Abandoned in the Maze
Michael Berg
Reviewed by Sabrina Williams
If you are searching for a shocker to push the limits of your comfort
zone, then look no further than Abandoned in the Maze by
Michael Berg. Berg's unsettling story takes place in a future that is
more suggestive of a parallel universe. In Berg's future, abortion has
been outlawed and underground organizations operate under the surface
of the law. The tables have been turned as pro-choice activists stage
bombings and attacks on prominent pro-life advocates.
Seventeen-year-old Irene Cobb and her twelve-year-old sister, Rita, are
forced to watch their mother being taken away in handcuffs for her
association with an almost militant pro-choice organization. When Irene
and Rita are driven away by indifferent "social workers," they have no
idea that they are being taken to a prison of their own, a children's
home known as the Trench. The Trench of Berg's imagination is a maximum
security orphanage for victims of a corrupt political system. The
sadistic overseers of the orphanage ensure that the few residents who
manage to escape its realms do not do so with their innocence intact.
Just when it appears the characters can't possibly suffer any further
injustices, their wills are tested again and again by greedy captors
hell-bent on their own elevation at the expense of the displaced
children.
This book was my initial introduction to Michael Berg, and I will
definitely be looking for more of his work. I read this sociological
thriller in one sitting, eager to discover what surprises were waiting
around the corner. It seems a bit of an exaggeration to call this novel
a thriller, but Berg has such a talent for keeping the reader guessing
and on the edge of their seat that labelling it as merely fiction seems
to do it an injustice. Inspired by Berg's own experiences in the
Florida child care system, Abandoned in the Maze is a roller
coaster ride of emotion and controversy that looms dangerously close to
reality.