An innovative and creative fantasy novel.
Summer camp evokes all sorts of vivid images such as crackling fires, mist covered swimming lakes, and multi-colored friendship bracelets. For 18 year old Laurel ‘Spooky’ Specki, her trip to Dodgson Camp is more of a prison sentence. The camp is a sort of rehab center for wayward teens, and Dodgson has a strict and unforgiving system for administering personally tailored discipline. For Spooky, that means she’ll end up with no place to go if she gets thrown out of camp for too many ‘scuffs’. Always wanting to keep her head down and skate by unnoticed, Spooky fails spectacularly at staying below the radar. She sneaks out of her bunk to meet a boy and ends up prisoner to a petty god that resembles a gigantic horned toad. And this campfire-loving god with a penchant for a good story is only the beginning.
Strange Gods is an innovative and creative fantasy novel that propels old-fashioned monster tales into the 21st century. The overall feel around Dodgson camp is severe and harsh, while at the same time contrastingly ebullient and enthusiastic, crafted perfectly by Alison Kimble as a setup for Spooky’s unenviable predicament. When the first monstrous god enters the scene, it is wickedly frightening and wildly funny at the same time. Spooky ends up in an uneasy alliance, trying hard to prevent the gods from decimating Earth. Kimble’s easy writing style transports readers back to the transformative and awkward moments we all had growing up, but with the added twist of destructive bickering gods converging on our planet. The narrative is equal parts eclectic plot and dynamic character growth. If you enjoy a first-rate teen fantasy with a truly unique cast, you’ll find that Strange Gods is a sweet indulgence infused with humor and heart.
