A STUDY IN TERMINAL: A YA THRILLER BY KARA LINABURG

 Please welcome Amanda Moyer, my guest blogger for a review of Kara Linaburg's suspenseful novel, A STUDY IN TERMINAL (Monarch Educational Services, June 2022). 

REVIEW

A Study in Terminal by Kara Linaburg is a young adult novel telling the story of Sean Brogan, a young man trying to face the demons of his past that have haunted his nightmares since he was a kid. The book broaches intense topics such as self-hatred, depression, and suicide but concludes with hope, healing, and letting go.

We meet Sean first through a page of his journal and a flash-forward to the climax, where we discover that his mother ended her life ten years ago and that he intends to do the same. He has been haunted his entire life by the bad luck of watching people die because he either arrived too late or didn’t have the courage to save them.

His goal is to return to the small town he lived in with his mother before she died and finish writing his novel before following her. His plans change when his motorcycle breaks down just a few miles shy of town, and he gets picked up by the Kenzies, a family he’d known well. Throughout the book Sean reconnects with his childhood friends, Joe and Rina Kenzie, but he never explains that his mother’s death isn’t the only thing bringing him here. He is also being hunted down by his New York gang for betraying them.

Rina delivers a touching theme when she and Sean are talking about Sherlock Holmes. Sean doesn’t think much of the detective because “Sherlock only solved murders—never prevented them,” which echoes his own despair over bad luck. Rina counters: “True, but he had to learn to care for the people first before he could save them.”

When the gang members finally catch up with him, they choose to take their vengeance out on him by kidnapping and threatening Rina. Sean is terrified that she’ll just be one more person he couldn’t save, but his luck finally changes, and they all make it out alive. Despite the victory, the events solidify his determination to end his own life to prevent more people from being in danger because of him.

But this time, Rina saves him.

When she follows him into his abandoned childhood home, he suddenly remembers this wasn’t the first time. She had been there when they were kids, the day his mother died. Since then she has struggled with the same nightmares and the same guilt. She saves him by being present and caring for him. He allows her to meet him in the darkness, a darkness she knows well, and he begins to see hope and freedom he didn’t know was possible. She gives him the power to save himself by showing him that he is worth caring for.

I appreciate that the author set the tone and theme for the book from the very first page which helped me mentally prepare for the rest of the story, but also root for Sean and identify with his darkness. Sean walks out of his childhood home with a different perspective and a second chance at life. He realizes that moving forward and creating a life worth living is the only way for him to let go of the past. The story does mention Christian themes, but never directly says he found faith. In a way, it doesn’t need to. It ends with the beautiful feeling that the story isn’t over, that there is more healing to be done and that Sean will continue moving forward. 

The intense themes and vivid storytelling do warrant a caution for those who, like myself, have personally struggled with mental health, but the ending could not have held as much hope if the story had not held so much darkness. In Rina’s words: “Sunsets remind me that the darkness won’t last forever, that the light will come if I only wait for it.”

GIVEAWAY AND READER'S GUIDE

If you are interested in receiving an E-book, please leave me a comment with your email address by December 4. Remember, I need to approve your comment before it goes live. 

As you can tell from Amanda's review, this book is full of sensitive issues. Click here for the reader's guide that will help parents, teachers, or counselors use A STUDY IN TERMINAL with teen readers struggling with depression and/or suicidal thoughts.

Amanda Moyer lives in Pennsylvania where she works as an accountant. She has always had a love of young adult fiction and fantasy and enjoys writing and worldbuilding with her cousins.

Congratulations to Rebecca Dollins who won THE ORANGE HORSE.