Title: Unleashed
Publisher: Simon Pulse, 352 pages
ISBN-10: 1416940014
ISBN-13: 978-1416940012
Price: USD 7.99
Release Date: February 19, 2008
Kristopher Reisz' debut novel Tripping to Somewhere was a kaleidoscopic whirlwind of magic, desire, and the meaning of friendship. With it, he established himself as a writer who understands the social angst driving every high school student, how a deep need for acceptance can result in dangerous, albeit seductive, behavior.
With Unleashed, he explores the complexities of teen peer pressure in more detail. Daniel Morning is the king of McCammon High School: Handsome, intelligent, a star jock, he's the only one good enough to land Angie Walton, the campus socialite. It seems only natural to everyone around him that he would also land a spot at Cornell University. But only Daniel and his parents know the truth: that he is a fraud.
On the other side of the school tracks stand Misty Sandlin and her pack of rebel outcasts. When Misty ditches class to save a dog that has been hit by a car, she grabs Daniel's attention. Unable to reconcile his "shooting star" status with his own callous inaction, he befriends Misty in an attempt to understand what drives her. The answer is far wilder, and more feral, than he ever could have imagined. And it makes him question everything he ever believed in—especially himself.
From this relationship, Reisz conjures a tale rich with evocative power, addressing a multitude of moral questions, from racial attitudes to the drive to succeed at any cost. The nuances are delicious: Is it ethical, he wonders, to cheat just a little in order to gain a greater good? Or is it more honest to just let the inner animal range free, taking whatever one wishes as one's rightful lot? And what are the psychological consequences when neither of these options proves expedient?
From a plot point of view, I like how Reisz has used the Fly Agaric mushroom as both the catalyst for primal change and a metaphor for the bleak existence Misty and her friends inhabit. The "rot-eater god," as he calls it, holds out a false promise of escape from the very conditions it itself has created. Desperate creatures, the pack—and Daniel—consume this promise voraciously, unable or unwilling to recognize they are merely feeding the monster, both within and without.
Like Tripping, Unleashed is a fast-paced tale, although one I found to flow more smoothly than the first. We are quickly and easily brought into the inner world of high-school hierarchy, as the pressures and expectations weighing upon teens and adults alike are almost poetically brought forth. (The wonderful transition of Daniel's status from "shooting guard" to "shooting star" is a perfect example.) I feel Reisz has a good grasp of the young adult mind; but even as an old adult, I found myself immersed in the story. I could see, not only my younger self, but also my children in his descriptions. Indeed, some of the high school scenes—with their boredom-on-a-knife-edge atmosphere—made me shudder with not precisely nostalgic recollection.
I think Reisz has definitely found his niche. I look forward to seeing more from him.
