Molly Mavity has a hard life for a teenage girl. Her father is about to be executed for burning people to death, her mother died a few years ago, and everyone at her high school hates her. Pepper Yusef is doing a bit better than her, but he's just found out that he won't be graduating high school. His last chance is to write extensive papers in all his failing subjects to graduate. He also has a seizure disorder, a useless service animal for said disorder, and major reputation problems centering around his crush Petra. When Molly crashes into his life and insists he has answers, Pepper thinks she's crazy, but she draws him into an international mystery that involves Ava Dreyman, the Anne Frank of the Cold War.
The Arsonist is a twisty, light hearted mystery told through three perspectives: Molly, Pepper, and Ava. Molly is convinced that her mother, who killed herself ago, isn't dead and is sending her clandestine messages. These messages lead her directly to Pepper, who doesn't conciously know anything about her situation at all. Pepper is kind of stumbling through life. His crush pretty much used him to get into a prestigious school through an embarassing interview that exploited his background as an immigrant from Kuwait and his dream to become the president of the United States. Molly and Pepper are both on their way to being alone and alienating everyone around them until they join forces and work together. Ava's narrative is her diar published in book form, detailing her experience from her mother and her friends murdering GDR officials and police to her death as a young adult.
This book deals with a lot of dark subjects such as murder, oppression, and death. However, it always has this quirky, comedic tone that makes everything have a lighthearted feel. I think things like living in the GDR under threat of death for being revolutionaries and Molly's dad killing numerous people in a fire should be looked at a little more seriously. There are also a number of bizarre incidences that seem a bit out of place and weird like Molly drinking 30 small milk containers and peeing herself in class when the teacher wouldn't let her go to the bathroom or when Papper takes ipecac to avoid graduation and then acts like he's fine later. Some of this could be edited out to make a more streamlined book. The actual mystery is pretty convoluted in and of itself, so this stuff feels like time wasted.
The Arsonist is a bit of a mixed bag. I really liked the journey, but I wouldn't reread this book. I really liked that everything is somehow connected in the novel. Even through every bizarre development, the plot is moving towards revelations and unconvering a mystery. It's practically impossible to guess what it is, but the journey is fun nonetheless. I did want to know if Pepper actually passed high school with his essays as they were written in the book. Even though it takes a very healthy dose of suspended disbelief, the story is a fun, weird mystery that takes our odd heroes out of their comfort zones.
My rating: 3.5/5 fishmuffins
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