A high-tech, futuristic Ocean’s Eleven with teens.
Do you matter? Are you a one or a zero?
In 2050 in the LA neighborhood of Mirador, 17-year-old Latina Marisa Carneseca’s family is about to lose their restaurant. In series opener Bluescreen (2016), Mari and her multiethnic VR team Cherry Dogs saved the city from the titular mind-controlling e-drug virus, but there was no money or public glory in that. Mari is hunting for the hacker Grendel, who knows something she doesn’t about her past and her family, when she happens upon a black French freedom fighter, Alain, and joins his cause: taking down the nefarious Korean mega-corporation KT Sigan, which is squeezing every last penny out of Mirador’s residents by upping the cost of internet connectivity. Anja, Mari’s rich, German-immigrant Cherry Dogs teammate, buys the team’s way into a charity Overworld tournament hosted by KT Sigan, and that may offer Mira and Alain a chance to succeed…if their tech-skills are up to the task. Wells’ continuing series of futuristic thrillers ramps up the cinematic action and humor in his multicultural, multiethnic, dystopian near future. Realistic characters, whip-smart dialogue, and carefully controlled and believable technobabble (with sprinklings of Spanish, Chinese, and more) will have thriller, SF, and video-game fans rooting for the Cherry Dogs.
A high-tech, futuristic Ocean’s Eleven with teens. (Science fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: Feb. 14, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-06-234790-9
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Nov. 1, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2016
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head.
The finely drawn characters capture readers’ attention in this debut.
Autumn and Phineas, nicknamed Finny, were born a week apart; their mothers are still best friends. Growing up, Autumn and Finny were like peas in a pod despite their differences: Autumn is “quirky and odd,” while Finny is “sweet and shy and everyone like[s] him.” But in eighth grade, Autumn and Finny stop being friends due to an unexpected kiss. They drift apart and find new friends, but their friendship keeps asserting itself at parties, shared holiday gatherings and random encounters. In the summer after graduation, Autumn and Finny reconnect and are finally ready to be more than friends. But on August 8, everything changes, and Autumn has to rely on all her strength to move on. Autumn’s coming-of-age is sensitively chronicled, with a wide range of experiences and events shaping her character. Even secondary characters are well-rounded, with their own histories and motivations.
There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head. (Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: April 1, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4022-7782-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
A lackluster and sometimes disturbing mishmash of overused tropes.
The Plague has left a population divided between Elites and Ordinaries—those who have powers and those who don’t; now, an Ordinary teen fights for her life.
Paedyn Gray witnessed the king kill her father five years ago, and she’s been thieving and sleeping rough ever since, all while faking Psychic abilities. When she inadvertently saves the life of Prince Kai, she becomes embroiled in the Purging Trials, a competition to commemorate the sickness that killed most of the kingdom’s Ordinaries. Kai’s duties as the future Enforcer include eradicating any remaining Ordinaries, and these Trials are his chance to prove that he’s internalized his brutal training. But Kai can’t help but find Pae’s blue eyes, silver hair, and unabashed attitude enchanting. She likewise struggles to resist his stormy gray eyes, dark hair, and rakish behavior, even as they’re pitted against each other in the Trials and by the king himself. Scenes and concepts that are strongly reminiscent of the Hunger Games fall flat: They aren’t bolstered by the original’s heart or worldbuilding logic that would have justified a few extreme story elements. Illogical leaps and inconsistent characterizations abound, with lighthearted romantic interludes juxtaposed against genocide, child abuse, and sadism. These elements, which are not sufficiently addressed, combined with the use of ableist language, cannot be erased by any amount of romantic banter. Main characters are cued white; the supporting cast has some brown-skinned characters.
A lackluster and sometimes disturbing mishmash of overused tropes. (map) (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2023
ISBN: 9798987380406
Page Count: 538
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Sept. 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2023
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