax. This book almost felt like the author’s commentary on current events than a fictional story. And I really didn’t mind that. It was very thought provoking.
I really loved the writing style and I’m definitely interested in the author’s other books because of the writing style. I really appreciated the diversity of the characters and how much Mexican culture it brought to the table. The entire book is very relevant and I really liked seeing a perspective that I haven’t seen before. I was very emotionally invested in the characters and even though I had a hard time relating to them, I still really liked them.
Overall, this was a really interesting, thought provoking read and I’d definitely recommend it if you’re looking for a book outside of the norm.
Leave a Reply