Despite this space saga’s few clever turns, readers face a long, dreary trip.
This third volume of a YA series finds the Ascunse siblings on different planets and at odds thanks to a formidable manipulator.
Fifteen-year-old Tanner and 14-year-old Ryland had been leading normal lives until they learned they were Shifters—aliens endowed with superpowers. They also discovered that Earth is the Lost Colony among a series of 12 planets in an empire ruled by a brutalist named Rian. Now, Tanner and assorted Revolutionaries—including his recently brainwashed girlfriend, Devon Almasta—are on Colony Nine, while Ryland is on Colony Ten. Tanner, Kai (Ryland’s boyfriend), and several others hope to locate Ryland and make strides against the Prophecy that says Shifter youth must be culled lest a chosen one give social primacy to the Ordinaries (those without powers) and imbalance Shifter society. Ryland, meanwhile, becomes under the sway of Atlis, a Shifter with the ability to Push, rearranging a victim’s memories, and by extension, reality. Ryland’s indoctrinated into fascism by assisting in the roundup and execution of 109 Ordinaries. Atlis’ machinations eventually lead her to believe that Rian’s rule is just and that Tanner killed their younger sister. Her increasing violence helps rally the Shifter army, priming her for a lethal confrontation with Tanner and his cohorts. In this third installment, the Pershings (Ordinaries, 2014, etc.) continue to scale back the relatable humor of their debut in favor of military maneuvering and planet-hopping action. Most of the chapters are split between the siblings’ viewpoints, though Devon’s harrowing mental recovery (during which her “teeth clench like a dog sneering at an intruder”) proves dramatically vital. If she can overcome her programming, can’t Ryland? The answer, involving the crafty use of one character’s abilities, is an engaging thread in an otherwise fractious, apocalyptic narrative. The various Colony worlds, potentially alien and imaginative, are instead dismal like the Districts in Hunger Games. If implied bleakness weren’t enough, Tanner calls Atlis “The man I want to kill. The man I need to kill. The man I’m going to kill.” After this YA equivalent of a death metal dirge, it’s hard to imagine what the Pershings will offer next.
Despite this space saga’s few clever turns, readers face a long, dreary trip.Pub Date: Nov. 14, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-9975129-3-9
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Pershing Books
Review Posted Online: Dec. 29, 2016
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A sensitive YA tale about love, change, and loss, with an empowering message for girls.
A Louisiana teen embarks on a quest to secure a boyfriend while having to adjust to a new family and the serious illness of a beloved friend.
In this YA novel, 14-year-old Wendy Robichaud starts her freshman year in high school with a clear goal—to become the girlfriend of David Griffin, a boy she admires. She knows the “steps” she’ll have to follow before she reaches girlfriend status with him, including holding hands, public displays of affection, and hanging out with his crowd. But Wendy also learns there’s more to having a boyfriend than being on his speed dial. She encounters obstacles such as strict parental rules about dating and the hurt feelings of her friends when she abandons them to be with David. Also complicating her life are her divorced mother’s remarriage and the move to a new house with her stepdad and stepsiblings, her “instant big family.” When Wendy seeks consolation from Mrs. Villaturo, her former next-door neighbor and surrogate grandmother, she’s dismayed to find her friend acting strangely. Her discovery leads Mrs. V’s son and teenage grandson to travel from their Alaska home to Louisiana to assess the situation and make tough decisions regarding Mrs. V’s future care. Wendy is distraught at the prospect of losing her old friend. Only the compassion of Sam, Mrs. V’s deaf grandson, makes the outcome easier for her to bear. Using Wendy as her narrator, Toney (8 Notes to a Nobody, 2015, etc.) delineates some of the highs and lows of an innocent first love in this fast-paced novel. The story goes beyond its catchy title to tackle serious issues relevant to teens, such as forming healthy relationships, living in a blended family, and coping with an elderly loved one’s Alzheimer’s disease. A subplot involving a long-ago, secret, mixed-race marriage between Wendy’s relatives and those of her African-American best friend, Gayle Freeman, is somewhat contrived but contains a timely message about racial tolerance.
A sensitive YA tale about love, change, and loss, with an empowering message for girls.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-938092-64-0
Page Count: 202
Publisher: Write Integrity Press
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2016
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A young heroine copes with bizarre dreams in a surprisingly fresh paranormal romance.
This debut YA novel, the first installment in a series, follows an adopted teenager who moves to Alabama.
Jessica Delaney is accustomed to relocating at a moment’s notice, whenever neighbors find out a family secret. But the most recent move exudes an air of semi-permanence; the clan settles in Credence, Alabama, Jessica’s adoptive mother’s hometown. And her mom has a teaching position, not like the Waffle House waitress job she held in Atlanta. Moreover, Jessica lives next door to her aunt and her two cousins, Pade and Bailey. Both 15, Jessica and Bailey quickly become fast friends, with Bailey encouraging Jessica’s interest in her popular quarterback brother, Pade. Worried that the “ick” cousin factor is a bit strong, despite the fact she’s adopted, Jessica denies her attraction, particularly because it elicits the jealousy of bully Tosh Henley. Jessica also feels an immediate strong kinship with fellow new student Chase Pearson, although she suspects he and his teacher-mother are hiding something, even while he and Bailey become romantic quickly. Jessica’s concern that her father is concealing a recurrence of his cancer adds even more stress to her typical teenage angst, amplified by a typically bad adolescent decision that has life-changing consequences. While she experiences increasingly strange dreams related to her early childhood and adoption, a tragedy threatens her tenuous newfound security in Credence. Heavy-handed foreshadowing at the outset of this novel by engineer and native Alabamian Bolick sets the reader up for a far more ominous back story than Jessica’s forgotten early childhood. But the Delaneys’ decision to flee in the darkness of night seems unwarranted. Indeed, a few red herrings remain unresolved—Jessica’s parents’ insistence that everyone know she’s adopted, for example—whether by design or accident. Also unexplained is why her parents alter Jessica’s physical appearance, in light of their openness concerning her adoption. Despite these unanswered questions and a generally excessive emotional intensity (perhaps well-suited to a YA tale), this book remains an enjoyable page-turner that should leave readers eager to discover whether the promised sequel ties up all the loose ends.
A young heroine copes with bizarre dreams in a surprisingly fresh paranormal romance.Pub Date: Nov. 3, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-946089-01-4
Page Count: 276
Publisher: Dirt Road Books
Review Posted Online: Nov. 28, 2016
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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