Official Review: Raid On Cocheco by Peni Jo Renner

[godreaujea]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Raid On Cocheco" by Peni Jo Renner.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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Raid on Cocheco is the third book in Peni Jo Renner’s historical fictional series, The Puritan Chronicles. Having not read the first two books in the series, I was worried that I was going to be lost when it came to this book’s characters and storyline. However, Raid on Cocheco reads as a stand alone novel since each book in The Puritan Chronicles deals with independent historical events.

The story begins in 1676, and the reader is introduced to Grace, Menane, and a large number of other characters. At first it was hard for me to get all of their names straight, but Renner weaves each character expertly into the story. Grace, a nine-year-old orphan from Cocheco, crosses paths with Menane, a nine-year-old orphan from the nearby Pennacook tribe, in a shocking manner. There is an instant connection between the two, but being from two different worlds, they know they should not pursue friendship. Tensions between the natives and the settlers are rising, and Grace unintentionally listens in on secretive plans that will make the tensions even worse. These plans come to fruition in gory detail at the end of the first part of the book.

The second part of the book begins thirteen years later in 1689. The characters are older, and most of them are wiser. Some relationships have developed and flourished, and some have remained the same. The tensions between the natives and the settlers are at an all time high with the threat of an attack looming on the horizon.

Renner does a wonderful job in incorporating characters, and with the omniscient narrator moving from one character to the next, the book keeps a fast pace. Renner’s imagery is fantastic, and I like how the violence and fear that occurs throughout the book is not sugar coated. You can tell that Renner did a lot of research when writing this book, and this is what really sells the book for me. From little details, like using native language, to larger ones, such as basing the characters on real people, including her own ancestors, Renner does her best to stay true to the events that happened in Cocheco while telling an intriguing story.

However, Renner doesn’t do the best job at explaining why some of the events happened the way they did. Throughout the book, I kept trying to plug in my own explanations for how the story unfolds because it felt like chunks were missing. In regards to the romance in the book, I thought it seemed a little petty compared to the weight of the rest of the storyline, but I am also not a fan of romance, so that can be taken with a grain of salt. My last complaint is that the ending left me cringing. It ended on a strangely positive note, and does not seem fitting after all of the death and destruction that took place.

After contemplating how I would rate Raid on Cocheco, I decided to give it 3 out of 4 stars. It really is a good book that appears to be professionally edited, and anyone who enjoys historical fiction and/or romance would be very satisfied with it. However, there is some violence and gruesome imagery, so perhaps younger audiences and anyone really squeamish should steer clear. I would have rated this 4 stars if it hadn’t been for the lack of explanation in some of the plot, and if there was a better developed ending, but it was definitely a good read!

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Raid On Cocheco
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[Marissa Michael]

Interesting review. Thank you for your thoughts on this book.

[Sahani Nimandra]

Tribe native stories are fascinating and as the review highlights that there are frictions quit a lot, my race through history is a combination of 4 tribes with different personality so I understand. We have a history from start how it all began. This book sounds interesting and it sounds to me the idea of tribes is captures. Ideal book!
Good review!

[pinklover]

it seem that you enjoyed reading this one. Nice review of this book. I am a bit fun of historical books. It make my mind travels to their world. Thanks for reviewing this book.

[Irene C]

Thanks for this review. I'm a big fan of colonial-era American historical fiction, so I'm definitely interested in this novel. That the setting is so precisely the 1670s and 1680s makes me all the more eager to read it for myself. But your points about lack of plot explanation or development are well-taken -- I'll want to see how the narrative falls short, including in regards to the ending.