Book Review: I Chose To Die (Siren Suicides Book 1) By Ksenia Anske

It came time for me to find another book to read.  I have various ways of finding books, as all readers do.  For this week's novel, I chose to revisit an author I discovered last year and liked.  Thus, insert Ksenia Anske's novel I Chose To Die (Siren Suicides Book 1).  I'd previously read another novel by Anske titled Rosehead (review to be found here.)  Now, let's discuss I Chose To Die:

• Setting: The story is set in modern day Seattle and takes place over the course of one day.  One crazy and eventful day.  Seattle is one of my favorite cities and is completely appropriate for this imaginative and somewhat sad story of a troubled teen coping with depression, isolation, and the tragic loss of her mother.
• Character Development:  Ailen Bright has struggled ever sense the death of her mother.  She's a confused young woman searching for a way out of her depression.  Anske drowns the story in her sadness and forces the reader to care about Ailen.  Without that empathy, a reader might encounter Aileen's seemingly hopeless situation and discontinue reading.  But Anske doesn't stop with her strong development of the novel's main character.  The relationships between Bright, her father, and her boyfriend become the foundation of the story, and Anske pays careful attention to how these relationships build to the climax in the final act of the book.
• Writing Style:  The poetic and quirky writing style of Siren Suicides is what sets it apart from other novels in this genre.  For me, it's the work's strongest aspect.  Writers should read this novel; if you pay attention, it may help improve your style and craft.  The story has two sides: the very real emotional struggles of Ailen Bright and the fantastical world beneath the water, where sirens satisfy their hunger by sucking the souls of unsuspecting humans.  Anske toggles between poetic sadness and playful quirkiness with complete control.  The world she creates is as imaginative as it is somber.  
• Climax: The story, for the most part, follows a linear path that begins in the morning and takes us on a journey that lasts the day.  As the day progresses, the tension builds and builds.  Each new scene leads to another confrontation in another area of Seattle, and throughout, I felt the wave that is the story getting bigger and bigger until it finally crashes to shore in the novel's climax.  And while the ending satisfies the story presented, it leaves the door open to other adventures within the same dark and imaginative world.
• Book 1 of a series: This novel definitely stands on its own, so don't avoid it simply because you don't feel like committing to multiple novels.  This one is worth reading, and if you learn you like the world, then you can venture on to the other installments in the series.

I like this novel.  It's darker than other works I've read by Ksenia Anske.  As always, she brings a playful energy to a serious situation.  She's not afraid to explore serious topics like depression and suicide.  She writes strong characters and adds mystery and fantasy to bring a unique perspective to themes that have been written about before.  And on top of all this, Anske offers it for free on Amazon.  So I see no reason not to check it out.