“[S]he was someone now, more than a girl: a girl with a man, and a movement behind her, and a gun in her bag.”

-Darrow Farr

I got my hands on this one a couple weeks before it’s official release thanks to Book of the Month, and I read the whole thing in like three days. Farr’s explosive (pun super intended) debut is a hot, exciting read in a genre I can’t quite place but immensely enjoyed.

A story of adolescent need for purpose meeting Stockholm syndrome in the worst way, The Bombshell follows Séverine Guimard as she gets kidnapped by—and eventually joins—a terrorist cell fighting for Corsican independence. The characters are well-drawn and the drama intriguing; even knowing (somewhat) where Séverine’s arc takes here, I couldn’t put the book down for want of knowing what was going to happen next.

(First of all: I love a book with a good sensory detail, and there’s just enough here to make you feel like you’re on Corsica living right alongside everyone. Mentions of food, clothing, weather, and more wrap you nicely into the story.)

I was a little skeptical of Séverine at first, I admit—she’s seventeen at the start of the novel, and I tend to be less invested in books with “child” characters. But Séverine doesn’t feel like a child. She definitely feels like her age, but Farr leans into the “I’m almost but not officially an adult and it’s infinitely frustrating” side of seventeen. It brought back memories of being that age and wanting to feel important, both to adults around you and in the world at large—although I’ll admit I never did anything as extreme as Séverine!

The Bombshell is wonderfully paced and kept me engaged for the just-over-400 pages. I was surprised to find a part two in the last hundred or so pages of the book, and really that part reads like an extended epilogue. In a novel like this one, you’re not going to wrap everything up neatly—that would feel disingenuous and cheap—but this second part/epilogue provides a satisfying closure while still leaving character’s futures open for interesting interpretation.

Throughout the novel are interesting insights into various historical and (1990s) contemporary political ideas, and it feels well-researched without being lecture-y. I looked up a few of the French terms to get a better picture of the setting, but the infusion of the language flows naturally, and one can follow without knowing exact definitions.

If I had one major complaint, it would be that I tripped over some of the names in part two and struggled a bit with keeping the characters straight (to reveal why would be a spoiler) and had to jump back occasionally to clarify who was doing or saying what. This section also makes use of some omniscient POV, which is handled well but makes this mixing-up more likely.

Overall, I really enjoyed The Bombshell, and as a bonus it feels very fitting for this time of year and the weather we’ve had in Delaware lately. I look forward to seeing what Darrow Farr does next!