Overemotional

Trigger warnings – Violence, Drugging, Medical Experimentation on Pregnant women

Improvisation comedian and actor David Fenne’s debut YA novel is the first in a trilogy which is a melting pot of the 1980s Emo movement, super powers, the X Files, the teen drama Misfits and macabre horror. Imagine being whirled by Magneto into an electrical storm of genres with elements of magic, vampires, Dementor style zombies and gruesome Dr Mengele experimentation grafted on to FBI style reports about risky energy surges known as EMT outbreaks. These influences are fused on to a coming out story that captures the awkwardness and insecurity felt by teens navigating their hormones and same sex attraction.

When 17-year-old Steven, who is naïve and emotionally insecure, discovers his terrifying abilities of Emomancy in a horrific incident, he hotfoots it to the grottiest, most isolated place he can find so that his powers will not hurt others. This is the catalyst for a perilous adventure that will test him to his limits.

Fenne got the idea of Steven’s strange magic from thinking about the overwhelming power of emotions in adolescents. He explains,

“I thought emotion-based powers were an interesting concept to explore, but they would just result in someone just trying to be happy. So, I thought, “What if it were reversed?” What would the pursuit of misery do to a person? Almost immediately, Steven’s voice began to form in my head.”

While this is an intriguing premise, Fenne’s execution of it leads to a convoluted and predictable plot in places as he juggles the four different voices of anxious Steven, his bolshy best friend Freya, her irritating boyfriend Marcus [who is quite a flat character until the denouement] and the eager American Troy who is confused by Britishisms. Juxtaposed with these multiple perspectives are the Field Reports of the mysterious Government agency DEMA headed up by the fierce Director Fareborn, phone transcripts and diary excerpts from a missing operative. Readers are given a Cheat Sheet at the start to keep track of Steven’s burgeoning powers, signified by different colours [shades of Green Lantern], which he finds impossible to control until, cue the cliché, he meets a magnetic stranger who promises to help him.

Grunsby on Sea, based on UK seaside resorts gone to seed, is oddly frozen in time and Fenne has fun building its oppressive character as it exerts an eerie spell over its inhabitants. As the octane charged plot spirals, ramping up the high stakes, a few twists, a slow burner romance and dramatic confrontations ensue while lies are uncovered and secrets are discovered. Underlying themes of government conspiracy, political corruption and genetic manipulation are evident too. There is scope for character development with the next two books. Fans of Marvel movies and Hammer Horror flicks will eat this up. It will also appeal to queer teens who are looking for exciting fantasy fiction that represents their emotions.