Readers will be left begging for the final installment.
This second novel in the Loop Trilogy continues the saga of teens battling a controlling, corrupt world government in a dystopian future.
In the opening scenes of this second installment, Luka is again the first-person narrator, reminding readers of key events from the series starter. It’s not long, however, before readers are questioning reality along with him. Oliver carries on with what he did best in The Loop (2020)—writing about daring escapes, taut twists and turns, characters making tough decisions, and, of course, creepy tunnels with just as much intensity as before. First up is an escape from the Block, an energy-harvesting prison even worse than the Loop that leaves batteries like Luka in periods of paralysis. Regrouping with some of his ethnically diverse rebel friends, the brown-skinned teen continues his mission to take down Happy, the government’s operating system. Rescuing lost friends, avoiding Mosquito drones (reminiscent of the Hunger Games’ tracker jackers), and confronting the archnemesis who’s still bent on killing him, Luka’s course is, once again, nonstop adventure. This time Oliver interjects light humor with an old children’s toy–turned–scrambler drone and offers another side of AI technology. While some second novels dip or stall, this volume aptly does its job, building background knowledge for the series, creating more tension, and setting up a riveting cliffhanger for the series conclusion.
Readers will be left begging for the final installment. (Dystopian. 14-18)Pub Date: May 4, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-338-58933-7
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Chicken House/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: March 15, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2021
A treat for mystery readers who enjoy being kept in suspense.
Everyone believes that Salil Singh killed his girlfriend, Andrea Bell, five years ago—except Pippa Fitz-Amobi.
Pip has known and liked Sal since childhood; he’d supported her when she was being bullied in middle school. For her senior capstone project, Pip researches the disappearance of former Fairview High student Andie, last seen on April 18, 2014, by her younger sister, Becca. The original investigation concluded with most of the evidence pointing to Sal, who was found dead in the woods, apparently by suicide. Andie’s body was never recovered, and Sal was assumed by most to be guilty of abduction and murder. Unable to ignore the gaps in the case, Pip sets out to prove Sal’s innocence, beginning with interviewing his younger brother, Ravi. With his help, Pip digs deeper, unveiling unsavory facts about Andie and the real reason Sal’s friends couldn’t provide him with an alibi. But someone is watching, and Pip may be in more danger than she realizes. Pip’s sleuthing is both impressive and accessible. Online articles about the case and interview transcripts are provided throughout, and Pip’s capstone logs offer insights into her thought processes as new evidence and suspects arise. Jackson’s debut is well-executed and surprises readers with a connective web of interesting characters and motives. Pip and Andie are white, and Sal is of Indian descent.
A treat for mystery readers who enjoy being kept in suspense. (Mystery. 14-18)Pub Date: Feb. 4, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-9848-9636-0
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: Oct. 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2019
A thoughtful and thrilling story of life, death, and meaning.
Two teens train to be society-sanctioned killers in an otherwise immortal world.
On post-mortal Earth, humans live long (if not particularly passionate) lives without fear of disease, aging, or accidents. Operating independently of the governing AI (called the Thunderhead since it evolved from the cloud), scythes rely on 10 commandments, quotas, and their own moral codes to glean the population. After challenging Hon. Scythe Faraday, 16-year-olds Rowan Damisch and Citra Terranova reluctantly become his apprentices. Subjected to killcraft training, exposed to numerous executions, and discouraged from becoming allies or lovers, the two find themselves engaged in a fatal competition but equally determined to fight corruption and cruelty. The vivid and often violent action unfolds slowly, anchored in complex worldbuilding and propelled by political machinations and existential musings. Scythes’ journal entries accompany Rowan’s and Citra’s dual and dueling narratives, revealing both personal struggles and societal problems. The futuristic post–2042 MidMerican world is both dystopia and utopia, free of fear, unexpected death, and blatant racism—multiracial main characters discuss their diverse ethnic percentages rather than purity—but also lacking creativity, emotion, and purpose. Elegant and elegiac, brooding but imbued with gallows humor, Shusterman’s dark tale thrusts realistic, likable teens into a surreal situation and raises deep philosophic questions.
A thoughtful and thrilling story of life, death, and meaning. (Science fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: Nov. 29, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4424-7242-6
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 25, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2016
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