An engaging adventure in the world of YA dystopian cyberpunk, even if the program code is familiar.
A girl born without authorization in a computer-regulated, high-tech dictatorship of the future struggles to persevere in Cross’ YA SF novel.
In the future, a Brave New World – –like technocratic metropolis called Unity has evolved amidst the ashes of human civilization that surrounds it. Unity is micromanaged by an omnipotent AI called Auto that regulates social order and (especially) procreation and the development of new citizens. Chiara was disadvantaged from birth: Her parents met and fell in love willingly—the second disobedient generation of her lineage to do so—and consequently the girl suffers the “Anomaly” stigma. Scorned by her teachers, robot guardians, and other minions of Auto, Chiara finds herself on her own after her mother, Elara, and father, Martin, perish in a mysterious industrial explosion (she loses her grandfather in even murkier circumstances). As an honors student, inventor, and hacker, Chiara wants to prove the naysayers wrong and ascend to Unity’s most elite ranks. But first she must undergo a risky surgical procedure to strengthen her online link to the “DataStream”; a major transgression or failure to serve Unity usefully can mean banishment outside the city to languish among the dreaded “Streamless,” “discarded people and robots living outside Unity’s walls” who are routinely harvested and killed to provide Auto’s subjects with fresh organs. The novel is split rather neatly in half, the opening set in the sterile perfection of the city, the latter section in the anarchic, dirty, and toxic environs outside. In both arenas, the hero must determine who is friend and who is foe. Chiara is also faced with a wildly contrasting choice of potential boyfriends. As the action ramps up in the lively finale and the stakes escalate to determine the very fate of humanity itself, invested readers should enjoy the ride, though some of the ingredients might have a strong whiff of cyber–déjà vu.
An engaging adventure in the world of YA dystopian cyberpunk, even if the program code is familiar.Pub Date: May 10, 2023
ISBN: 9781957656151
Page Count: 318
Publisher: Monarch Educational Services, L.L.C.
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2023
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
Immersive and engaging, despite some flaws, and destined to capture imaginations.
Magic, mystery, and love intertwine and invite in this newest take on the “enchanted circus” trope.
Sisters raised by their abusive father, a governor of a colonial backwater in a world vaguely reminiscent of the late 18th century, Scarlett and Donatella each long for something more. Scarlett, olive-skinned, dark of hair and attitude, longs for Caraval, the fabled, magical circus helmed by the possibly evil Master Legend Santos, while blonde, sunny Tella finds comfort in drink and the embraces of various men. A slightly awkward start, with inconsistencies of attitude and setting, rapidly smooths out when they, along with handsome “golden-brown” sailor Julian, flee to Caraval on the eve of Scarlett’s arranged marriage. Tella disappears, and Scarlett must navigate a nighttime world of magic to find her. Caraval delights the senses: beautiful and scary, described in luscious prose, this is a show readers will wish they could enter. Dresses can be purchased for secrets or days of life; clocks can become doors; bridges move: this is an inventive and original circus, laced with an edge of horror. A double love story, one sensual romance and the other sisterly loyalty, anchors the plot, but the real star here is Caraval and its secrets.
Immersive and engaging, despite some flaws, and destined to capture imaginations. (Fantasy. 14 & up)Pub Date: Jan. 31, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-250-09525-1
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 18, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2016
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