A thrilling, thought-provoking, and ultimately deeply satisfying series conclusion.
In the final installment of the Loop trilogy, the ongoing mission to take down the world’s operating system becomes a battle to save humanity.
Ever unpredictable, Oliver opens this follow-up to The Block (2021) from the perspective of an Alt named Chester. The youngest member of the government’s science team, which is housed in a protective Arc, Chester goes rogue after questioning the government’s leader and discovering that Happy, the world’s operating system, is planning to end humanity in nine days. Following a surprising connection with the Loop rebels, the story transitions back to the Loopers’ ongoing fight to destroy Happy. With only days left to achieve this dangerous goal, the taut narration builds in intensity, with chapter headings serving as a countdown clock. The author continues with what he does best, weaving twists and turns, difficult decisions, adrenaline-fueled confrontations with Happy and its minions, and a touch of humor into a story filled with teamwork, friendship, hope, and love. This time, with the end of the world looming, the narrative becomes more existential as the characters consider what it means to be human. Issues of privilege, addiction, fear, and PTSD will resonate with today’s post-pandemic readers. Equally rewarding is that this third book is not simply an extension of the overall story arc, but a culmination that ties it together with its predecessors.
A thrilling, thought-provoking, and ultimately deeply satisfying series conclusion. (Dystopian. 14-18)Pub Date: Aug. 16, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-338-58936-8
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Chicken House/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: April 12, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2022
A thoughtful and thrilling story of life, death, and meaning.
Two teens train to be society-sanctioned killers in an otherwise immortal world.
On post-mortal Earth, humans live long (if not particularly passionate) lives without fear of disease, aging, or accidents. Operating independently of the governing AI (called the Thunderhead since it evolved from the cloud), scythes rely on 10 commandments, quotas, and their own moral codes to glean the population. After challenging Hon. Scythe Faraday, 16-year-olds Rowan Damisch and Citra Terranova reluctantly become his apprentices. Subjected to killcraft training, exposed to numerous executions, and discouraged from becoming allies or lovers, the two find themselves engaged in a fatal competition but equally determined to fight corruption and cruelty. The vivid and often violent action unfolds slowly, anchored in complex worldbuilding and propelled by political machinations and existential musings. Scythes’ journal entries accompany Rowan’s and Citra’s dual and dueling narratives, revealing both personal struggles and societal problems. The futuristic post–2042 MidMerican world is both dystopia and utopia, free of fear, unexpected death, and blatant racism—multiracial main characters discuss their diverse ethnic percentages rather than purity—but also lacking creativity, emotion, and purpose. Elegant and elegiac, brooding but imbued with gallows humor, Shusterman’s dark tale thrusts realistic, likable teens into a surreal situation and raises deep philosophic questions.
A thoughtful and thrilling story of life, death, and meaning. (Science fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: Nov. 29, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4424-7242-6
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 25, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2016
A descriptive and atmospheric paranormal social thriller that could be a bit tighter.
After a Nigerian British girl goes off to an exclusive boarding school that seems to prey on less-privileged students, she discovers there might be some truth behind an urban legend.
Ife Adebola joins the Urban Achievers scholarship program at pricey, high-pressure Nithercott School, arriving shortly after a student called Leon mysteriously disappeared. Gossip says he’s a victim of the glowing-eyed Changing Man who targets the lonely, leaving them changed. Ife doesn’t believe in the myth, but amid the stresses of Nithercott’s competitive, privileged, majority-white environment, where she is constantly reminded of her state school background, she does miss her friends and family. When Malika, a fellow Black scholarship student, disappears and then returns, acting strangely devoid of personality, Ife worries the Changing Man is real—and that she’s next. Ife joins forces with classmate Bijal and Benny, Leon’s younger brother, to uncover the truth about who the Changing Man is and what he wants. Culminating in a detailed, gory, and extended climactic battle, this verbose thriller tempts readers with a nefarious mystery involving racial and class-based violence but never quite lives up to its potential and peters out thematically by its explosive finale. However, this debut offers highly visually evocative and eerie descriptions of characters and events and will appeal to fans of creature horror, social commentary, and dark academia.
A descriptive and atmospheric paranormal social thriller that could be a bit tighter. (Thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2023
ISBN: 9781250868138
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: June 8, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2023
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