THE BLURB
Being hardheaded is a common character flaw, but most teenagers can’t crack a concrete curb with their skull. And while a skilled skateboarder appears to defy gravity, he can’t keep water from pouring out of an upturned cup. Unintentionally tapping into latent powers has brought Jayke Wolff to the attention of the Aduro, an ancient society plotting an apocalyptic new world order. He’s now their number one draft pick, and they’ve dispatched their most seductive member to close the deal. It shouldn’t take much convincing a hormonal teenage boy to turn his back on a cryptic covenant for a future of self-indulgence and unchecked power. But if Jayke can’t be tempted by pleasures of the flesh, the flesh can be influenced in less pleasant ways as well. Armageddon can’t wait forever. Killing Jayke will also work.
Not remembering your past and not believing in your future can make it hard to choose who you’re going to be. Jayke has to decide how much of his teenage life he’s willing to sacrifice for a greater good. After all, you’re only young once.
WHAT I THOUGHT
You would think only being able to remember the last 7 years of your life would be enough to try and deal with. Well, Jayke Wolff has plenty more on his plate. This is not the typical teenager coming of age story, there is so much more contained in The Buried Covenant and this aspect is what appealed to me. Keenan managed to give Jayke’s story a feeling of realness, even if super powers are a thing of fiction.
Jayke is a foster child ready to go out into the real world and go to school after previously being home-schooled and so this story begins. All of a sudden he’s defying gravity and suffering no cuts when others would. Jayke is left wondering what is going on?! He gains some friends at school and feels the little butterflies in his tummy which may be attributed to female infatuation. It almost seems as if he is learning to live a new way of life, not to mention that being a teenager is hard enough at the best of times.
I really liked the cast of characters who travelled along with Jayke through this story, they seemed very apt and just what the book needed to keep it real. Having said that the Aduro, a group who want Jayke for his powers, are I guess portraying the unreality of the power side of things but at the same time bringing to the story further struggles teenagers may face in a group situation like this – peer pressure, bullying, violence, et cetera. It’s not all doom and gloom though, there’s Ben and Tina, some of the best friends a guy could have and even Amber, fellow foster child, has her positive traits, just not when she’s using her recruitment skills. There are quite a few other characters in the book, some of them fairly integral, but I shall comment no further as to do so may give something away.
The Buried Covenant is a book which includes many topics/issues relevant for teenagers including the usual trials and tribulations you go through, making and breaking friendships, infatuation for others, looking for answers, trying to find yourself, dating, power struggles, family life, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. It really is a quite all-encompassing YA novel.
I enjoyed the writing style and felt the humour was well-placed throughout. It’s definitely set up well for a sequel and by checking out Shawn’s website I see it could well be a sequel is penned at some stage in the future and I just know there will be a lot of happy teens out there who will look forward to that book hitting the shelves 
I must say thank you to Shawn P Keenan for providing me with a copy of his book – thanks, Shawn!!
