A quick and satisfying middle volume that may make readers almost wish it was the end. (Science fiction. 13-17)
The second installment in Briggs’ time-travel trilogy introduces new players and conspiracies that threaten Elena’s present and future.
Six months after the events of Future Shock (2016), Mexican-American Elena Martinez is adjusting to money in the bank, college classes, and a sweet relationship with caring and brilliant Adam, a white boy and fellow survivor of Aether Corp.’s deadly mission to the future. But Aether isn’t done with them. Aether forces Elena, Adam, and their final team member, Chris—a black 19-year-old who’s about to become a father—to return to the future 30 years hence to rescue the missing team of teens they sent to commit corporate espionage. Once in the future, Elena, Adam, and Chris discover their future selves are living the dream, but the mission itself, of course, turns disastrous. Those who survive it then attempt subsequent and even more dangerous jumps to the same timeline. There’s a diverse set of new characters: Jeremy, the Aether CEO’s resentful, white, MIT–grad son; Zahra, a no-nonsense Iranian-American hacker from Beverly Hills; Ken, a half-Japanese, half-white chemist; and Paige, a perky white gymnast—with roguish Zahra by far the most interesting. The action is well-executed when not bogged down in specifics of time travel. As for romance, Briggs raises the stakes in this entry, showing Elena and Adam exactly how beautiful their future could be if they fight for it.
A quick and satisfying middle volume that may make readers almost wish it was the end. (Science fiction. 13-17)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-8075-2684-2
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Whitman
Review Posted Online: Jan. 31, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
A fresh and compelling voice.
A second chance prompts a deadly game of wits.
Lu Mingshin is about to be executed. Her fiance, Prince Ren, has ordered her death after using her family’s wealth to vie for the position of crown prince from his half brothers, each of them born to one of the widower king’s Royal Ladies. If that wasn’t enough, Mingshin learns that her Uncle Yi arranged her mother’s murder, and Aylin, her two-faced noblewoman cousin, will be marrying Ren instead. On the verge of death, Mingshin desperately wishes for another chance—only to see flashes of light and wake up two years in the past. With her memories of the future intact, Mingshin intends to not become a victim again, training in combat and vowing to endear herself to King Reifeng to secure her family’s safety. Strange dreams reveal the source of the magic that allowed her to jump back in time. A powerful mage is also on Mingshin’s tail, along with the ruthless enemies she’s already aware of. As Mingshin starts to rewrite her life’s story, new individuals come into play: a visiting Elder with questionable motives; Princess Yunle, who becomes a new best friend; and Prince Jieh, one of Ren’s rivals for the throne. Set in a fantasy world reminiscent of imperial China, this debut novel’s structure has a few oddities, but the clever premise and intriguing and suspenseful plot will keep readers engaged.
A fresh and compelling voice. (Fantasy. 14-17)Pub Date: Oct. 17, 2023
ISBN: 9781454949923
Page Count: 344
Publisher: Union Square & Co.
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2023
The shelves are already crowded with teens-training-for-space stories; there’s no need to make room for this one.
Teens become astronauts in record time for an inaugural space mission.
After losing his family to “the greatest flood Rome has ever known,” skilled white Italian swimmer Leo Danieli would never have expected that in his darkest moment he would be drafted by the European Space Agency to attend the International Space Training Camp, where teens will train to terraform and colonize Jupiter’s moon Europa for human settlement. California native Naomi Ardalan, a second-generation Iranian-American, has also been chosen for her expertise in science and technology. During a period of violent climate change worldwide, Earth’s governments are desperate to draft teens for a space mission for which they have only a few weeks in which to prepare. Twenty-four teen finalists, many orphaned by cataclysmic natural disasters, have been chosen from all over the world to compete for this space colonization mission. Warnings come to Leo and Naomi that there is a more sinister aspect to this mission, especially after things go tragically awry with other candidates during the training. The relationship that develops between Naomi and Leo feels forced, as if their meeting necessitates speedy deployment of a romantic cliché. The use of predictable plot devices, along with the fundamentally ludicrous premise, undermines any believability that would make a reader invest in such an elaborate space journey.
The shelves are already crowded with teens-training-for-space stories; there’s no need to make room for this one. (Science fiction. 14-17)Pub Date: March 6, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-06-265894-4
Page Count: 352
Publisher: HarperTeen
Review Posted Online: Nov. 21, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2017
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