The God of Animals: A Novel by Aryn Kyle

The God of Animals is a wonderful debut novel written by talented young writer, Aryn Kyle who manages within the confines of this work to explore the clashing together of old versus new cultures and while pulling no punches leave the reader with a sense of hope. Since this was a coming of age chick book, I did not think that I would find too much of interest in the reading but I was surprised to find that Ms. Kyle’s extraordinarily gifted perceptive reminded me why I love reading in the first place.  

Set in present-day
Desert Valley, Colorado and featuring some of the truest characters I’ve read in a long time, this novel is full of subtly powerful scenes. The plot’s main character is twelve-year-old Alice Winston whose stark life on her overworked father’s horse ranch sets the scene for her struggles with her sense of self as she tries to deal with the loss of her older sister to a rodeo cowboy and her invalid mother. The author’s descriptions regarding the harshness of rural life is candidly depicted against the apparent ease of suburban living showing the west as it truly is rather than a portrayed romantic myth. The climax of the story comes when
Alice, during one of the hottest summers in fifteen years, must choose between leaving her hard life on the ranch and staying to help her father save it and her family’s dreams along with it.  

Aryn Kyle’s haunting first novel, The God of Animals, will take you into an adult world of secrets showing the cost of growing into adulthood amid adults who are often cruel and won’t hesitate to lie and cheat.  Sadly, Alice and her family discover this when they are called upon to weather a devastating betrayal and a series of violent events that test their love for one another and proves the power of forgiveness. Containing an adult measure of betrayal, desire and complex joy, this coming-of-age tale incorporates a combination of compromises and dreams making for a beautiful story about families, horses, love, and death.

[tags]The God of Animals: A Novel, Aryn Kyle, debut novel, coming-of-age fiction, horses, drama[/tags]