Review by Robyn_original -- Doomsday by R. L. Gemmill

Robyn_original · Post by **Robyn_original** » 24 Jun 2019, 06:11

[Following is a volunteer review of "Doomsday" by R. L. Gemmill.]

3 out of 4 stars

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If you’re interested in demons, humans with supernatural abilities, and a looming apocalypse, then Doomsday by R.L. Gemmill will be just your cup of tea. Although this book is targeted towards young adults, it was still an enjoyable read.

Kelly, Travis, Jon and their parents are involved in a car crash, and the young children are orphaned. They are separated by the system, but years later come back together when they are all fostered by Chris and Angie, a sweet, loving couple.

Chris decides to take them to a local cave for an outing along with some friends of his who are caving experts. While in the cave, they experience an earthquake, which separates the kids from the adults. In their search for the adults, the children come across a gathering of demons led by a human, who are plotting to destroy humanity and take over the world.

The story is mostly told from Kelly’s perspective. This means, because she is 13, that the language is simple and the story easy to follow, although I did feel at times that it was slightly more immature than an average 13-year-old’s language.

What makes the story particularly interesting is that Kelly is telepathic, and her younger brother Travis vividly feels the emotions that people around him are experiencing, even when they are hiding them. These abilities the children possess add an entertaining extra dimension to the book which I enjoyed.

The characters are likable, and I felt sympathetic towards them and their situation, especially during the rather graphic introduction, when the children experienced the car crash and lost their parents.

Doomsday feels slightly undecided on the intended age of the target audience – the intense car crash scene, parts where the demons are described as eating various human body parts, and other violence, seem meant for young adults and older teens, but the language used and writing style seems targeted towards younger teens, perhaps even preteens. The immaturity of the writing and language also affected the adult characters who behaved and spoke more like young teenagers at times.

There were some instances of words being left out, such as, “A judge had forced them live in separate state homes and with different foster families for seven years, which sucked.” There were also a few strange examples of phrasing, such as, “on the one point”, instead of “on the one hand”, but apart from that, the book seems to have been professionally edited. I didn’t find any spelling mistakes.

I give this book 3 out of 4 stars. It was engaging and kept my attention throughout. It ended a bit too suddenly and there were the slight issues mentioned above which are the reason I detracted a star, but all in all, it was a fun novel and I think readers will be entertained enough to want to find out what happens in the rest of the series.

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Doomsday
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allbooked+ · Post by **allbooked+** » 09 Jul 2019, 07:27

I am so encouraged that there are so many choices for young teen readers. Unfortunately - the gore will mostly be overlooked as they see and hear it so much on tv these days that I think they are numb to it. Thank you for the insightful review!

Robyn_original · Post by **Robyn_original** » 10 Jul 2019, 02:54

allbooked+ wrote: ↑09 Jul 2019, 07:27 I am so encouraged that there are so many choices for young teen readers. Unfortunately - the gore will mostly be overlooked as they see and hear it so much on tv these days that I think they are numb to it. Thank you for the insightful review!

I agree, the gore probably won't be an issue for many readers, but I felt it worth a mention!
It's a pleasure! Glad you found it useful!

danielleamy · Post by **danielleamy** » 10 Jul 2019, 03:30

I'm not sure who the audience would be in this case. Immature language and gore/frightening scenes sounds like a mismatch. Thanks for a helpful review!

Erin Painter Baker · Post by **Erin Painter Baker** » 19 Jul 2019, 22:26

I think it can be really hard to draw that line between middle-grand and young adult books. It does certainly sound like the overriding voice and themes of the book are middle-grade, but there are moments that definitely veer into young adult. This is part of why I tended to read a lot of books my daughter wanted to read either before she did or along with her, so we could discuss some of those issues.

Robyn_original · Post by **Robyn_original** » 19 Aug 2019, 04:57

danielleamy wrote: ↑10 Jul 2019, 03:30 I'm not sure who the audience would be in this case. Immature language and gore/frightening scenes sounds like a mismatch. Thanks for a helpful review!

I agree, it was a little confusing as to who the target audience was mean to be. But society seems to be far more accepting of violent scenes and gore than sexual content, and since there was no sexual content, it will probably be seen as acceptable for young teens.

Robyn_original · Post by **Robyn_original** » 19 Aug 2019, 04:59

esp1975 wrote: ↑19 Jul 2019, 22:26 I think it can be really hard to draw that line between middle-grand and young adult books. It does certainly sound like the overriding voice and themes of the book are middle-grade, but there are moments that definitely veer into young adult. This is part of why I tended to read a lot of books my daughter wanted to read either before she did or along with her, so we could discuss some of those issues.

Absolutely, I completely agree with you. It is difficult drawing that distinction, and of course it also depends on the individual and their maturity levels/ what they have already been exposed to. My son is too young to read books by himself yet, but I definitely will vet anything he reads beforehand when he is old enough.