Stones to Abigail /½ Star
A valiant attempt by YouTuber and cult leader, Onision. Not even adequate as a debut, it’s like it was written by an addicted squirrel. The characters are as shallow as the authors internet presence. The characters as well as the story are as unrealistic as his online following which consists of 11–16 year old kids who worship him with their medication in one hand and razor blade in the other.
It figures the author would write about a self inflated and misunderstood teenage boy who is meant to come off as wise for his years and yet only comes off as a clear depiction of an egocentric legend in his own mind. I was waiting for aliens to land next, I mean I understand that action is required in a book, things have to occur to move plot, but there is just so much going on here it is totally unrealistic.
If just one thing was chosen such as the fire or one character helping another through a trying time or the shooting or the best friend dying before his eyes…(sheesh) it might have been better, but everything happens to this kid. It seems that perhaps the author thought he could make up for the shallowness of his characters and his inability to write in an engaging way by piling one catastrophic event on top of another. Unfortunately, it didn’t work.
It’s difficult to even care about the characters and the events meant to move the plot forward don’t even move it slightly to the side. As mentioned, one of the myriad of events that happen in the story had it been done well could have made an excellent book, instead you get a book that has about everything that could happen to a teenager happening in a short time and it’s a challenge to care.
This book will find an audience though, Onision’s minions will eat it up, the 11–16 year old set gripping their razor blades and wallowing in a mass of their own imaginary problems will clamor for their copy. And this brings me to the message it seems that Onision is attempting in his mentally crippled way to get across, if you experience trauma you just have to let it go.
As the leading poster child for therapy he wants this age old message to come off as profound when it really isn’t. Even old school lessons can be presented to people in an inspiring way though, if the story is good, and this one wasn’t. It’s easy to say “Let it go” but Onision doesn’t have the fortitude or wisdom to point out that in order to let go of a thing one must first pick it up.
I recommend waiting for this one to come out at your public library if you insist on reading it, that way you won’t waste money, just time, and that, like everything, is a choice, right? Just return it on time, it isn’t even worth the quarter you’ll pay for the late charge.
