Beast (review)

Years in foster care have left seventeen-year-old Stephen keenly aware of his limited skills and outsider status; in his current placement, the Reynoldses' jovial tolerance barely covers a readily awakened suspicion, and their teenaged daughter, Carol, relishes sabotaging Stephen's reputation whenever she can. Stephen's behavior is genuinely suspicious at times, but it's for a good reason: years ago, his ne'er-do-well father (who's since done jail time) illegally acquired and gave to Stephen a baby crocodile, and the creature is now a savage adult over twelve feet long. Legitimately terrified that it will escape and wreak havoc, Stephen has imprisoned it in an old pumphouse near the reservoir, and all his money and time go into acquiring meat to keep the creature happily fed. This is a highly original, modern-Gothic plot, and British author Kennen executes it with moody panache. The book is initially cunningly nebulous about the nature of the beast, leaving readers wondering if they're reading fantasy or realism; the revelation of the beast's actual species could have robbed the story of its power, but instead it makes Stephen's dilemma all the keener for its carefully worked plausibility (Stephen's life as a foster kid about to be chucked unceremoniously out into the world is also depicted with rich and sad authenticity). The stakes are high, the action is occasionally shocking, and the manifest drama is so gripping that it won't matter if readers don't catch the symbolic implications of the savage reptile. Fans of Kevin Brooks and other hard-hitting British authors will want to take a bite out of this.