The Earthquake Machine by Mary Pauline Lowry

Release date: September 29, 2011
Publisher: AuthorHouse
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Pages: 326
Source: Review copy from author
Links: Amazon | Goodreads
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The Earthquake Machine tells the story of 14 year-old Rhonda. On the outside, everything looks perfect in Rhonda's world but at home Rhonda has to deal with a manipulative father who keeps her mentally ill mother hooked on pharmaceuticals. The only reliable person in Rhonda's life is her family's Mexican yardman, Jesús. But when the INS deports Jesús back to his home state of Oaxaca, Rhonda is left alone with her increasingly painful family situation.

Determined to find her friend Jesús, Rhonda seizes an opportunity to run away during a camping trip with friends. She swims to the Mexican side of the Rio Grande and makes her way to the border town of Boquillas, Mexico. There a peyote-addled bartender convinces her she won't be safe traveling alone into the country's interior. So with the bartender's help, Rhonda cuts her hair and assumes the identity of a Mexican boy named Angel. She then sets off on a burro across the desert to look for Jesús. Thus begins a wild adventure that explores the borders between the United States and Mexico, adolescence and adulthood, male and female, English and Spanish, and adult coming-of-age and Young Adult novels.

The Earthquake Machine is not your typical YA novel. In fact it is completely different from anything else I've read, but not in any way is that a bad thing. The author herself describes it as "The book every girl should read, and every girl’s parents hope she’ll never read", and I think that is spot on.

The first thing that struck me when I started reading The Earthquake Machine was the writing. Lowry's writing is filled with metaphors, especially in the slightly sexual scenes, and it works so well. I can't put my finger on what it is, but there's something about the writing that perfectly portrays the dark and gritty journey Rhonda is on.

Because as much as the story is about Rhonda trying to find Jesús, it is more about her inner journey, trying to discover herself, her sexuality, and what she truly believes in. Rhonda has had a pretty crappy life, with her father always working and ignoring her, and her mother so drugged on prescription medications that she is only a shadow of her former self. The only one Rhonda feels like she can be herself around is their yardman Jesús, and when he is deported Rhonda is left "alone". I think we all know that when you're 14 years old every crisis feels like the end of the world, and so it was very easy to relate to Rhonda's decision to run away from home.

Rhonda probably has the most believable personal growth out of any YA female character I've ever read about. She goes from being this confused, insecure teenager to a confident young woman with faith in both herself and the world around her. Sure, she makes some reckless decisions, she puts herself in danger, she doesn't always think before acting, but she's 14 years old, alone in a foreign country. I really think she did exceptionally well for herself, considering how badly her story could have ended.

This is a hard review for me to write, simply because a week after finishing the book I am still thinking about the book, trying to decide what I really thought about some of the scenes, some of the choices made, some of the conversations between Rhonda and others, and especially much of Rhonda's internal dialogue. The Earthquake Machine poses some important questions about faith, sexuality and finding yourself, and even if Rhonda has found her answers by the end of the book, don't be surprised if you find yourself questioning the same things long after you are done reading.

(Content warning: The Earthquake Machine contains some violence, swearing, drug use and sexual descriptions. Unlike other novels where this feels forced and unnecessary, here it felt like a natural part of the story.)