The Seventh Mansion is the story of 14-year-old Xie, who changed his name from Alex to Xie at age 12, and moved from California to a rural southern town to live with his father, Eric.  He doesn't get along well with his male peers, he gets along better with girls and has a passionate interest in animal rights.  When he is suspended from school, he and his only friends, Joe and Lenny, try to free Mink from a local farm, but things go wrong and only Xie is caught.

 

So far, that hasn't been strange. There are also restless youngsters calling out imaginary friends, but soon the topics include masturbation and necrophilia.  To be clear, this book won't be to everyone's taste.  Instead of avoiding the dark side of adolescence (erratic behavior, depression, sexual curiosity), as many writers do, Meijer confronts it head-on, resulting in a novel that is unique and bold.

 

Maryse Meijer's The Seventh Mansion is a deeply moving and profoundly original debut novel.  It is a desperate literary masterpiece, and an unforgettable coming-of-age story of finding love and self in the face of mass extinction and environmental destruction.