Despite this space saga’s few clever turns, readers face a long, dreary trip.
This third volume of a YA series finds the Ascunse siblings on different planets and at odds thanks to a formidable manipulator.
Fifteen-year-old Tanner and 14-year-old Ryland had been leading normal lives until they learned they were Shifters—aliens endowed with superpowers. They also discovered that Earth is the Lost Colony among a series of 12 planets in an empire ruled by a brutalist named Rian. Now, Tanner and assorted Revolutionaries—including his recently brainwashed girlfriend, Devon Almasta—are on Colony Nine, while Ryland is on Colony Ten. Tanner, Kai (Ryland’s boyfriend), and several others hope to locate Ryland and make strides against the Prophecy that says Shifter youth must be culled lest a chosen one give social primacy to the Ordinaries (those without powers) and imbalance Shifter society. Ryland, meanwhile, becomes under the sway of Atlis, a Shifter with the ability to Push, rearranging a victim’s memories, and by extension, reality. Ryland’s indoctrinated into fascism by assisting in the roundup and execution of 109 Ordinaries. Atlis’ machinations eventually lead her to believe that Rian’s rule is just and that Tanner killed their younger sister. Her increasing violence helps rally the Shifter army, priming her for a lethal confrontation with Tanner and his cohorts. In this third installment, the Pershings (Ordinaries, 2014, etc.) continue to scale back the relatable humor of their debut in favor of military maneuvering and planet-hopping action. Most of the chapters are split between the siblings’ viewpoints, though Devon’s harrowing mental recovery (during which her “teeth clench like a dog sneering at an intruder”) proves dramatically vital. If she can overcome her programming, can’t Ryland? The answer, involving the crafty use of one character’s abilities, is an engaging thread in an otherwise fractious, apocalyptic narrative. The various Colony worlds, potentially alien and imaginative, are instead dismal like the Districts in Hunger Games. If implied bleakness weren’t enough, Tanner calls Atlis “The man I want to kill. The man I need to kill. The man I’m going to kill.” After this YA equivalent of a death metal dirge, it’s hard to imagine what the Pershings will offer next.
Despite this space saga’s few clever turns, readers face a long, dreary trip.Pub Date: Nov. 14, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-9975129-3-9
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Pershing Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 29, 2016
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A swift fable about navigating the perils of middle school.
A bossy middle school fashionista feels threatened by the new girl in Saii’s YA novel.
Vanessa Pocker and her friends Chelsea, Adrienne and Katie are the richest of the rich in their Santa Monica, Calif., middle school, and they comprise the Sassy Divas. Vanessa leads the pack and dictates whom the divas are allowed to talk to, what they’re allowed to wear and how they conduct themselves in public. Vanessa is so domineering that it’s a miracle she has any friends at all. Had Saii endowed her with an ounce of kindness, the loyalty of her minions might be more understandable. Vanessa’s militant nature finally alienates Katie, the diva who is too much of a bookworm, according to Vanessa. Katie befriends Flo, who’s on the Sassy Diva “do not speak to” list (Flo had once refused to hold Vanessa’s purse). Excommunicated from the Sassy Divas, Katie befriends the new girl at the school, Quinn. This infuriates Vanessa, and she declares war. A power play ensues among the adversarial lip-glossed sets, with Vanessa, Chelsea and Adrienne on one side and Katie, Quinn and Flo on the other. Vanessa turns to guy friend Ryan, who offers the only voice of reason when he admonishes her for obsessing over trivialities, such as revenge and makeovers, when there are starving children in the world. He seems to be nothing more than Vanessa’s sounding board, and it’s unclear what he gets out of the relationship. At least Vanessa buys clothes and makeup for her divas, on occasion. Mired in trendy youngster lingo, Saii’s tale accurately depicts girls’ power plays and the alienation that can result from simply owning jeans without a designer label. Fashion, gossip, popularity and shopping define these characters, and any threat of competition is cause for war. Vanessa’s parents rarely make appearances, except for a poignant scene when Vanessa’s mother engages her daughter in a heart-to-heart about her selfish behavior. It’s a relief to finally hear the mother speak and lead the story to an ending marked with humor and depth. Saii’s literary chops are inconsistently displayed and improve toward the conclusion. Although the average middle school girl may not wear Jimmy Choos or form private elitist groups, young readers might find themselves curious about these affluent trendsetters. At least Vanessa learns her lesson, which raises the novel a notch above teenybopper fluff.
A swift fable about navigating the perils of middle school.Pub Date: March 1, 2013
ISBN: 9781937675080
Page Count: 155
Publisher: Lekha Publishers
Review Posted Online: March 4, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
An intriguing, if not always emotionally engaging, story of a serious teen problem.
Somers’ debut young-adult novel follows a teenage boy from sickness to tenuous health as he battles an eating disorder and the problems that helped create it.
Nathan is a typical teen with typical problems, including an unhappy family life and romantic disappointment, but he’s got an unhealthy “solution” for dealing with them: starving and purging himself. His descent into bulimia and anorexia occurs quite quickly; it starts with Nathan taking short bike rides to get away from his domineering father and alcoholic mother, and soon he’s inducing vomiting; not long afterward, he’s admitted to an eating-disorder program, at which point the book seems to find its center. Nathan is the only boy in his unit, a fact that his status-obsessed parents find it hard to understand; in fact, as the book makes clear, boys make up 10 percent of those who suffer from eating disorders. Somers’ novel never falls into “after-school special” territory, but it has a clear message. Nathan is depicted as a smart, cynical teenager, but his trials are sometimes more informative than heart-wrenching. The short chapters, complete with bad teenage poetry, keep the story moving, and Nathan’s dad, mom and nurse all get at least one chance to tell their side of the story. But although these multiple points of view are interesting, they may distract readers from Nathan’s personal trials. Also, the novel sometimes gets bogged down in eating-disorder program protocol; for example, a plan to interrupt Nathan’s family therapy takes two pages of emails, rather than a line or two of dialogue.
An intriguing, if not always emotionally engaging, story of a serious teen problem.Pub Date: Nov. 12, 2012
ISBN: 978-0988367203
Page Count: 256
Publisher: Rundy Hill Press LLC
Review Posted Online: April 30, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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