Rachel Foster (2)

This work had an interesting concept but read like a rough draft. Formatting and grammar was weird. It was repetitive and very, very long. The main character had very little character development throughout the story; he would learn something and immediately forget it and act as if nothing had happened. There was a Spell at play that caused this, but the reader couldn't really tell what was the spell and what was the character. It was hard to read about a character who didn't change. He didn't seem to learn or even notice obvious things around him. For example, throughout the story it mentions how he hated eating meat, and then near the end he is totally shocked to find out that animals are killed to provide meat, even after witnessing scenes of extreme animal abuse. There's an interesting magic at play. Unfortunately, the reader is given very little explanation as to what is going on. Everything is a mystery throughout the entire story. I understand that not every question will be answered right away, nor should it be, but it is very unsatisfying to read a book and still not understand the basic rules of how the world works. I thought the story was a children's story, as the main character is a preteen (I think he is 11, but I could be misremembering). However, it gets very dark and gruesome; for example, one scene involves talking to a pig whose blood is being pumped out of it bit by bit, and the reader witnesses its long, drawn out death. There are many scenes just as disturbing as this, especially in the second half of the book. I wouldn't recommend it to most preteens I know. It was difficult to finish and needs a series of intensive edits before being ready to be sold.… (meer)

Out of the Cage by Rachel Foster—an early reader review for
Library thing: First of all, this was a very long read with lots of issues thrown at the reader for consideration. I really wondered what age range the author was addressing—it felt a little like a coming-of-age novel, but some scenes were so raw that I doubt that kids could handle it.
That said, I tried to look at this as I look at art: I ask myself a series of questions.
Number one, was it technically sound? The author painted vivid images with her words and phrases—some got a little repetitive, but overall, I could appreciate what she was doing. The real problem was probably some software glitch because in many, many places, wherever a word appeared with double consonant ‘l’s and sometimes ‘t’s, the second consonant was dropped and the result looked like two odd words (for instance ‘allow’ looked like; al ow). It happened a lot and it totally disrupted the flow of thought. Similarly, there were line breaks and even a couple of page breaks that made no sense; a few even appeared mid-sentence. All contributed to an uncomfortable read.
Second question I ask: is this a unique perspective? The author certainly tackled some very sensitive issues for which I applaud her; and she introduced some spiritual issues in a very unusual manner. Creative? Indeed.
Which leads to my next question: is there an emotional impact? Yes—but to the point of being overwhelming. I felt guilt for having a cat that I love, shame for eating meat, embarrassed for feeling anger when I see something I consider wrong, confusion about being GOOD or good, outraged at animal testing and sickened by the violent scenes.
Last question: can I live with this—do I want it in my home?
Well, no. (Another guilt trip delivered from the final chapters of the book). I felt so beaten up after reading this that I cannot internalize her position—so sad, that I can’t accept redemption. I do actually agree with her position and belief, but it was so overstated that it actually hurt.
I can see a very narrow range of readers and animal activists that would put this in the hands of a middle school audience.… (meer)