Vandella: Resilience by Marcos Chavarria

Author

Vandella: Resilience

If Death came to warn you about your imminent passing, would you dare to defy it? Young Bund Deutscher Mädel Peach lives with her mother in the quiet German countryside, longing to return to Berlin once the war ends and realize her dream of stardom as an Olympic hurdler for the Fatherland. At her friend’s wedding to an SS officer at Wewelsburg Castle, the heart and soul of the SS, she witnesses a séance wherein a supernatural entity promises Nazi victory in exchange for seven children held prisoner in the dungeon. Sickened, Peach rescues the children and leads them across a war-torn Germany toward the Dutch border, with the SS forces in hot pursuit. On her perilous journey, Peach suffers all the horrors of war—loss of innocence, loss of dignity, loss of loved ones—all while haunted by the eerie company of the Harbinger of Death.

Quarter Finalist

Plot/Idea: 10 out of 10

Originality: 10 out of 10

Prose: 9 out of 10

Character/Execution: 10 out of 10

Overall: 9.75 out of 10

Assessment:

Plot/Idea: Emma “Peach” Niemeyer is on the cusp of womanhood in Nazi Germany, her father a respected officer, her mother ready to marry her off, and her brother lost to the war. She longs to be an Olympic hurdler, but when her family travels to the heart of SS headquarters in Wewelsburg Castle for a wedding, her indoctrinated faith in the Nazi party is shredded. Vandella: Resilience immediately grabs readers and transports them to a shrouded world full of unchecked power, constant danger, and the Harbinger of Death.

Prose: Chavarria's words spin a tale to fascinate readers with the moral morass of being a person of privilege raised in a totalitarian world. Readability improves with variation of the first word in consecutive sentences.

Originality: The well-documented Nazi obsession with the supernatural creates a pivotal moment for Peach as everything she knows falls into question. This war story is freshened by the Harbinger of Death as a character.

Character/Execution: Readers will instantly fall for Peach, as her relatively safe world implodes and forces her to test her strength.

Date Submitted: August 10, 2024

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