Book Review: Unplugged by Paul McComas

At first glance, Unplugged by Paul McComas doesn't inspire any great expectations. It looks like just another story of teen depression written by a man hoping to heal and inspire the youth.

But this story is different. Really.

In short, Unplugged is a story about Dayna Clay, a young rock star who's already become world-weary and burnt-out. Without belaboring over angsty declarations of the main character's feelings of hopelessness, the frank, unadorned tone of the writing delivers an effective slap in the face for those expecting an over-cheesed, condescending depiction of teen issues.

Dayna's suicide attempt early in the story is the most impressive example of the refreshing lack of grandiosity which makes this novel so grittily identifiable. No rage of passion drives her to take her own life. She's simply "feeling … awkward."

Grown detached from her identity as a star, Dayna abandons everything she knows and strikes out on her own, headed nowhere in particular. She ends up in the Badlands of South Dakota, where she's intrigued by the "ghastly but gorgeous" landscape. From here she sets out to explore this desolate new world, coming to a new sense of nature as a living essence aware and conscious of her presence within it. 

While the specific American Indian references are few and far between, the mentality of this novel is distinctly, in the author's words, "Lakota-esque." Dayna's growing connection with the land and its healing power grows and echoes the traditional Indian beliefs surrounding the Badlands region.

The concept of finding one's self by abandoning everything familiar and discovering a new basic resolve toward life is inherent in this story, and is easily recognizable for anyone who has recovered from depression. This novel strikes home hard-hitting truths and emotions without all the extra fluff often accompanying such plots. In short, this story does not try to explain itself. It just is.