Life as we know it follows a clear course: a person is born, goes through life, and dies. We are not given the choice to deviate from this routine. But what if we were?
Soul Chaser carries readers to a world where sixteen-year-old Raven Bishop must struggle with this choice time and time again, not for her sake, but for the sake of others whose lives she can save by repeatedly relinquishing her own.
The decision to die, and die over and over again, however, is not an easy one for anyone to make, let alone a girl who barely lived her own life--but the fate of Raven's soul depends on it. Will she make the right choice?
I would rate this book 3.5 stars. The unique premise for this novella enticed me: sparing children from the pain of death by dying over and over again yourself - ingenious. I had to purchase it. The idea that innocent young people would be spared ugliness and pain and simply move on to a better place would bring a small comfort in this crazy world.
Raven's struggle in completing her destiny was interesting, but her task and her goals were hard to understand at first. I felt there could have been more behind the story about why she wasn't supposed to feel emotions for the children. How soul chasers were chosen eluded me as well. Soul Chasers chose their successors, but who made a good soul chaser? How did they know when it was time to choose a successor? Why was Raven chosen?
The focal point of my confusion in this book was when I read in the description "not for her sake, but for the sake of others whose lives she can save by repeatedly relinquishing her own" - I thought she'd literally save their lives and the children would continue to live on if she suffered death over and over again.
There was a ton of emotion packed into little over fifty pages in this story, and even though Raven wasn't supposed to feel emotions, the author succeeded in making me feel them. That was especially true with the death of Elijah.
Overall, I enjoyed "Soul Chaser" and would recommend it as a distinctive thought provoking short read.