A cool vision of future Earth that realistically reflects an increasingly multicultural world
Top gamer Sofi Snow and her team compete in the FanFight Games, which take place in an arena in post–Fourth World War Manhattan.
During a game, Shilo, the brown-skinned teen’s younger brother and the team’s on-the-field player, is unexpectedly attacked by an opposing player who’s strapped with a bioweapon. The ensuing explosion is believed to have killed Sofi and her entire team, including Shilo. Sofi survives, however, and goes into hiding, protected by her underground community of hackers. Sofi believes Shilo is alive and has been kidnapped by the Delonese, the humanoid, extraterrestrial species that resides on the ice planet that now orbits Earth. With Earth’s natural resources all but depleted, humans are left to rely on the Delonese for advanced technology. Needing undercover transport to the ice planet to save Shilo, Sofi turns to Miguel, the suave, fully tatted, brown-skinned young ambassador to the Delonese. What begins feeling like an interactive video game version of the Hunger Games evolves into an unfolding political plot as both Sofi and Miguel, in alternating third-person chapters, seek to uncover who is behind the terrorist attack. Dry political discourse in Miguel’s chapters occasionally stalls a strong beginning. Though the diverse cast of hackers that drives this dystopian tale is refreshing, characterizations are underdeveloped, suiting this tale to readers who favor plot over all else.
A cool vision of future Earth that realistically reflects an increasingly multicultural world . (Science fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: June 6, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-7180-8090-7
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Review Posted Online: March 28, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2017
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
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
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