Well-intentioned but disturbing in its portrayal of the disabled protagonist.
A dog and a teen boy seek safety after a civil war brings massive death.
Tao the dog regains consciousness in a house of horrors. Hauling himself upstairs on a badly injured leg, he sees that the Woman, Man, and Girl are all dead. The Reparation Party forces have rampaged through the house leaving alive only Tao and Kasper, the neuroatypical, cognitively disabled teenage son of the house. Tao and Kasper can’t communicate but must flee, so they begin a dreadful journey through a White-default city ravaged by civil war and filled with mutilated corpses (a fictionalized version of current post-pandemic politics ramped up to a genocidal extreme). It’s total victory for the racist, homophobic Reps, who repeatedly use a slur to refer to Kasper. The imagery-packed narration switches between Tao’s and Kasper’s points of view as well as that of an omniscient narrator who understands more than either. This moody piece about surviving in a war zone is kind and supportive of disabled Kasper, but it portrays him as barely human (though deserving of love). Many of his utterances are spelled phonetically, othering his communications, sapping his words of meaning, and contributing to the alien feeling of his overall portrayal. Tao, meanwhile, has a semimagical power and decent understanding of the situation; he’s the leader, the character with a growth arc, and, as he has the last word, he’s treated as more competent and understandable than the boy.
Well-intentioned but disturbing in its portrayal of the disabled protagonist. (Speculative fiction. 16-18)Pub Date: Oct. 11, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-88971-426-7
Page Count: 208
Publisher: Nightwood Editions
Review Posted Online: Aug. 16, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2022
By far, the fastest and funniest of the series.
The final installment of Thomas’ gross-out Quarantine series.
Will has escaped the school and reunited with his brother, David. After a short, solitary quarantine, Will’s pronounced virus-free and brought into the parent-run operation that feeds and protects the school. Back inside the school, Lucy’s clique, the Sluts, blames her for the disastrous fight between the Sluts and Saints. They kick her out, and once again, the plot centers on the difficulties faced by a character who is clique-less, at the social ladder’s bottom rung. Lucy’s complication, however, is an unplanned pregnancy. When word about Lucy’s hardships comes to Will and David, Will sneaks back in to rescue her, equipped with a gas mask whose filter is nearly used up. David chases after to save him from the virus, and the love triangle is re-established. Their race against clogged filters keeps the plot moving quickly. Meanwhile, Lucy’s found a new clique, the Burnouts. Seeking a renewable drug source, Burnouts ferment their own waste to get high on the fumes and masturbate. So shocking it’s funny, poop’s refreshing for readers numbed by the edgy-for-the-sake-of-edgy previous violence and rampant prostitution. Meanwhile, David’s ex, Hilary (a cardboard evil-lunatic villain), finds a gun. The ending, of course, offers enough death to appease the fan base.
By far, the fastest and funniest of the series. (Science fiction. 16-18)Pub Date: July 22, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-60684-338-3
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Egmont USA
Review Posted Online: May 18, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2014
A fun, fast-paced tale about seven young, immensely powerful prisoners.
A YA thriller blends sci-fi, post-apocalyptic fiction, and a coming-of-age story.
In a near future when humanity has been laid low by a global pandemic, the vaccine that essentially saves the human race from eradication causes unforeseen side effects: a small percentage of the population is born with inexplicable mental abilities. Called psions, these children with intensely blue “starburst” eyes and unimaginable powers are forcibly separated from their families and sent to special institutions, which are more like prisons than schools. The storyline revolves around Devon McWilliams, a young psion (with the power to communicate with plants) whose failed attempt to escape his psi facility in the Badlands of North Dakota lands him in a mysterious government lockup with other detainees. Headed for death—or worse—the seven young psions include a butt-kicking telepath named Bai Lee Chen, the daughter of a U.S. senator, and a girl named Alya with healing powers who turns out to be Devon’s love interest. They must figure out a way to escape and find the mythical Psionic Underground Network (“They were all trapped within the same sinking vessel,” Devon muses. “In order to survive, they would have to find a way to work together”). Powered by adept writing, relentless pacing, numerous action scenes, and a cast of fully realized and authentic characters, this novel is undeniably a page-turner. But it is not without its faults. There are stories within the main story here: first-person narratives told from varying characters’ perspectives. While some of these are fully fleshed out, others seem rushed and incomplete. Additionally, the relationship between Devon and Alya comes across as contrived. The biggest flaw, however, involves the conclusion. After building tension throughout the entire tale, the book delivers an action sequence at the end that’s far too abrupt. And although Brotherlin (Monsters in the M.A.C., 1996) adequately examines potentially weighty YA themes like acceptance and self-confidence, some readers may be left wanting more thematic depth and profundity.
A fun, fast-paced tale about seven young, immensely powerful prisoners.Pub Date: May 5, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-63392-006-4
Page Count: 248
Publisher: Spencer Hill Press
Review Posted Online: April 27, 2016
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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