The thing about Silvia Moreno-Garcia is that her best books are awesome, and her worst books are still pretty decent. Unfortunately, Untamed Shore is more on the “pretty decent” end of the spectrum.
Untamed Shore is a thriller-tinged coming of age story set in 1970s Baja, California. As is the case with all of Moreno-Garcia’s books, there’s a really strong sense of place, so that the setting feels almost like a character in its own right. She also did a really good job of evoking the 1970s. When the narrator describes how someone looks, or the decor in a room, I was able to conjure the perfect image (note, I’m not quite old enough to remember the 70s, but I have seen enough movies, TV, and pictures from that time to have a mental image of it).
Where Moreno-Garcia usually loses me is with her characters, and this book is no different. Our main character Viridiana has an awesome name, but a prickly personality, and like many of this author’s female characters, she spends a lot more time reacting than acting. It’s perhaps a bit more understandable in this case, as Viridiana is only 18, and is from a small town. She does eventually develop some agency at the end, but then her actions are so considered, they almost seem out-of-character for her.
The plot was pretty predictable. I figured things out way ahead of Viridiana, but then again, I’m a forty-something year old living in the 2020s. I’ve been exposed to a lot more media than our main character, I know how to spot a plot twist coming.
Untamed Shore would make a perfectly fine vacation read. It has a bit of a slow start, but once it gets going, it continues on at a pretty good pace. It’s just a little trashy, in a 1970s thriller sort of way, and you don’t have to think too hard or feel too bad when bad things happen to characters. You’ll probably forget it within a month, but you might have a good time while you’re reading it.
TWs and CWs: Mildly graphic sexual content, murder and violence, sexism, racism, descriptions of dead animals… Viridiana engages in what would be underage drinking here but which I assume was legal in Mexico in the 70s (she’s 18).
Format and Source: I read this as an ebook from Sno-Isle Libraries.
Book Bingo Prompts
Brick & Mortar Books: Coming-of-age Story. This is definitely a story about someone stepping fully into adulthood, learning some hard truths about life, and embarking on a new path. Also, this gets me my first bingo on this card!
Current Bingo Challenge Progress
Nook & Cranny (Card 1): 5 out of 25 prompts complete. 0 bingos.
Nook & Cranny (Card 2): 2 out of 25 prompts complete. 0 bingos.
Brick & Mortar: 11 out of 25 prompts complete. 1 bingo.