Oxford Blood Review

​I was not initially a fan of "Oxford Blood," but it definately grew on me as I continued to read. It was clear that this story was not meant for me as an individual (30 year old, here... so, duh!), but I learned to appreciate it once I put myself in the shoes of the target audience - middle aged teens. The story is of a high school girl, Eva, going to interview at her dream college, along side her dream boyfriend. However, while there he is murdered. Eva must do everything in her power to solve this heinous act before she heads home from interview week.

The story does a great job of taking a large cast of characters, combining it with current event headlines, and sprinkling in suspense and social media. As a Black-American, the moral questioning of problematic historical figures being honored through statue preservation is a conversation oh-too familiar to me. The author takes this, along with a greater thematic question of privledge, and creates a captivating story for young teens. I normally am not a fan of long list of characters, but this mytery-thriller calls for it and handles it beautifully. Each character was archetype-enough, while offering up individual attributes that allowed you to see them as a person.

I did struggle with the heavy-handed foreshawdowing. I think the story might have benefitted from being changed from first person to the third person. Eva's inner thoughts often push the plot forward, but seemed a little too straight-forward with which direction the author wanted you to go down. But, at the same time, it is clear that in a situation such as a girl trying to solve her best friend's murder, she would have such direct thoughts. For me, someone that looks for foreshadowing and misdirrect in everything I read, it didn't seem necessary. However, that might be what young readers would want. 

I often note that middle age readers frequently step away from reading because authors tend to struggle with interesting, yet attainable writing. Stories that interest them often have elevated diction and linguistic features, and stories with more digestible diction are often about childish issues. This story is the perfect intersection of both. 

Overall, this story was not for me, but I can see it being for someone... specifically middle age readers looking for a more mature plot.