Elektra's Adventures in Tragedy by Douglas Rees // An Interesting Take on a Coming-of-Age Story

Elektra's Adventures in Tragedy, by Douglas Rees
Publication: May 8, 2018, by Running Press Kids
Genre: Young Adult Fiction, Contemporary
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
Rating: 

Sixteen-year-old Elektra Kamenides is well on her way to becoming a proper southern belle in the small Mississippi college town she calls home. That is, until her mother decides to uproot her and her kid sister Thalia and start over in California. They leave behind Elektra's father—a professor and leading expert on Greek mythology, and Elektra can't understand why. For her, life is tragedy, and all signs point to her family being cursed.
Their journey ends in Guadalupe Slough, a community of old Chicano families and oddball drifters sandwiched between San José and the southern shores of San Francisco Bay. The houseboat that her mother has bought, sight unseen, is really just an ancient trailer parked on a barge and sunk into a mudflat.
What would Odysseus do? Elektra asks herself. Determined to get back to Mississippi at all costs, she'll beg, cheat, and steal to get there. But things are not always what they seem, and home is wherever you decide to make it.

My Thoughts:

Elektra's Adventures in Tragedy was goone of the most interesting contemporary YA fiction stories I've read this year. The story literally screams out "summer," and appears to be a story that is about revival and coming-of-age. Of course, the protagonist, Elektra, is the one who is "coming of age" and is learning about who she is and what she can do to change the flaws in her personality. Because, let's face it: there are tons of flaws in this character's personality, which is one of the reasons why I was disappointed with this story. While it initially turned out to be promising and interesting, the story plummeted into disappointment, especially in the ending where I felt that there was no kind of purpose or closure to Elektra's story except for audiences to witness her growth. Honestly, we can all witness growth and development in any protagonist in any story. Why should we read a story about this basic angsty teenage development if some other books actually have some kind of purpose?

For the most part, I've sounded quite blunt and disappointed with Rees' story. However, it did have its perks. As this story is about a sixteen-year-old girl named Elektra who is forced to move to a grungy little town in California from Mississippi with her mother and sister, it surely did have a cool group of secondary characters. There were many of them (who live in the fictional town of Guadalupe Slough), and each had a distinctive personality that made the book more entertaining. Unlike other reviews, I felt that each of them had depth and were well-described, causing no bookish problems for me. HOWEVER. (There is always a "however") Elektra's character is the definition of angst and bratty. It is always very difficult for me to comprehend why an author decides to create a dislikable character, let alone a dislikable protagonist. A protagonist is the character readers will spend the most time with, and I just cannot understand why some of them have to be so... ew? I can definitely say that the different environment of Guadalupe Slough shaped Elektra into a different person, however, throughout her "development," I couldn't stand her and found her to be a bad influence. She did not appreciate people's sacrifices made for her, and the fact that her younger thirteen-year-old sister was smarter really made me cringe. 

As for the pacing of the story, it was a quick read I completed in a span of two days, and was pretty intriguing for the most part until the uneventful ending came. I expected there to be a big BOOM of surprise and interesting events, but I did not receive anything from the plot that was out of my expectations or that triggered emotions. For myself, that's always a thumbs down for a story.

Elektra's Adventures in Tragedy was a refreshing read, but one that turned out to be a little misleading. I really enjoyed reading about the characters' situations and stories, however, our protagonist, Elektra, caused me to give this book a 3 star rating. Would I recommend this to future readers? If you're desperate for a contemporary summery read, sure. If you're seeking a gorgeous well-written story, maybe not.

*A review copy was provided by the publisher in exchange for a honest review. Thank you so much!*

Have you read a book recently with a disappointing protagonist?