HARLAN COBEN'S SHELTER -- A Deep and Complex Young Adult Series

Review by Dan Skip Allen

Shelter is the first novel in American crime author Harlan Coben's young adult series featuring the teenager Mickey Bolitar, the nephew of his popular book series protagonist Myron Bolitar. The book came out in September 2011. Harlan Coben’s Shelter is a new series on Prime Video that is a little more adult than most young adult films or television series.

Mickey Bolitar (Jaden Michael) is reeling from the death of his father. He ends up having to live with his aunt in New Jersey and start life over at a new high school. While there, he meets some new friends and gets embroiled in a deep and dark mystery, starting with the kidnapping of another new student at the school. Every twist leads to another turn. The story is complicated, and there are many subplots unfolding. 

Coben knows how to tell a story. He creates a tale of lies and deceit that completely envelopes everyone involved in the show. From the aunt to a creepy old lady who lives down the street, nobody's off limits in this series. The main character has enough of his uncle's ingenuity and curiosity to spare. He can't help but delve deeper and deeper into this world with the fight and courage he got from his father. He left him with a lot of questions.

The high school aspects were like a whole different world within this story. Typical high school angst follows this story as the main character meets new friends and gets involved with pretty girls dating other boys. Bullying and teen awkwardness follow this boy and his friends, whether it's involved in trying out for the basketball team or a stage production at the school of The Phantom of the Opera. The kids get wrapped up in everything the main character is doing.

The cast is a vast one, with a bunch of high school kids and many adults. Coben fills his story with many characters, and all of them play an important part in the overall storyline, while sometimes having their own subplots. The parents even have storylines. The three main kids besides Michael's character — Ema (Abbey Corrigan), Arthur "Spoon" (Adrian Greensmith), and Rachel (Sage Linder) — all play major parts in this series. They all get over their heads and into trouble, along with the main character. They help him out quite a bit, considering everything that goes on in this show. These actors do a great job supporting the lead kid in the series.

There are many different filmmaking styles that go into making this show. One of them is flashbacks of German concentration camps, in black and white, to show the back story of an old lady. Another shows us some of the history the main character has with his deceased father. A lot of the show is shot at night, and the camera work is very good. The lighting is used to create a moody and noir-esque feel to the series during these moments. Then the show switches back to the young adult high school feeling once again. It's a very good dichotomy between styles.

Harlan Coben's Shelter is a complex series based on a dense and modern book. It takes themes we've seen before and turns them upside down. There are many twists and turns in this show. The high aspects are typical of a young adult series such as this, but they still add a different vibe from the mystery thriller stuff. The story as a whole is the strength of the series. The actors give good performances, and the cinematography blends many elements. This is a good first season, and hopefully there will be a second based on this literary character. I'm sure Coben has more in store for fans of these characters, and ideally, more books in this series will get the light of day.

Harlan Coben's Shelter is now streaming on Prime Video. All eight episodes reviewed.

Rating: 4/5