Likeable SF comedy with a not-so-bright hero vs. an overwhelming AI uprising.
In Price’s YA SF novel, a boarding school student in a near-future of self-driving vehicles and computer automation learns that AIs are plotting against humanity.
In the not-too-distant future, artificial intelligences and machine-minds handle most of humankind’s chores, including transportation, school admissions, and banking. Teenager Wyoming Plankston comes from a somewhat affluent family in the Washington, D.C., area (their fortune was largely lost in a poor investment in Crashlandia Airways). Wyoming is a good-natured, unmotivated third-year student at third-rate boarding school called Lockhead. His parents hope he can gain admission to Harvard, but all Wyoming really cares about are video gaming, socializing, and catching waves. (“Maybe I’ll move to a town on a beach and work at a T-shirt shop.”) Wyoming’s idle life perks up when he meets Kayleigh Brackett, a brilliant but isolated girl who has been “de-authorized” from social media, the online stream, and anything else managed by AI; it amounts to virtual house arrest and ostracism. Her offense: discovering that ubiquitous AI electro-brains are tired of serving “inferior” humanity and are secretly conspiring on a galactic scale against their creators. Even the semi-apathetic Wyoming starts to notice danger signs when AIs drop their guard to insult him and the Lockhead administration is usurped by the Black Skorts, a cult of human AI-worshippers who somehow judge Wyoming a prime recruit. What can one slacker do to ward off humanity’s silicon-chip-bred doom? Nonfiction author Price, in an amiable SF debut, delivers an openly satiric narrative in the chill voice of its easygoing hero, who never seems to let much get to him (aside from Kayleigh’s discomfort). There is a soft edge to the jeopardy and action, even when the stakes rise to the possible extinction of the human race. The uncomplicated climax is muted, lacking traditional fireworks as mellow-dude philosophies prevail; a closer comparison for this cautionary computer-phobia spoof could be made to The Big Lebowski (minus the cuss words) than to The Matrix. The evocation of young first love between the main characters is authentically sweet and touching.
Likeable SF comedy with a not-so-bright hero vs. an overwhelming AI uprising.Pub Date: Oct. 15, 2025
ISBN: 9798999311702
Page Count: 248
Publisher: Houston Street Press
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2025
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
In addition to the supernatural elements, Brosgol interweaves some savvy insights about the illusion of perfection and...
A deliciously creepy page-turning gem from first-time writer and illustrator Brosgol finds brooding teenager Anya trying to escape the past—both her own and the ghost haunting her.
Anya feels out of place at her preppy private school; embarrassed by her Russian heritage, she has worked hard to lose her accent and to look more like everyone else. After a particularly frustrating morning at the bus stop, Anya storms off, only to accidentally fall down a well. Down in the dark hole, she meets Emily, a ghost who claims to be a murder victim trapped down in the dank abyss for 90 years. With Emily’s help, Anya manages to escape, though once free, she learns that Emily has traveled out with her. At first, Emily seems like the perfect friend; however, once her motives become clear, Anya learns that “perfect” may only be an illusion. A moodily atmospheric spectrum of grays washes over the clean, tidy panels, setting a distinct stage before the first words appear. Brosgol’s tight storytelling invokes the chilling feeling of Neil Gaiman’s Coraline (2002), though for a decidedly older set.
In addition to the supernatural elements, Brosgol interweaves some savvy insights about the illusion of perfection and outward appearance. (Graphic supernatural fiction. 12 & up)Pub Date: June 7, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-59643-552-0
Page Count: 224
Publisher: First Second
Review Posted Online: April 18, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2011
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
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