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THE AMPULLAE OF LORENZINI

From stealthy tracking to all-out sprints, hand-to-hand battles and mental combat—a triumph in every respect.

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CIA agent Browning is implanted with a sensory-enhancing microchip to help track down rogue test subjects in the author’s debut action novel.

Browning, working in Afghanistan, is pulled away for a covert operation. The job will require skills he’d once used for a position he willingly left behind—as a proficient assassin. He is surgically embedded with “the System,” essentially a replication of the ampullae of Lorenzini: the electroreceptors sharks use to locate prey. The System was intended as a lie detector to gauge people’s responses, but there are side effects, namely driving subjects to the brink of madness. Browning levels the playing field against three officers at large, all implanted with the System and sporting murderous impulses. Rush’s book thrives on precise action and rousing scenes of pursuit. Browning is initially fed intel on only one of the officers and is not provided with more information until he’s finished with the first target. This approach keeps the story focused—one evildoer at a time—and also adds suspense, as it’s apparent that each System-infused officer is more deadly than the next. The “villains” are given ample points of view and are wonderfully diverse. Mila, in particular, is humanized; she seems to have fallen prey to a failed experiment and, in one of the novel’s best sequences, is introduced like a potential victim. The book makes the most impact with Browning and his progression with the System. It moves from a weapon to a burden, as he gradually begins to rely on it more and more while fraught with an ever-present headache. Rush peppers the prose with humorous descriptions and metaphors—Browning is considered a “custom-built assassin,” and the sound of gunfire is compared to a “family of giants” arguing. The ending is wholly gratifying, one that will certainly stick in readers’ minds.

From stealthy tracking to all-out sprints, hand-to-hand battles and mental combat—a triumph in every respect.

Pub Date: N/A

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: 176

Publisher: Dog Ear Publisher

Review Posted Online: Aug. 9, 2012

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JUPITER STORM

In more ways than one, a tale about young creatures testing their wings; a moving, entertaining winner.

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A fifth-grade New Orleans girl discovers a mysterious chrysalis containing an unexpected creature in this middle-grade novel.

Jacquelyn Marie Johnson, called Jackie, is a 10-year-old African-American girl, the second oldest and the only girl of six siblings. She’s responsible, smart, and enjoys being in charge; she likes “paper dolls and long division and imagining things she had never seen.” Normally, Jackie has no trouble obeying her strict but loving parents. But when her potted snapdragon acquires a peculiar egg or maybe a chrysalis (she dubs it a chrysalegg), Jackie’s strong desire to protect it runs up against her mother’s rule against plants in the house. Jackie doesn’t exactly mean to lie, but she tells her mother she needs to keep the snapdragon in her room for a science project and gets permission. Jackie draws the chrysalegg daily, waiting for something to happen as it gets larger. When the amazing creature inside breaks free, Jackie is more determined than ever to protect it, but this leads her further into secrets and lies. The results when her parents find out are painful, and resolving the problem will take courage, honesty, and trust. Dumas (Jaden Toussaint, the Greatest: Episode 5, 2017, etc.) presents a very likable character in Jackie. At 10, she’s young enough to enjoy playing with paper dolls but has a maturity that even older kids can lack. She’s resourceful, as when she wants to measure a red spot on the chrysalegg; lacking calipers, she fashions one from her hairpin. Jackie’s inward struggle about what to obey—her dearest wishes or the parents she loves—is one many readers will understand. The book complicates this question by making Jackie’s parents, especially her mother, strict (as one might expect to keep order in a large family) but undeniably loving and protective as well—it’s not just a question of outwitting clueless adults. Jackie’s feelings about the creature (tender and responsible but also more than a little obsessive) are similarly shaded rather than black-and-white. The ending suggests that an intriguing sequel is to come.

In more ways than one, a tale about young creatures testing their wings; a moving, entertaining winner.

Pub Date: Nov. 11, 2017

ISBN: 978-1-943169-32-0

Page Count: 212

Publisher: Plum Street Press

Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2018

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2018

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BROTHERS IN ARMS

BLUFORD HIGH SERIES #9

A YA novel that treats its subject and its readers with respect while delivering an engaging story.

In the ninth book in the Bluford young-adult series, a young Latino man walks away from violence—but at great personal cost.

In a large Southern California city, 16-year-old Martin Luna hangs out on the fringes of gang life. He’s disaffected, fatherless and increasingly drawn into the orbit of the older, rougher Frankie. When a stray bullet kills Martin’s adored 8-year-old brother, Huero, Martin seems to be heading into a life of crime. But Martin’s mother, determined not to lose another son, moves him to another neighborhood—the fictional town of Bluford, where he attends the racially diverse Bluford High. At his new school, the still-grieving Martin quickly makes enemies and gets into trouble. But he also makes friends with a kind English teacher and catches the eye of Vicky, a smart, pretty and outgoing Bluford student. Martin’s first-person narration supplies much of the book’s power. His dialogue is plain, but realistic and believable, and the authors wisely avoid the temptation to lard his speech with dated and potentially embarrassing slang. The author draws a vivid and affecting picture of Martin’s pain and confusion, bringing a tight-lipped teenager to life. In fact, Martin’s character is so well drawn that when he realizes the truth about his friend Frankie, readers won’t feel as if they are watching an after-school special, but as though they are observing the natural progression of Martin’s personal growth. This short novel appears to be aimed at urban teens who don’t often see their neighborhoods portrayed in young-adult fiction, but its sophisticated characters and affecting story will likely have much wider appeal.

A YA novel that treats its subject and its readers with respect while delivering an engaging story.

Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2004

ISBN: 978-1591940173

Page Count: 152

Publisher: Townsend Press

Review Posted Online: Jan. 26, 2013

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