Bent Heavens by Daniel Kraus

Abstract

Reviewed by: Bent Heavens by Daniel Kraus Kate Quealy-Gainer, Assistant Editor Kraus, Daniel Bent Heavens. Holt, 2020 [304p] (Dauntless Path) Trade ed. ISBN 978-1-250-15167-4 $17.99 E-book ed. ISBN 978-1-250-15168-1 $9.99 Reviewed from galleys R Gr. 9 up Before he went missing three years ago, Liv's father fell from his respected place as a well-known teacher in their small Iowa town to a public embarrassment when he started raving about aliens and abductions. Although she's managed to piece her social status back together since he's been gone, Liv still reluctantly weekly checks the traps Dad had laid out in their nearby forest to capture an alien, and one day, it seems that she and her friend Doug have snared one. They hold it in Liv's shed and over the next few weeks beat and torture it, eventually using tactics Doug finds in a U.S. Army field manual. By the time Liv decides enough is enough, it's clear that Doug has fully accepted and revels in his role as torturer, while a horrific discovery by Liv leads to only more tragedy. While much (but not all) of the physical violence takes place offstage, there are still plenty of gut-churning descriptions of flayed skin, weeping sores, bloody gums, and black bruises to bring horror, and Liv and Doug refer to their instruments of torture in awed, almost loving terms. More disturbing than the violence, however, is Liv's ability to justify the beatings, convincing herself at first that the creature deserves the abuse and then that by staying involved, she can somehow save Doug from himself. A subplot between Liv and a possible love interest only brings fresh horror at the end, and even readers who have guessed the story's major twist will gasp at the full extent of the tragedy. [End Page 264] A chilling author's note about the CIA's "enhanced interrogation" underscores the notion that humans are capable of utterly inhumane behavior if they believe the benefits to them outweigh the moral principles. Copyright © 2020 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois