“That’s the hardest thing about closure: you have to choose it, you have to want it, but hardest of all, you have to believe you deserve it.”

Bladestay is a fantastic western style tale about what you would do to survive, and what ends you would go to for your family. Seventeen year old Theo is a captivating character, who’s thoughts and actions held my attention through to the very end. All the characters are perfectly flawed and human, this comes across in Johnson’s writing beautifully, and it makes them relatable. I also want to say this is one of those stories where you can tell the good guys from the bad. It’s genius, and executed impeccably. 

The pacing of this book was just right. The way that bits and pieces were revealed to the reader made the twists and turns exciting. Every time I had to set the book down I was still thinking about what was going to happen next, and looked forward to getting back to reading. 

Overall I am completely impressed with this debut novel and look forward to Johnson’s future works.