Complex worldbuilding provides a strong backbone for this well-written start to a planned series with a resolute heroine.
In this YA dystopian adventure, a village girl with special skills learns she’s an heiress—and betrothed.
In the future, wars and climate change have greatly altered Earth’s geography. City centers, known as Cores, hoard technology, trees, wealth, and genetic prodigies for themselves, protected from the Outlying Lands, where poor villagers labor to supply Core industries. Willow Kent, 16, works in her parents’ village tavern and attends school, dreaming of performing well enough to enlarge her opportunities. All that changes when Cmdr. Reece of the Core shows up. Imperious, rude, and genetically enhanced (for example, he’s “impossibly tall” and stunningly handsome), he learns and reveals several secrets about Willow. Still reeling, Willow is compelled to accompany Reece to the Core, where—as the true heiress to a great family—she must marry the son of a rival house to bring peace. Her tempestuous emotions, already aroused by homesickness and anger, are further stoked by Reece’s flirtations; although she hates his cruelty and arrogance and he shows little patience for her rebelliousness (“Ogre.” “Brat.”), he sets off continual sparks in her. Meanwhile, Willow has much to learn about her gifts and about navigating the dangerous Core. In this debut novel, Denault (a contributor to Fairly Twisted Tales for a Horribly Ever After, 2014) carefully constructs a dystopian future world, giving it fullness, complexity, and consistency. For example, Willow grows up with village modesty and long skirts; her horror at the Core’s revealing swimsuits is believable—and makes an intriguing contrast to the raw power she unleashes when the pool is attacked. At times, Reece and Willow’s love/hate dynamic, with its “volatile mix of violence and tenderness,” gets uncomfortably close to portraying an abusive relationship. But Willow’s unstoppable determination—her inner tiger—keeps her from becoming a victim, and it’s good to see a teenage girl owning her desire as well as her anger. Readers are likely to stick with this long first volume and look forward to sequels.
Complex worldbuilding provides a strong backbone for this well-written start to a planned series with a resolute heroine.Pub Date: April 14, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-73-444413-1
Page Count: 530
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: Feb. 11, 2016
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Engaging, real-world characters not in the real world; savvy and outright charming.
In Martin’s YA sci-fi debut, the start of a proposed trilogy reminiscent of The Matrix, a teen girl learns that her world is a simulated reality, an organization having rendered all of humankind in a comatose state.
It’s only Emery Parker’s second day at renowned boarding school Darden Preparatory, and the administration’s already sent for her. She meets Theo Barker, head of the Federal Commonwealth, who immediately drops this bombshell: the world Emery knows isn’t real. According to Theo, a group called the Seventh Sanctum, after toppling governments across the globe, combatted corruption by inducing a “worldwide coma.” Emery has trouble believing she and everyone else currently reside in simulated world Dormance. But it’s a tad suspicious that, by the mid-21st century, there’s been no technological advancement in 28 years. So she agrees to join The Alpha Drive, an initiative to overthrow 7S. Meanwhile, 7S’s Cpl. Torin Porter hasn’t made much progress hacking into FCW’s mainframe. Tampering with Emery’s newly embedded microchip may give him a way in, but rather than tell his superiors, Torin makes contact with Emery by himself. As the girl undergoes rigorous training in preparation for entering the uncertain 7S world, she must decide if she trusts Theo and the FCW, because soon, she and other Alpha Drive participants will be fighting to break people free of Dormance. The author retains a steady uneasiness throughout her tale. Emery isn’t sure if she’s working for the good guys or bad and is perpetually worried about the microchip in her neck; if someone spots it, wiped memories will ensue. But even Emery’s typical school life is filled with turmoil: she’s weary of her boyfriend and is involved in a teenage love triangle. Martin slyly leaves open seemingly endless possible scenarios, from one of Emery’s peers having a microchip to enemies operating covertly in her midst. The action-laden ending is a little rushed but does include marvelous connections to the protagonist’s sporadic visions in training sessions. Though Martin ably concludes this first installment, questions linger, like why Emery is evidently so important to FCW.
Engaging, real-world characters not in the real world; savvy and outright charming.Pub Date: Nov. 17, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-9968605-1-2
Page Count: 322
Publisher: Black Falcon Press
Review Posted Online: April 15, 2016
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A fun, fast-paced tale about seven young, immensely powerful prisoners.
A YA thriller blends sci-fi, post-apocalyptic fiction, and a coming-of-age story.
In a near future when humanity has been laid low by a global pandemic, the vaccine that essentially saves the human race from eradication causes unforeseen side effects: a small percentage of the population is born with inexplicable mental abilities. Called psions, these children with intensely blue “starburst” eyes and unimaginable powers are forcibly separated from their families and sent to special institutions, which are more like prisons than schools. The storyline revolves around Devon McWilliams, a young psion (with the power to communicate with plants) whose failed attempt to escape his psi facility in the Badlands of North Dakota lands him in a mysterious government lockup with other detainees. Headed for death—or worse—the seven young psions include a butt-kicking telepath named Bai Lee Chen, the daughter of a U.S. senator, and a girl named Alya with healing powers who turns out to be Devon’s love interest. They must figure out a way to escape and find the mythical Psionic Underground Network (“They were all trapped within the same sinking vessel,” Devon muses. “In order to survive, they would have to find a way to work together”). Powered by adept writing, relentless pacing, numerous action scenes, and a cast of fully realized and authentic characters, this novel is undeniably a page-turner. But it is not without its faults. There are stories within the main story here: first-person narratives told from varying characters’ perspectives. While some of these are fully fleshed out, others seem rushed and incomplete. Additionally, the relationship between Devon and Alya comes across as contrived. The biggest flaw, however, involves the conclusion. After building tension throughout the entire tale, the book delivers an action sequence at the end that’s far too abrupt. And although Brotherlin (Monsters in the M.A.C., 1996) adequately examines potentially weighty YA themes like acceptance and self-confidence, some readers may be left wanting more thematic depth and profundity.
A fun, fast-paced tale about seven young, immensely powerful prisoners.Pub Date: May 5, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-63392-006-4
Page Count: 248
Publisher: Spencer Hill Press
Review Posted Online: April 27, 2016
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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