Book Review: "Ride or Die" by James Newman (2021)

“Ride or Die” by James Newman

Written by Stuart D. Monroe

Published by Silver Shamrock Publishing

Written by James Newman

2021, 105 pages, Fiction

Released June 15th, 2021

Review:

I’ve reviewed James Newman’s work a few times now: Ugly as Sin, Scapegoat (co-written with Adam Howe), and The Special (co-written with Mark Steensland). I’ve enjoyed his short stories immensely; “A Fiend in Need” is a real banger. There’s a reason for that: the man flat out knows how to tell you a story that will lure you in with relatable characters and a slightly twisted sense of perception before he breaks off the volume knob and melts your brain a bit. His writing is fast-paced, heartfelt, and pulses with a dark sense of humor.

Ride or Die is classic James Newman, but with this nasty novella he’s dropping the sense of humor (well, mostly) and going for the throat with a tale of parental infidelity, vandalism, and revenge that gives new meaning to the coming of age story.

Amelia Fletcher has had her world turned upside down by the discover of her father’s infidelity. She’s the classic well cared for daddy’s girl, and she is not prepared to deal with her disgust and anger. She’s not going to sit around and do nothing about it, either. Her BFF’s, Cassie and Folline (pronounced Fallen), are all-in on helping her vandalize the home of Brian Fletcher’s mistress while they’re hiding out in Chicago on a “business trip”. The girls steal Brian’s immaculate 1970 Plymouth Roadrunner and arrive at her predictably trashy ramshackle house armed with spray paint, bleach, and a knife, ready to do some serious damage. It should have been so easy…

Amelia, Cassie, and Folline feel like real teenagers. I have a 17-year-old myself, so I know a thing or two about their idiosyncrasies. It’s a perspective I’ve yet to see Newman work in, and he writes in the voice of “the other” quite deftly. In just the opening stages of getting to know the girls and the plan, he’s at his usual level of cheeky relevance (Folline’s pajama shirt is a Mötley Crüe tee that she digs because it looks “cool and evil”). When Amelia searches through her father’s phone and reads his texts, it’s ugly and raw. It’s also the moment you become committed to this protagonist…which makes what follows oh so rough.

When it turns, what you’re not expecting is exactly what you get. There are clues sprinkled about, but you’re so invested in her rage by that point that you miss them. As a kid who grew up knowing a thing or two about vandalism and anger (and unfaithful fathers), I identified with Amelia so strongly that I was caught as unaware as she when Daddy’s mistress shows up with a surprise. Without being so graphic that it cheapens the intensity of the drama or the skill of the writing, James Newman gives you a pair who are the bastard offspring of Mickey and Mallory Knox of Natural Born Killers and Evelyn and John White of the criminally underseen and underappreciated film Hounds of Love. They also have a sadistic streak that rivals the worst members of the Firefly Family, and when you start invoking that family name you know shit has gotten real.

Ride or Die is James Newman flexing some different muscles, and that frankly makes me happy. He strikes an efficient balance in knowing when to imply the worst and when to force you to all but smell the sweaty, insane evil in that shithole house. All of the girls are so easy to pull for! It’s refreshing as hell to have teenagers that aren’t dimwitted, out of touch stereotypes despite the fact that they’re barely driving age. On the other side of the room, Dominick and Petra are equally human and relatable. They’re hideous monsters; sleazy nightmares that you wouldn’t wish on your worst enemy…but their unholy connection is as real as it gets.

It’s characterization that makes the horror in Ride or Die live and breathe. It also makes for an extremely satisfying end that feels appropriate for the day and age we live in now. Much like I didn’t expect the story to turn on its ear as hard as it did, I didn’t anticipate closing the last page with a warm smile.

And really, can you ask much more from a novella?

Grade:

4.5 out of 5.0 stars

Amazon Link: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B095NMPJST/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0