Smart cyber conundrums and intricate code-breaking meld enjoyably in this installment of a YA SF suspense series.
Charlotte, a teen student in an elite technology-oriented school of the future, delves into the shadowy history of the institution and its mysterious, late founder.
Marie’s sequel to her last YA SF title, After Intelligence: The Hidden Sequence (2020), follows brainy hero Charlotte Blythe to Cognation Academy, a cutting-edge boarding school serving as a testing ground for big, new ideas seeded among society’s most gifted kids. There, among other tech wonders such as omnipresent virtual reality, a set of humanlike androids (ultralogical Vulcan-ish types with instant access to vast knowledge databases) has been introduced, somewhat uneasily, into classrooms. Charlotte; her roommate, Chai; and love interest, Gavin, grow especially close to two androids: the outgoing Isaac and the more insular Denton. The trio even copies and smuggles out the droids’ algorithms (aka “sequences”) when it seemed that some unknown faction was tampering with their digital memories. Having possibly gotten away with saving their friends, the young people find androids especially helpful in the “enigma tournament,” which involves elaborate puzzle-solving exercises in VR environments that seem tied to Cognation’s raison d’être. Also embedded in the contest, by chance or design, are clues to Cognation’s early history and the fate of its brilliant and tragic founder, Dr. Harlan A. Coggins. Solving the enigma’s variations gives characters access to Coggins’ private journals, but the pages seem like coded gibberish and koans. The adventure and process of discovery unfold in wordy but polished prose: “Something told Charlotte that they were on the precipice of a momentous discovery, even if they didn’t know what the significance might be.” Only late in the narrative does the real scale of the menace take form. While Cognation begs comparison to Hogwarts, the tone here is more intellectual than mischievous—think Arthur C. Clarke more than J.K. Rowling—which is not a bad thing, and the ending promises future installments with at least one Voldemort-esque slippery villain.
Smart cyber conundrums and intricate code-breaking meld enjoyably in this installment of a YA SF suspense series.Pub Date: May 15, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-952862-03-8
Page Count: 324
Publisher: Tandemental
Review Posted Online: July 14, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2022
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
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
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away.
A Mexican American boy takes on heavy responsibilities when his family is torn apart.
Mateo’s life is turned upside down the day U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents show up unsuccessfully seeking his Pa at his New York City bodega. The Garcias live in fear until the day both parents are picked up; his Pa is taken to jail and his Ma to a detention center. The adults around Mateo offer support to him and his 7-year-old sister, Sophie, however, he knows he is now responsible for caring for her and the bodega as well as trying to survive junior year—that is, if he wants to fulfill his dream to enter the drama program at the Tisch School of the Arts and become an actor. Mateo’s relationships with his friends Kimmie and Adam (a potential love interest) also suffer repercussions as he keeps his situation a secret. Kimmie is half Korean (her other half is unspecified) and Adam is Italian American; Mateo feels disconnected from them, less American, and with worries they can’t understand. He talks himself out of choosing a safer course of action, a decision that deepens the story. Mateo’s self-awareness and inner monologue at times make him seem older than 16, and, with significant turmoil in the main plot, some side elements feel underdeveloped. Aleman’s narrative joins the ranks of heart-wrenching stories of migrant families who have been separated.
An ode to the children of migrants who have been taken away. (Fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-7595-5605-8
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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