A group of eclectic friends stumbled upon blood messages left on the school walls as a legend of “The Dunkirk” started circulating in their high school. A string of unfortunate events kept happening to members of their group. What was the tale of yore trying to tell them?
***
What happens when one loses their direction in life?
Before the wacky gang graduated from high school, they ventured into the world of action-sports and Hollywood. Do they survive trying to carve a name for themselves among the strong competition? What did they miss along the way while trying?
***
How do people deal with things they cannot control?
The gang faced a dilemma when some of them gained increasing fame and public scrutiny, causing their friendships and romantic relationships to be tested. Does the heart always have its reasons which reason knows not?
Thank you so much to A.X.Y. Grace for providing me with digital copies of these books for review! You can check out her website here or keep up to date with her on Instagram here.
Hi, everyone! Today, I’m bringing you my review of Adventures of the Restless Youth, A.X.Y. Grace’s three-book series. I really loved the premise and idea behind these books when Grace asked if I wanted to review them, so I was super excited going into them.
Also, my end thoughts and recommendation will be for the series as a whole, but I will break up the review section into three parts. But that’s all I want to say, here, so on to the review!
Review
The Dunkirk Spirit (Adventures of the Restless Youth #1)
So, this book does a lot to introduce the characters and the setting, I really liked those parts. There are so many different, awesome characters in this book. You can really see how Grace’s past work with at-risk youth impacted her writing of this book and these characters. She brings in a lot of different perspectives, backgrounds, and themes through the characters; I absolutely loved it.
As for the overall plot of this one, I enjoyed it. As I said, there’s a lot of setting things up in this first installment so the plot is a little less involved, but it was enjoyable nonetheless.
The main issue I had with this book was the inclusion of short, italicized paragraphs meant to relay the internal thoughts of different characters. While I appreciate the creativity and out-of-the-box thinking of this approach, I can’t say it was my favorite, mainly because it felt clunky. So, although it is a personal preference, I think the book would be better if Grace worked that into the main text.
To be honest, though, it did grow on me over the course of the series; I only really thought of it as a dislike with this first book, when it was a new format I had to adjust to. Still, I’m going to have to be boring and say I prefer traditional narration!
Overall, I give this one 2.5/5 stars.
The Caster Effect (Adventures of the Restless Youth #2)
Personally, I liked this book the most out of the three. Structurally, the writing improved a little in this one, so I had a better experience reading it. Additionally, I started to get used to the unique format I mentioned previously, and that also made for a better experience.
Still, the characters continued to be my favorite aspect of this story. I enjoyed learning more about them and reading about their different struggles and adventures. I definitely didn’t see the plot going in the direction it did, but I still enjoyed it; it was fun but still meaningful, and I appreciate that.
Of course, Grace’s experience and influences once again shone through; I honestly love how she’s written these characters and brought them to life!
For this book in particular, I give 3.5/5 stars! A little bit extra appreciation for my favorite book in the series.
The Stendhal Syndrome (Adventures of the Restless Youth #3)
In the end, I enjoyed this one the least. Don’t get me wrong, though, it was still enjoyable. But I felt that this plot of this book lacked some of what I enjoyed from the first two books.
Regardless, it was interesting to see how Grace wrapped up all the different plot lines and character arcs. Though, to be honest, I didn’t like the presentation of some characters as much in this book; they felt less detailed and real, and seemed a little more two-dimensional.
I have the least to say about this one; I already mentioned most of my thoughts in the previous sections, and this one was honestly just a little “eh” for me.
Overall, I give this final installment 2.5/5 stars.
TL,DR Recommendation
In the end, I recommend reading these when you’re in the mood for something that’s both fun and meaningful. They aren’t lighthearted books, really, but the friendship and sometimes slightly goofy plots bring lightness to the heavier themes of the series.
Of course, as always, if you do choose to read this series, drop a comment down below to let me know your thoughts! And if you liked this review for Adventures of the Restless Youth, you can check out the Book Reviews tab above to see my full library of reviews.
Buy The Dunkirk Spirit on Amazon, The Caster Effect on Amazon, and The Stendhal Syndrome on Amazon
