In a fast-paced and simply told action story, Claire, who has spent her life being ignored, teams up with Nix, the boy raised to kill her.
Perspective switches rapidly between Claire and Nix, and readers learn first of Claire's constant loneliness and next of Nix's certainty that she is a dangerous Null who must be hunted and killed. When the two teens meet, their worlds change: Nix realizes that the Society that raised him as a weapon has been lying about his targets being evil. Claire experiences the terror of being hunted and then the joy and relief of discovering that somebody—Nix—can see her. Both teens, it turns out, are Nobodies, beings whose power lies in their ability to escape notice and whose lives the Society wants to control. Short, emphatic sentences, dramatic repetition and strategic line breaks shuttle readers through the action and worldbuilding. If there were much of a pause in the action, readers might have time to question some of the story's premises (they don't know, for instance, how Claire escaped the Society's notice until now or whether there are others like her). As written, however, it's a pleasurable ride through chases, escapes, sinister memories and romantic tension.
Gripping, with a dramatic climax and just enough room for a sequel. (Science fiction. 12 & up)
