Beast: that is what the first six weeks of intensive training
are known as at West Point Academy. It is unbearable even
for many that make it as far as acceptance into the elite
training camp, but Andi Davis knows she can hack it. Her life
at home has no order, and she has always stood on the outside
of a group. If she can handle her unpredictable mother and
her distant father, she can handle anything. Even being one
of two girls in her whole platoon. She thinks.
Beast is nothing like her home life. There is so much order
that Andi can't even turn her head to look around her. The
change is hard enough to deal with, but combine that with
the tests of physical endurance and the insults screamed at
her and the other cadets, and even Andi begins to flounder.
There's only one thing that keeps her from giving up: she
doesn't want anyone to know that she's really a loser, like
her family has always told her; she refuses to satisfy the
few male cadets who seem to be waiting for her to fail.
But as the six weeks pass, something begins to happen. She
begins to see that she that maybe her family is wrong, maybe
she isn't a loser. For the first time, Andi feels a part of
a group. Amid all the screaming and punishment, Andi realizes
that she is learning more than commands --- she is learning
about a private community from the inside, a community she's
a part of.
I wasn't sure I'd enjoy this book because of its subject.
However, I was immediately drawn in and found it a quick,
enjoyable read. There are many scenes that involve physical
competition that were so well-written I found my own breathing
speed up as though I was competing. Andi is a great heroine,
more concerned with reaching her own goals than living up
to someone else's standards. Gabi, her one female friend,
may be a bit irritating at times, but then you realize just
how different the world of West Point is --- in the outside
world, Gabi would probably be one of the more popular girls
in the class.
However, there were issues that were unresolved and left
me unsatisfied. Andi's mom definitely seems to suffer from
some mental illness, but she is instead portrayed simply as
mean and angry. Andi never comes to terms with her family
and, eventually it seems, decides to leave them behind as
she becomes more and more wrapped up in the military world.
The author never mentions how Andi feels about the real reason
she is there: she is training to be a soldier, to kill the
enemy. At some point, I imagine she must have grappled with
this, since patriotic passion was never a reason for her entering
the military --- so what happens when this reality hits her?
All in all, an entertaining though flawed read.
--- Reviewed by Kate Torpie
(c)
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