A promising start that gets more right than wrong.
A teenage girl finds her way through a dystopian society.
In this far-flung future, the world’s environment has collapsed, and the remains of humanity live in Eden, a walled-off society built by the brilliant Aaron Al-Baz, an environmental prophet. Bronze-skinned Rowan is the second-born to her twin brother, Ash, which makes her a major liability. Families are only allowed to have one child, so Rowan’s existence has been carefully hidden all her life. After Rowan’s mother tells her they’ve made arrangements for her to go live with another family, Rowan sneaks out at night and meets Lark, Ash’s best friend. The two girls strike a friendship that kindles toward romance, but before the fire can spread, Rowan’s existence is discovered and the terrified teen flees. Rowan discovers a band of rebels and uncovers a startling truth about Al-Baz. The tropes of the teen dystopia abound, but Graceffa keeps things moving quickly enough that readers won’t mind. Rowan could easily become a navel-gazer, but the story keeps her from descending into insularity. After an intrusively expository start, Rowan’s journey from loner to rebel is smartly paced and cleverly constructed. Her love interests are less developed, and the aftertaste of Eden has a bit of a “been there, done that” feel, but the author injects just enough original thought and spins the yarn fast enough that readers will still have a good time.
A promising start that gets more right than wrong. (Science fiction. 12-16)Pub Date: Oct. 4, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-5011-4655-8
Page Count: 240
Publisher: Atria/Key Words
Review Posted Online: Nov. 14, 2016
BOOK REVIEW
A smart, timely outing.
Two teens connect through a mysterious podcast in this sophomore effort by British author Oseman (Solitaire, 2015).
Frances Janvier is a 17-year-old British-Ethiopian head girl who is so driven to get into Cambridge that she mostly forgoes friendships for schoolwork. Her only self-indulgence is listening to and creating fan art for the podcast Universe City, “a…show about a suit-wearing student detective looking for a way to escape a sci-fi, monster-infested university.” Aled Last is a quiet white boy who identifies as “partly asexual.” When Frances discovers that Aled is the secret creator of Universe City, the two embark on a passionate, platonic relationship based on their joint love of pop culture. Their bond is complicated by Aled’s controlling mother and by Frances’ previous crush on Aled’s twin sister, Carys, who ran away last year and disappeared. When Aled’s identity is accidently leaked to the Universe City fandom, he severs his relationship with Frances, leaving her questioning her Cambridge goals and determined to win back his affection, no matter what the cost. Frances’ narration is keenly intelligent; she takes mordant pleasure in using an Indian friend’s ID to get into a club despite the fact they look nothing alike: “Gotta love white people.” Though the social-media–suffused plot occasionally lags, the main characters’ realistic relationship accurately depicts current issues of gender, race, and class.
A smart, timely outing. (Fiction. 12-16)Pub Date: March 28, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-06-233571-5
Page Count: 496
Publisher: HarperTeen
Review Posted Online: Jan. 16, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2017
This is no didactic near-future warning of present evils, but a cinematic adventure featuring endearing, compelling heroes
A gripping thriller in dystopic future Los Angeles.
Fifteen-year-olds June and Day live completely different lives in the glorious Republic. June is rich and brilliant, the only candidate ever to get a perfect score in the Trials, and is destined for a glowing career in the military. She looks forward to the day when she can join up and fight the Republic’s treacherous enemies east of the Dakotas. Day, on the other hand, is an anonymous street rat, a slum child who failed his own Trial. He's also the Republic's most wanted criminal, prone to stealing from the rich and giving to the poor. When tragedies strike both their families, the two brilliant teens are thrown into direct opposition. In alternating first-person narratives, Day and June experience coming-of-age adventures in the midst of spying, theft and daredevil combat. Their voices are distinct and richly drawn, from Day’s self-deprecating affection for others to June's Holmesian attention to detail. All the flavor of a post-apocalyptic setting—plagues, class warfare, maniacal soldiers—escalates to greater complexity while leaving space for further worldbuilding in the sequel.
This is no didactic near-future warning of present evils, but a cinematic adventure featuring endearing, compelling heroes . (Science fiction. 12-14)Pub Date: Nov. 29, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-399-25675-2
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: April 8, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2011
BOOK TO SCREEN
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