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@SarahPerlmutter

 I was part of a king of young adult reading group briefly. It didn't really get started because too many of us seemed to be too busy with real life at the time. I came across some really talented writers who were doing putting together some interesting work: @Alexmgrove, @EmKidd and @KevinGebhard (more on Kevin later). For me, the standout story was by @SarahPerlmutter who's The Blast had me hooked. It remains the only story that I have read on Wattpad so far that has had me in tears. Since then it has won a Watty Award so it must have affected a few others too.

The story is told from the point of view of a young girl, Beatrice, and how she copes with the trials and tribulations of her life. That life is not your typical American upbringing. A catastrophic nuclear event occurs in the USA, the details of which remain unexplained throughout the story, reducing civilization to ashes.

So far so very familiar. The post-apocalyptic story is not an original one but who cares? No story is truly original. It's how the tale is told that matters. Here @SarahPerlmutter focuses on the most important thing. How would a young child and her family cope?

She throws us right into the deep end. By the end of Chapter One the world has ended. By the end of Chapter Two, civilized rules of behaviour have broken down. To a certain extent, I think this is handled too quickly. I would have preferred the breakdown to have taken a more gradual course, I think that would have been an interesting exploration. However, that is not the point. The Blast is about the Beatrice's story and @SarahPerlmutter makes that story gripping from the get go.

It is difficult to write of The Blast without revealing the plot. I don't want to do that and spoil it for other readers. Not because the plot is full of twists and turns but because I think that @SarahPerlmutter has an evil streak. I was not sure how many of her characters would survive, if any. In a genre where some plot points are a given, she kept me guessing right up to the end. Would she the story down the path marked “happy” resolution, or would it take the sadder, twisting lane?

At the core of The Blast is Beatrice. This girl is a great character. She is not one of those annoying moody, pretentious or precocious pre-teens. She is not obsessed with shopping, boys or music. She does not have all the answers nor is she blessed with improbable luck or amazing talents. She is a “real” girl with all the imperfections that implies. @SarahPerlmutter shows her character in different guises throughout, damaged, bitter, grieving, vulnerable, steely, brittle, uncertain, jealous and ruthless. Nor does she shy from depicting burgeoning sexuality in a very young adolescent. Beatrice's story in one of growing up but under a set of very challenging circumstances. She has to leave her childhood behind her very quickly and that, at the core of it all, is what makes this story so special. I was most affected by the deep and profound sense of loss that permeated the work.

When posting comments on The Blast, @SarahPerlmutter was great to interact with. She has a serious frame of mind and really considers what the critique means. This could mean rewrites, or heavy editing of a chapter, but that is what we are all here for. To improve. Reading The Blast certainly improved my understanding of what could be done with a character within a really well travelled genre.

It also showed me that no genre is “dead” or “worked out” if you are prepared to focus on character. The small story is often the best way to depict epic events. Hollywood, get your act together!

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