Boneyard (Silvanus Saga: Book Two) by D.M. Darroch
A Dystopic YA Novel published by Sleepy Cat Press (05/09/22)
Summary:
On the brink of turning eighteen, Lazlo almost has enough money stowed away from slinging dust to leave a life of crime, but he gets caught in a raid. Not yet an adult, he’s *luckily* just sentenced to 10 years in prison and spends the first in juvenile detention. Looking at a quarter of his life in prison, Lazlo whiles away the long prison hours using his lab-rat-induced abilities to cause mayhem amongst the other juvenile inmates. When the warden offers Lazlo a chance for a reduced sentence, he’ll jump at it, no matter the cost. Working with adult prisoners, Lazlo agreed to help clear the line, the wall that stands between civilization and the oxygen forest with its larger-than-life creatures that threaten to break through weak points. The labor is tough, the bugs are human-sized, and most of the other inmates aren’t that great either. Will there be a chance to escape or will he end up being an orb weaver’s next meal?
Keywords:
Dystopian, Coming of Age, Trees, Friendship, Juvenile Delinquent, Drugs, Fighting, Sentenced, Choices
My Review:
Pandora may be a utopia while the world Darroch creates in the Sylvanus Saga is a dystopia but both are richly vivid and alive. After recently rewatching Pandora, I felt a similar sense of wonder and sensory detail come alive in Boneyard. The world is beautifully and carefully crafted. Darroch is a master of the senses and this unique dystopian world she has created in this saga. I’m blown away by how real both the world and the characters feel to me as I read. I’m amazed, that yet again, the author has created another world. This new world is both at the line and on the ground. It is completely separated from The Canopy above the forest but still connected to it by more than just a shared history.
Boneyard feels like an entirely separate book from Canopy, at least at first. I was amazed at how well constructed this second book is. As a middle book in a series, I was pleasantly surprised that it was just as good as book one, just as entertaining, just as well written, and still slowly tying together pieces from the first book into the next book of this series.
Lazlo, the main character, feels darker than the main character of book one. He has more of a sympathetic backstory but he also seems to make more questionable choices and presents himself in a less than positive light in the beginning. The way the author writes him still makes me empathize and sympathize with his plight and his choices. I’m still rooting for him, wanting him to make good choices, but also understanding to an extent why he chooses to do some of the things that he does to other people. Lazlo uses his power for both good and bad and that makes him more complex, more fascinating, and more human. I was drawn into his story immediately.
I love how imaginative the world is and how the plot fits together. The pacing felt right. Similar to book one, I had a hard time putting this book down. I can’t wait to read the next book in this series or anything else Darroch chooses to write.
I received a free ARC for an honest review.
This novel was published by Sleepy Cat Press on 05/09/2022 and is available on Amazon here.
TL;DR Star Rating: 5.0
Links for more information:
Rachel Author Barnard 