SCALED

In Ashmore’s debut YA SF series starter, teenagers contract a mysterious rash after a strange meteor falls to Earth.

A comet strikes a dying planet, sending a cargo hold full of alien genetic material toward Earth. Midwestern teen Zack is with his 7-year-old sister, Zoe, when he sees a ball of fire heading straight for their family’s property. The object sets their shed aflame, and Zack successfully puts out the fire, but when he breathes in the meteorite’s fumes, his mind explodes with colors. A few days later, his classmates Hilde and Silas are returning from a high school field trip when their teacher decides to let his students see the meteorite before scientists take it away. Silas finds a small piece of the object, some distance away, and when Hilde holds it, she hears “oddly captivating” music. Teenagers in towns near the crash site soon contract odd, scaly rashes, and before long, students are required to wear masks to try to stop the spread—which doesn’t help. Soon, anyone with a rash is shipped to quarantine centers. The Centers for Disease Control know that the rash is caused by a virus from the meteorite and that it only affects teens—but they don’t know how it spreads. Zack, Hilde, and Silas find themselves quarantined together, and they must overcome their differences to face the danger before them. Over the course of this book, Ashmore presents an engaging tale about coming to terms with otherness—even if that otherness involves scales. What stands out the most about this novel, however, is its brisk style. The author efficiently introduces characters without dwelling on their backstories, and the novel shifts between points of view in a way that’s always easy to follow. The pacing is also consistently smooth throughout the story. Young readers who are currently experiencing the societal changes of the Covid-19 pandemic will also identify strongly with how people react toward the alien virus. Overall, Ashmore delivers an entertaining read.

A fast-paced and diverting speculative tale.