The Unfortunates by Kim Liggett

Abstract

Reviewed by: The Unfortunates by Kim Liggett Karen Coats Liggett, Kim The Unfortunates. Tor Teen, 2018 [224p] ISBN 978-0-7653-8100-2 $17.99 Reviewed from galleys Ad Gr. 9-12 Grant Franklin Tavish the fifth, son of a senator, has a guilty conscience: the accident that he caused resulting in the death of four teens is being swept under the legal rug. Desperate to be punished but unable to take responsibility without [End Page 477] hurting his father’s career, Grant decides to arrange for his own death in a caving accident. When four teens show up lost in the cave with him, however, he feels obligated to get them out, but one by one they are being killed by some unknown force that is following them underground. There is nothing subtle about this story that is clearly based on the real-life case wherein “affluenza” became part of the criminal excuse lexicon. The four teens (who turn out to be hallucinated by Grant) are all poor, sweet, and talented with bright, well-defined futures, heavy-handedly magnifying the impact of their tragic deaths. This moral simplicity, though, is complicated as Grant is portrayed as a good guy who made one impulsive decision with devastating consequences. While Grant’s overwhelming sense of guilt may be credible, his character is developed inconsistently through his inner dialogue and his overt speech, which alternates between trite sentiments of regret and lines of dark Romantic poetry. The book does, though, offer a fantasy of enlightenment and retributive justice as Grant rises above his privilege to care about what he has done and suffers consequences no real-life legal system can impose. Copyright © 2018 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois