The Wars Within: A Book Review of A Thousand Fires by Shannon Price
If you only watched the news, America’s streets look like a war scene right now. Pictures dominate our screens of buildings marked, police cars burned, people bleeding and crying, windows shattered, and large crowds gathering in public spaces. Buzz words like civil unrest, social injustice, racism, oppression, and federal occupation fire out of newscasters’ mouths toward a defenseless audience. The aggression presses us to escape these wars within our country and our minds.
Fiction book sales are peaking the charts with record high numbers. A dose of fresh fiction is the balm for scorched hearts these days. And when I opened the pages of A Thousand Fires by Shannon Price a grim, albeit fictional reality was awaiting me.
If gang recruitment was normal for America’s youth and police matters were settled by young adults with heavy motives and guns, then you would be in Price’s San Francisco of A Thousand Fires. Price modernizes the brash world of Odysseus and Telemachus and sets it squarely in a time and place American readers are familiar with. Some parts of the story readers may think they know this place all too well, other parts are just as outrageous and epic as The Iliad.
So why retell an epic Greek story? And why heroize gang brutality?
Price does not want these lessons to be forgotten. Lessons of acting out of passion, lessons of following your heart, lessons of letting differences stand in our way. Nor does she want the people in the stories to be forgotten. She claimed in an interview with Jean Book Nerd her most rewarding experience since publishing was, “Having readers tell me my book makes them feel seen.”
And many of us do have violent histories that need to be seen. We need witnesses who have seen how far we’ve come. Like Nianna watched Valerie’s progression from wounded, vengeful traitor to loyal, strong victor of her own epic. The protagonist embraced change and it was powerful and inspiring to watch her overcome.
I enjoyed reading A Thousand Fires. It fit squarely in the YA genre. The story delivered what the author promised and without pretention. The plot was familiar, and yet still enticed me to keep reading into the late hours of the night. I couldn’t roll my eyes at the excessive drama or predictable moments because Price is honest in her synopsis. This novel is worth reading because it reminds readers of the things they love about a great story. Big characters, dramatic plot points, sweeping scenes, and a dash of romance now and again.
The heavy subject material is weighty enough for this book to be considered seriously. I appreciate Price that she didn’t push her manuscript too hard and turn her readers away. Price’s nod to The Iliad, without an ounce of arrogance, also earns her credibility. There are days when I don’t have the time or energy to read Ancient Greek Poetry, but I could sit for hours reading The Outsiders or A Thousand Fires.
This book is one you read and hand off to a good friend. Someone you are not trying to impress or find the title that changes their life. This novel is for sharing that, “did you read that part?!” moment with. Often I have to remind myself that reading can be for fun and my bookshelves do not need to be stacked with Literature.
The war within us is sometimes allowing ourselves space and time to be who we are in that moment. Valerie needed a year with The Stags to be angry. Her gang granted her space to punch walls, dress in war gear for the battle, and physically exhaust all her pain. She made hurtful decisions, she forgave, and she changed. The Epilogue might convince you it is worth it. In recent days, I am letting areas of my life, that before I was constantly prodding toward development and growth, to settle in and take root.
How are you allowing yourself space and time to sit in the mess and rest?
Kids in gangs wake us up to the fact that violence is part of humanity. We don’t have to accept violence as the end though. A Thousand Fires and these other great titles show us the resilience of children to fight the way pain molds us.
