The Cruelty

Gr 10 Up—Gwendolyn Bloom, 17, is an outsider at an elite New York private school. Shortly after the anniversary of her mother's gang rape and death in Algiers, her stepfather disappears while traveling for his government job. When U.S. officials fail to find him, Gwendolyn strikes out on her own, and her journey takes her to Paris, then Berlin, and finally Prague as she explores a dark world of assassins, spies, and criminals. Over the course of the narrative, she quickly transforms from a wallflower who speaks five languages and loves jazz to a hardened young adult pursuing justice. Originally self-published in 2014, this is Bergstrom's debut novel and the first in a planned series. He excels at establishing scenes and locations in vivid detail, but the story suffers from overwriting and is in need of strong editing. Many characters do not advance the plot and soon disappear. Gwendolyn's metamorphosis and ability to almost single-handedly rescue her father, a character barely introduced before he disappears, in combination with her quickness to resort to violence and murder, are convenient but not believable.