Maxwell Cooper and the Legend of Inini-Makwa

Maxwell Cooper and the Legend of Inini-Makwa
by Simon Hargreaves
Recommended Ages: 14+

This tale of magic goes where others fear to go when, in the very first paragraph, 14-year-old Max gets a stiff, er, attack of puberty in science class and has his first wet dream only a few paragraphs later. You suspect that pubescence is somewhat of the essence of the magical power the young aspiring artist begins to show soon afterward, during a family retreat to a lakeside resort in the middle of a remote forest. Maybe it's also connected to the fact that Max was born under the most powerful Southern Lights the native midwives of a South American tribe could remember ever seeing, and that this year's Northern Lights are unusually active as well. Or the fact that Bear Tooth Point is steeped in the folklore of an ancient tribal people who believe that the barrier between this world and the spirit world grows especially thin there. Any or all of these issues may be in play when a monster that stalked the point ages ago returns and begins attacking campers at the resort. And Max becomes increasingly convinced that it's all his fault.

Everything being Max's fault is nothing new. He doesn't get along well with his father, who doesn't approve of the fantasy art Max loves to draw. His parents are always fighting. His kid brother Ben often strays into danger, always when Max is responsible for what happens to him. There's a girl he likes at the resort, but he doesn't understand the signals she keeps sending him. And of course, his charcoal pencil has somehow started summoning things into reality, including one that deeply resents being summoned. A thing that kidnaps people and sometimes (gulp) kills them. With each abduction, it gets closer to the person it's really after. And as Max slowly accepts what's going on, he begins to face the awful knowledge that he may have to sacrifice himself to save everyone else.

I'm putting out Adult and Occult Content Advisories for this book, with its frank depiction of a crucial moment in Max's sexual development and a fictionalized version of Native American spirituality. I recuse myself from discussing any political implications of the (apparently) Anglo author's use of Indigenous themes; personally, I care about that less than the question of how Christian parents will prepare their children for the religious challenges in this book. However, I'll admit that whatever misgivings I held in the back of my mind, I found this book entirely entertaining out in front. It could be improved to a slight degree; for example, I felt the author backed down a bit too conveniently from the conflict between Max and his dad, and left his mom looking pretty useless. Also, something in Ben's character changed at the end, for perhaps understandable reasons, but I thought this change needed more exploration. Maybe the author is holding back material for a possible sequel; the fact that the title begins with "Maxwell Cooper and" tends to hint that way.

So much for the cons. On the "pro" side lies pretty much everything else, from a level of descriptive detail about the way Max views and draws the world around him that suggests the author knows something about the artist's eye, to a grim depiction of toxic relationship dynamics that at one point, at least, hints at the father's failings being passed on to his son. It has a very flawed hero who rises to the occasion with courage and self-sacrificing heroism. It has dark atmospherics, scary violence and relentless suspense. And it juggles a lot of subtle characters and complex relationships, without dropping any. Another thing I admire is the author's smart approach to storytelling, setting you up to expect one thing to happen and then thwarting the expectation – a practice I've admired in some of my favorite writers. Whether this turns out to be a series or not, the book gives me a hopeful feeling about a fresh talent emerging from my own backyard.

This book's author lives a couple towns away from me and runs a resort in the Paul Bunyan State Forest, the thinly disguised setting of the book. (The names of the county and nearby towns mentioned in the book are only lightly altered from the places I know.) I hope it's OK for me to reveal that his name is actually Ryan Neely and that he sent me a pre-publication proof of his book to read before I interview him for a local newspaper. According to his website, he is also the author of a series of books featuring characters named Darwin and Danforth, and he specializes in "supernatural suspense for kids" – a bill this book definitely fits. Also, it says he studied photography, digital animation and creative writing, and has worked as a private investigator and on Hollywood film sets. He has also published mature, adult fiction as Bethany Fine.