Little Cassie (first 2 audio readings here
, chapters here) is a 24-chapter novel written by YouTube animation critic Mr Enter in his past. He originally wrote 16 chapters, and from October 2014 to August 2015 he released and wrote the last 8. Currently, he has released 2 audio readings of the first two chapters.
Andrew Wright is your average everyday guy; quarter-life crisis worker who lives alone and enjoys the relaxing tense of his suburb. And then, one day, he hears some frightening sounds coming from the house next door, and he is led to believe that there is something deeply immoral there that he is driven to extreme methods to put it to an end.
Story is told from a First-Person Perspective with a Character Narrator protagonist, Andrew.
Spoilers from before Chapter 4 are unmarked. Ensure you have all read 24 chapters before clearing a spoiler tag.
The novel provides examples of:
- Abusive Parents: A key driving force for the plot, Cassie is the daughter of an extremely abusive father. Although she does not appear until much later, her mother is also abusive.
- Amoral Attorney: This is what the prosecutor is described (though never explicitly confirmed to be) in the last chapters.
- Archnemesis Dad: Cassie's father to Cassie.
- Artistic License – Law: Justified to keep things dramatic, but anyone with experience with the Ace Attorney series will tell that this part of the book took more inspiration from it than from real-life law. Mr. Enter is also a fan of the Ace Attorney series to begin with, plus Andrew shares the same surname as the protagonist of Ace Attorney.
- Bears Are Bad News: A source of temporary conflict in the book.
- Big Bad: Mr. Galvin. He is the one who triggers the conflicts by abusing Cassie and sending law enforcement after Andrew.
- The Dragon: She does not appear until much later, but Mrs. Galvin also partakes in the abuse.
- Bittersweet Ending: Andrew is able to save Cassie from her abusive parents and get those parents into jail, though he must spend 15 years of his life in a state prison.
- Butt-Monkey: Andrew and Cassie. Andrew's good intentions cost him his freedom, and Cassie is the victim of systemic abuse at her parent's hands.
- Calling the Old Man Out: Cassie does this in Chapter 19.
- Courtroom Episode: The last stretch of episodes.
- Determinator: Andrew, who abandons his life and becomes a fugitive in his efforts to save Cassie.
- Deuteragonist: Cassie isn't the main character but much of the story revolves around her.
- First-Person Perspective: The story is told from Andrew's perspective.
- A Fool for a Client: Andrew in the last stretch of chapters.
- From Bad to Worse: This is a surreal theme of the book; up until Chapter 19, things continuously get worse and worse throughout the book. First, Andrew begins to learn just how bad the case with Cassie is. Then, he is forced to be a fugitive alongside Cassie. Then, he is arrested. Even at the very end of things, he is imprisoned.
- Fugitive Arc: See the second arc listed under Story Arc below.
- Heroic BSoD: Andrew experiences several of these throughout the story.
- Heroic Sacrifice: Andrew gives up his freedom without regret in order to allow Cassie to be freed from her abusive parents.
- It's Personal: The police officers became emotional, and are described as seemingly wanting vigilante justice, when they discover that Andrew shot one of the fellow officers.
- The Kindnapper: Andrew kidnaps Cassie from her parents.
- The Law of Conservation of Detail: Andrew states in Chapter 1 that "[sleep] is one of the simplest joys in the world, and it never fails to settle my mood". At the end of Chapter 6 does he state that "[earlier I said] that sleep never fails to settle my mood. Today I learned that there's a first time for everything."
- Manipulative Bastard: Cassie's father tricks the child protective services worker into apparently not taking any action, and then somehow convinced the police after Andrew's initial arrest (pre-Chap. 19) to not act on Andrew's statements of him being abusive. His attempt to invoke this trope again in Chap. 19 failed when he was finally arrested at the end.
- No Name Given: Andrew's friends in Chapter 2. Due to Andrew's excessive distraction and desire to distance himself, he comments "His name and face escapes me from the moment" (sic). Also, Cassie's father is always referred to as "Mr. Galvin" but his first name is never revealed. Same thing with Cassie's mother.
- The Runaway: Cassie, who runs off with Andrew.
- Secondary Character Title: The title of the book is "Little Cassie". Justified as she is really the story's central character even though she is the Deuteragonist.
- Story Arc: The setting and whatnot of the book is frequently changing. In fact, you can fairly neatly break up the book into 3 arcs:
- The first arc, over the course of the first five chapters, revolves around Andrew coming to terms with the fact that Cassie is being abused, and him being so resolved to stop it that he abandons his life to kidnap her.
- The next chunk of the book revolves around Andrew and Cassie trying to stay alive as they evade law enforcement and further their bond. This arc can be called the Fugitive Arc.
- The last chunk of episodes become a legal thriller that brings resolution to the events. This arc is a Courtroom Episode.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: Andrew kidnapped a child, dangerously evaded a police barrier with that child in the car, held a group of innocent men at gunpoint in front of that child and intentionally assaulted police officers — all in the belief that he could grant Cassie a better life than the atrocious one she lived at home. He also (not in front of her) went as far as to shoot and combat a law enforcement officer.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Cassie's emotional reaction to Andrew temporarily abandoning her. She explosively invokes this trope when she abandons Andrew in the forest.
- Wild Wilderness: Where Cassie and Andrew remained for some excruciating times.
