Author Sherry Ficklin has a way with character, and she’s packed Military Brats: After Burn with evidence of that talent. Her protagonist, Reece Barnett, tells her story in a voice that is young—as appropriate for a high school girl—but also jaded, and hopeful, sometimes in the same sentence. The novel is well-populated with Reece’s fellow students, parents, even MPs. But no matter how brief their time in the limelight, regardless of how many or few words Ficklin uses to create them, each pops off the page as someone we readers know.
Ficklin has demonstrated her skill and imagination with character before, so that comes as no surprise. I’ll admit, however, that I was a little concerned about where the story would go. As it turned out, I was surprised (pleasantly so) to find that After Burn is far more than a treatment of the plight of the constantly uprooted child of military parents—a story too often true, but unfortunately a bit cliché. While the novel is set against the backdrop of the perpetual ‘new kid,’ the core of Ficklin’s plot delves deeper.
Early on, we learn that Reece has had to make difficult choices, has had to cope with loss—her mother lost her battle with cancer. And of course, every time her father is deployed, she faces the possibility that she will lose her father as well—and if that wasn’t enough at such times, she has also had to go live with her Aunt Penelope in Kansas. That last is a fine example of the humor that permeates Ficklin’s writing without ever undermining the anything-but-funny threat at the heart of the story.
Reece fancies herself an amateur detective, and her investigation weaves in and out of an age-old dilemma, one that every teenager up to the age of ninety-nine, can identify with: the love triangle. As her affections grow more complicated and the need for decision grows more urgent, so does the crime she investigates. As if an invisible hand was turning a crank, the tension builds ever tighter until the reader stands with Reece facing someone she thought she knew, staring at something beyond her worst fear.
A couple of things to mention. At the head of each chapter is a statement. They aren’t quotes and I’m not quite sure if they are chapter titles—some of them have more than one complete sentence. And, the last chapter reads like an epilogue, but it’s followed by an epilogue. Do those things detract from the novel? Not at all. As for the epilogues, they wrap up the story just neatly enough. And those quirky headings add humor and spark interest anew with each chapter.
With all that Ficklin has put into it, this novel flows, an easy read but a meaty one just the same. From its opening line, it demands attention. Once I picked it up, I would not put it down. Period. Military Brats: After Burn comes out January 25th from Rebel Ink Press. My recommendation: turn your teenage friends and children on to this novel, and then read it yourself, too. It’s a darned good book.
