Centuries after the Omniwar left much of the planet uninhabitable, Maximum Racing, the pre-eminent extreme sport, delivers vicarious thrills on reality TV; winning a race with a homebuilt car earns two teens in a remote, hardscrabble town a chance to race against professionals and star in the world’s deadliest competition.
Cassica and Shiara move to Anchor City, where a space elevator rises to Olympus. There, Celestials (rich and famous celebrities) live in luxury, their lives broadcast and obsessively followed below. Racers in teams of two (a driver and tech) hurtle across terrain scarred by ancient, orbital weapons and occupied by mutated creatures and damaged humans. Deadly nanobot particles hide in dust. Designated Wreckers follow the racers, their role to hunt and take out competitors. Though underfunded and unsponsored, Cassica and Shiara (both depicted as light-skinned on the cover) make a strong team. Cassica, a charismatic, fiercely competitive risk-taker, drives. Thoughtful Shiara, with mechanical skills and engineering know-how, is tech. They set their sights on competing in the Widowmaker, a three-day race, fatal for many but whose winners become Celestials. Exposure to new Omniwar horrors and the discovery that all is not as it seems in the glitzy city test their friendship to the breaking point. Though Wooding does not stint on the action, empathetic characterization and an emotional throughline help Cassica and Shiara bring their world to life for readers.
An action-packed, wild ride with unexpected twists and turns and characters readers care about—call it a dystopia with heart . (Science fiction. 12-18)Pub Date: Feb. 28, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-545-94494-6
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Nov. 1, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2016
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Black is building a complex mythology; now is a great time to tune in.
26
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Black is back with another dark tale of Faerie, this one set in Faerie and launching a new trilogy.
Jude—broken, rebuilt, fueled by anger and a sense of powerlessness—has never recovered from watching her adoptive Faerie father murder her parents. Human Jude (whose brown hair curls and whose skin color is never described) both hates and loves Madoc, whose murderous nature is true to his Faerie self and who in his way loves her. Brought up among the Gentry, Jude has never felt at ease, but after a decade, Faerie has become her home despite the constant peril. Black’s latest looks at nature and nurture and spins a tale of court intrigue, bloodshed, and a truly messed-up relationship that might be the saving of Jude and the titular prince, who, like Jude, has been shaped by the cruelties of others. Fierce and observant Jude is utterly unaware of the currents that swirl around her. She fights, plots, even murders enemies, but she must also navigate her relationship with her complex family (human, Faerie, and mixed). This is a heady blend of Faerie lore, high fantasy, and high school drama, dripping with description that brings the dangerous but tempting world of Faerie to life.
Black is building a complex mythology; now is a great time to tune in. (Fantasy. 14-adult)Pub Date: Jan. 2, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-316-31027-7
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Sept. 25, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2017
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A dystopic thriller joins the crowded shelves but doesn't distinguish itself.
Juliette was torn from her home and thrown into an asylum by The Reestablishment, a militaristic regime in control since an environmental catastrophe left society in ruins. Juliette’s journal holds her tortured thoughts in an attempt to repress memories of the horrific act that landed her in a cell. Mysteriously, Juliette’s touch kills. After months of isolation, her captors suddenly give her a cellmate—Adam, a drop-dead gorgeous guy. Adam, it turns out, is immune to her deadly touch. Unfortunately, he’s a soldier under orders from Warner, a power-hungry 19-year-old. But Adam belongs to a resistance movement; he helps Juliette escape to their stronghold, where she finds that she’s not the only one with superhuman abilities. The ending falls flat as the plot devolves into comic-book territory. Fast-paced action scenes convey imminent danger vividly, but there’s little sense of a broader world here. Overreliance on metaphor to express Juliette’s jaw-dropping surprise wears thin: “My mouth is sitting on my kneecaps. My eyebrows are dangling from the ceiling.” For all of her independence and superpowers, Juliette never moves beyond her role as a pawn in someone else’s schemes.
Part cautionary tale, part juicy love story, this will appeal to action and adventure fans who aren't yet sick of the genre. (Science fiction. 12 & up)Pub Date: Nov. 15, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-06-208548-1
Page Count: 352
Publisher: HarperTeen
Review Posted Online: April 5, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2011
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