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The McCall Initiative - Episodes 1-3

Lisa Nowak

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Mar 23, 2017 Sylvester Olson rated it it was amazing

I'm not an expert, by any means, of YA fiction. In all honesty, this is the first book of that genre that I've ever read. I highly enjoyed it for its Northwestern setting, and I'm sure it will go down as the very first work of fiction that can be properly labelled as "Cascadian." I was lost on many of the Portland landmarks that are peppered throughout the story (I'm based out of Washington, so I'm not as familiar with "Down Under"). The author really knows her Oregonian history.

I have three nit I'm not an expert, by any means, of YA fiction. In all honesty, this is the first book of that genre that I've ever read. I highly enjoyed it for its Northwestern setting, and I'm sure it will go down as the very first work of fiction that can be properly labelled as "Cascadian." I was lost on many of the Portland landmarks that are peppered throughout the story (I'm based out of Washington, so I'm not as familiar with "Down Under"). The author really knows her Oregonian history.

I have three nitpicks. Not condemnations, not critiques. Just nitpicks.

First of all, some of the main characters are immigrants to Cascadia from Chicago. In a future independent Pacific Northwest, English language dialects would diverge at a higher rate from those in the rest of the United States and Canada. I would have liked, for the sense of linguistic realism, for these Chicago transplants to have some language differences from the characters in Portland.

Secondly, the characters all seem to use Apple iPads and laptops. For the sake of regional pride, these should have been Microsoft products.

Thirdly, as much as the author loves her native Portland (and it really is a lovely city), there is no way that it would become the national capital of an independent Cascadia. That honor would most likely go to Victoria or Vancouver (BC), as a concession to BCers who would be hesitant to leave Confederation with Canada in order to join up with a much larger population of Americans (which is the only reason why British Columbia, in 1867, entered into Confederation with eastern provinces in the first place). In fact, BC is hardly addressed in these episodes.

I'm looking forward to reading the rest of this series to see what happens next. Other reviewers have complained about how the cliffhanger is a letdown; I don't share that opinion. I see this volume as 1/3 or 1/4 of a much longer novel. The break in the story feels like a natural stopping point, and I would expect that new characters and scenarios to develop in the first few pages of the next part. ...more

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