Don't Rush to Rush

Rush
Johnathan Friesen
New York : Speak, 2010.
295 p. ; 21 cm.

I honestly wanted to like this book, but Publisher's Weekly judges that Friesen's "effort mars the excitement of rappelling into wildfires with flat characters that seem more motivated by the needs of the plot than real development....and too many of the other characters...are paper-thin archetypes." I couldn't agree more.

It's a shame, though, because there's a lot of good storytelling in this novel, and I confess that Friesen has a knack for hooking you in so that you want to read on - which is no small achievement, especially when looking for books that will interest young adult readers. However, I found some of the over blown heroics and feats of the main character just downright silly. His first day in elite firefighting training he runs a five mile wilderness course in 25 minutes flat and is barely winded! Additionally, motivations of the wooden characters leaves much to be desired. For example, one can never really understand what the main female character - Jake's love interest - sees in him, his main trait is a disturbed, depressed personality that only comes to life in adrenaline pumped danger.

I probably should have read Friesen's book, Jerk, California - which is probably a bit better. This book misses a chance to be a thrilling read that could have seriously wrestled with what makes thrill-seekers tick, the nature of courage, and definitions of honor. Instead it's more like a Saturday morning cartoon: fun, but ultimately very, very thin.