Book Rewind Review: The Apocalypse of Elena Mendoza by Shaun David Hutchinson
Shaun David Hutchinson writes contemporary mixed with sci-fi, which sounds like it can’t co-exist and yet it does. I am a fan because he creates characters that are ordinarily extraordinary. They’re unforgettable. It’s been a year since I read The Apocalypse of Elena Mendoza and I still find myself laughing at little things I remember from the book. Check it out and don’t forget – his latest book (The Past and Other Things that Should Stay Buried) is out this week!
Review:
Elena Mendoza, interesting not only because she was a virginal birth, not only because she may have powers, but because sassy, real, and easy to relate to. Because Shaun David Hutchinson creates characters that live in our heads forever. Every character, even the secondary and side characters. Everyone feels real in this story.
As all of Shaun’s stories, The Apocalypse of Elena Mendoza is about finding yourself. Not to get biblical but there’s a lot of exploration of free will and figuring out who you are (not who you’re supposed to be). Shaun likes to put characters in these really tough situations (save the cheerleader, save the world – ok, not really but intimate objects [which might be the funniest part of the story] keep telling Elena to heal people or the world will end) and then you’re really cheering for them to persevere. Whatever that might mean for them…