Title: Gimme Shelter: Part Four
Author: Kevin O’Neal
Publisher: Westwood Books Publishing, LLC
ISBN: 1648030564
Pages: 166
Genre: Fiction
Reviewed by: Liz Konkel
Hollywood Book Reviews
An innocent venture to get a look at the science projects quickly goes sideways when three bullies set out to destroy and cause chaos. The three bullies beat Sandra up when she tries to interrupt, and lock her in the closet. This pushes her to take on rigorous training and becomes a fierce boxer who takes down her opponents in the ring. She pushes back against her mother when she enters her first real relationship which drives a wedge between them. She takes on opponents in the ring, she faces rivals from school as she deals with conflicts and bullies which leads her to fight an assault charge, taking the next step in her relationship, and finding her independence.
Gimme Shelter: Part Four is written in a script format that consists of dialogue and a narrator which depicts the action and speaks directly to the readers to detail important moments. Her journey is one that follows her coming of age exploring who she is as a teen in the 1970s that learns to take control of her life after an attack through boxing.
The role of boxing is an important aspect of her character as what helps her gain confidence in herself and inner strength found in self-defense. Romance is woven throughout, focusing on young first love and a troubled marriage. Sandra and Greg are the couple at the center, as he’s her first real boyfriend and experiences a lightness to her story and a carefree element to her character. She has a group of friends to share her journey in discovering intimacy and relationships which is a playfulness that is a balance to the aggression and pent up anger she works through by boxing.
Her relationship with her parents provides her with a source of conflict and support while also bringing her into the middle of their friction over her growing independence. She has a constant conflict with her mother as she’s discovering her sexuality and boxing which her mother is against. Her father is the opposite, supporting her in her boxing and encouraging her to be safe while giving her room to let her find herself. The difference in the relationship she has with each parent is a source of conflict between the two of them which causes them to fight. Another source of drama for Sandra is her fight with a boy whose sister she beat that led to her facing assault charges. The conflicts in her life are channeled into the boxing ring and though, is a point of aggression for her it’s also therapeutic for her after what happened. These dramatic elements are balanced with the relationship aspects with both making up her coming of age journey.
The dramatic elements are woven through her issues with her mother, the bullies, and an assault charge with each obstacle testing her resilience and her perseverance as she’s pushed to maintain a level head. The romantic elements are carefree and idealistic which show Sandra through her youth and navigation of her first love. A coming of age tale about one girl as she faces trauma at the hands of bullies, discovers her own independence, explores a romantic relationship, and tackles the boxing ring, Gimme Shelter: Part Four continues to blend the art of fighting with a search for independence.