The 16-year-old daughter of the U.K.’s prime minister is kidnapped by terrorists.
Robyn Knollys-Green, daughter of the PM and descendant of old money, doesn't particularly enjoy being a politician's daughter. Just a few months ago she and her father were shot at in Paris, and Robyn's still terrified. Besides, her parents' marriage is suffering from her mother's hatred of the limelight. Robyn's worst fears seem to come true when radicals from Action for Change, a "radical anticapitalist and animal rights group," kidnap her. The AFC activists want to trade Robyn's freedom for the alleged Paris sniper, the brother of their vicious leader, Feather. Though her kidnappers are masked, Robyn can see their eyes—and from her first glimpse of the "bright green eyes" of the kidnapper code-named Talon, it's clear she's destined for a hefty dose of Stockholm syndrome. Sure enough, over the two weeks of her captivity, Robyn grows ever fonder of Talon. The kidnappers, meanwhile, behave inconsistently: they eat rather a lot of dairy for radical ecoterrorists furious about treatment of animals and the Earth; they are careful to keep their faces covered in front of Robyn but repeatedly reveal their real identities in conversation. Meanwhile, Robyn learns hard truths about her father's actions in office.
What better forbidden romance than with a man who chloroforms a girl and zip-ties her to a bed? (Thriller. 12-14)Pub Date: Nov. 3, 2015
ISBN: 978-1-4814-2903-0
Page Count: 272
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Aug. 5, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2015
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BOOK REVIEW
A gripping thriller in dystopic future Los Angeles.
Fifteen-year-olds June and Day live completely different lives in the glorious Republic. June is rich and brilliant, the only candidate ever to get a perfect score in the Trials, and is destined for a glowing career in the military. She looks forward to the day when she can join up and fight the Republic’s treacherous enemies east of the Dakotas. Day, on the other hand, is an anonymous street rat, a slum child who failed his own Trial. He's also the Republic's most wanted criminal, prone to stealing from the rich and giving to the poor. When tragedies strike both their families, the two brilliant teens are thrown into direct opposition. In alternating first-person narratives, Day and June experience coming-of-age adventures in the midst of spying, theft and daredevil combat. Their voices are distinct and richly drawn, from Day’s self-deprecating affection for others to June's Holmesian attention to detail. All the flavor of a post-apocalyptic setting—plagues, class warfare, maniacal soldiers—escalates to greater complexity while leaving space for further worldbuilding in the sequel.
This is no didactic near-future warning of present evils, but a cinematic adventure featuring endearing, compelling heroes . (Science fiction. 12-14)Pub Date: Nov. 29, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-399-25675-2
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: April 8, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2011
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BOOK TO SCREEN
In an unnamed country (a thinly veiled Philippines), three teenage boys pick trash for a meager living. A bag of cash in the trash might be—well, not their ticket out of poverty but at least a minor windfall. With 1,100 pesos, maybe they can eat chicken occasionally, instead of just rice. Gardo and Raphael are determined not to give any of it to the police who've been sniffing around, so they enlist their friend Rat. In alternating and tightly paced points of view, supplemented by occasional other voices, the boys relate the intrigue in which they're quickly enmeshed. A murdered houseboy, an orphaned girl, a treasure map, a secret code, corrupt politicians and 10,000,000 missing dollars: It all adds up to a cracker of a thriller. Sadly, the setting relies on Third World poverty tourism for its flavor, as if this otherwise enjoyable caper were being told by Olivia, the story's British charity worker who muses with vacuous sentimentality on the children that "break your heart" and "change your life." Nevertheless, a zippy and classic briefcase-full-of-money thrill ride. (Thriller. 12-14)
Pub Date: Oct. 12, 2010
ISBN: 978-0-385-75214-5
Page Count: 240
Publisher: David Fickling/Random
Review Posted Online: Aug. 31, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2010
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