A stellar futuristic tale with an exemplary heroine.
A teenager hopes to prove her merit at a prominent space-station school by finding a solution to a plague devastating her home planet, Earth, in this YA sci-fi debut.
Emi Hayden Swift dreams of attending the Intergalactic Institute of Science and Technology. But as IGIST seemingly rejects the 14-year-old’s application, she may have to settle for another school. Tragedy unfortunately follows: She loses her father, Max, to the plague, an infectious black cloud with fractal tentacles that keeps most earthlings hidden in their homes. Now an orphan, she only has Sadee, her flying, orb-shaped droid, and her new pal, Jacqueline “Jack” Lemore, the daughter of Emi’s favorite teacher on Earth. Jack is a space transporter by trade and a misfit by choice—one of a group of humans who genetically modify their bodies with animal attributes. At a recruiting station, Emi takes a general test that scores her a scholarship to a Star League school, which includes IGIST. But first she must undergo a probationary period on the moon, where the IGIST space station is orbiting. Not only does Emi, the first earthling student in two decades, endure Martian bullies, but it’s also clear Martian students have the advantage, with years of prep work and tutoring specifically for IGIST tests. She’s convinced that, in order to prove herself, she’ll need to enter the Agon, a science competition, with a plan and means to thwart the plague on Earth. But when validating her project requires a live sample of the plague, Emi’s proposal could become downright dangerous. Emi’s determination is her most admirable trait. She’s an appealing heroine who never allows others to discourage her, even as some suggest the new student wait a year for an Agon submission. Similarly, in one scene, she is certain she will fail a test she’s currently taking but refuses to give up. But like all great protagonists, Emi is believably flawed. She, for example, stubbornly insists on working alone despite offers of help, and it’s a long while before she acknowledges the benefits of teamwork. Supporting characters are likewise dynamic: Emi earns her share of allies, but not everyone stays on her side, while apparent antagonists are occasionally surprising. Jack is a standout and headlines her own subplot, in which she stirs up trouble with the Terrans, a terrorist group that targets whatever it deems anti-earthling. But the best player is Sadee, an apt example of the story’s dense characterization and rich technology. Sadee is impressive as tech, communicating via written messages, utilizing a device that provides a brain-to-brain link with Emi. But she’s also the novel’s most endearing character; as Emi equates emotion with color, Sadee glows with a bright variety, signifying whatever feeling she surmises a human would have. During the frenzied final act, for example—which entails a couple of superb plot twists—Sadee, in response to a panicked crowd of people, glows yellow. Larson’s taut descriptions and brief chapters generate a speedy pace, complemented by debut illustrator Jung’s stark black-and-white images that practically burst with detail.
A stellar futuristic tale with an exemplary heroine.Pub Date: Dec. 10, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-79067-067-3
Page Count: 295
Publisher: Time Tunnel Media
Review Posted Online: Jan. 8, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2019
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A first novel, this is also a first person account of Scout's (Jean Louise) recall of the years that led to the ending of a mystery, the breaking of her brother Jem's elbow, the death of her father's enemy — and the close of childhood years. A widower, Atticus raises his children with legal dispassion and paternal intelligence, and is ably abetted by Calpurnia, the colored cook, while the Alabama town of Maycomb, in the 1930's, remains aloof to their divergence from its tribal patterns. Scout and Jem, with their summer-time companion, Dill, find their paths free from interference — but not from dangers; their curiosity about the imprisoned Boo, whose miserable past is incorporated in their play, results in a tentative friendliness; their fears of Atticus' lack of distinction is dissipated when he shoots a mad dog; his defense of a Negro accused of raping a white girl, Mayella Ewell, is followed with avid interest and turns the rabble whites against him. Scout is the means of averting an attack on Atticus but when he loses the case it is Boo who saves Jem and Scout by killing Mayella's father when he attempts to murder them. The shadows of a beginning for black-white understanding, the persistent fight that Scout carries on against school, Jem's emergence into adulthood, Calpurnia's quiet power, and all the incidents touching on the children's "growing outward" have an attractive starchiness that keeps this southern picture pert and provocative. There is much advance interest in this book; it has been selected by the Literary Guild and Reader's Digest; it should win many friends.
Pub Date: July 11, 1960
ISBN: 0060935464
Page Count: 323
Publisher: Lippincott
Review Posted Online: Oct. 7, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1960
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
Soft-focus story moves right along with few surprises. This time around, Hannah avoids the soap-opera complications of her...
Another middle-aged mom in a muddle.
After years of false starts and big hopes, Elizabeth’s ruggedly handsome husband Jack, a former football star, just landed a spot as a sportscaster on national news. He still loves her, even though much younger women are giving him come-hither looks. Heck, he doesn’t want to betray the love of his life after she helped him kick drugs and stuck by him even when he was a struggling has-been. And won’t it seem hypocritical if he fools around with his sexy assistant while he does in-depth reporting on a rape case involving a famous basketball center? Well, he fools around anyway. Elizabeth, nicknamed Birdie, knows nothing of this, but she withdraws from Jack when her hard-drinking, salt-of-the-earth father has a stroke and dies. Now no one will call her “sugar beet” ever again. Time to return home to Tennessee and contend with Anita, the sort-of-evil stepmother so trashy she wears pink puffy slippers all day long. Naturally, it turns out that Anita actually has a heart of gold and knows a few things about Birdie’s dead mother that were hushed up for years. Mom was an artist, just like Birdie, and an old scandal comes to light as Anita unrolls a vibrant canvas that portrays her secret lover. Perhaps, Birdie muses, her mother died of heartbreak, never having followed her true love or developed her talent. Has she, too, compromised everything she holds dear? Hoping to find out, Birdie joins a support group that promises to reconnect confused women with their passion. She and Jack separate, prompting a how-dare-you fit from their grown daughters. Will Birdie fly her empty nest? Will she go back to college for a degree in art? Will her brooding watercolors ever sell?
Soft-focus story moves right along with few surprises. This time around, Hannah avoids the soap-opera complications of her previous tales (Summer Island, 2001, etc.).Pub Date: July 1, 2002
ISBN: 0-345-45071-X
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2002
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