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NIL UNLOCKED

A fast, tense gift for readers wanting to return to Nil.

Following Nil (2014), Rives falls for a new girl who holds the key to salvation from the alternate-dimension island.

Skye arrives on Nil fully informed of the rules: Traveling portals called gates, some inbound and others outbound, appear every day at noon; teens thus deposited on Nil have one year to catch an outbound gate, and if they don’t, they die. She knows this because her uncle escaped Nil and wrote a journal that has prompted her father’s obsessive search for the island—and his training of Skye. They search for it among the Pacific Islands, where Skye secretly follows a local boy toward islands Skye and her father have been explicitly warned away from, naturally finding a gate. Meanwhile, Nil City leader Rives struggles to keep his people alive. The romance—new girl brings hope and hunky boy leads—is outwardly similar to Nil, but it’s better integrated with the story, which is also more smoothly paced than its predecessor. They discover that the islanders use Nil in coming-of-age rituals. Even though the xenophobic islanders keep Nil’s stationary outbound portals a cultural secret from kids stolen from other parts of the globe (many of whom die), Skye’s sensitively apologetic for even asking. While Skye might be too close to perfect for some readers, she’s a good match for Rives, and they work together to a conclusion that leaves readers with the barest of loose ends.

A fast, tense gift for readers wanting to return to Nil. (Science fiction. 12 & up)

Pub Date: May 12, 2015

ISBN: 978-1-62779-293-6

Page Count: 432

Publisher: Henry Holt

Review Posted Online: Feb. 2, 2015

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2015

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IF HE HAD BEEN WITH ME

There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head.

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  • New York Times Bestseller

The finely drawn characters capture readers’ attention in this debut.

Autumn and Phineas, nicknamed Finny, were born a week apart; their mothers are still best friends. Growing up, Autumn and Finny were like peas in a pod despite their differences: Autumn is “quirky and odd,” while Finny is “sweet and shy and everyone like[s] him.” But in eighth grade, Autumn and Finny stop being friends due to an unexpected kiss. They drift apart and find new friends, but their friendship keeps asserting itself at parties, shared holiday gatherings and random encounters. In the summer after graduation, Autumn and Finny reconnect and are finally ready to be more than friends. But on August 8, everything changes, and Autumn has to rely on all her strength to move on. Autumn’s coming-of-age is sensitively chronicled, with a wide range of experiences and events shaping her character. Even secondary characters are well-rounded, with their own histories and motivations.

There’s not much plot here, but readers will relish the opportunity to climb inside Autumn’s head.   (Fiction. 14 & up)

Pub Date: April 1, 2013

ISBN: 978-1-4022-7782-5

Page Count: 336

Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire

Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2013

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2013

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POWERLESS

From the Powerless Trilogy series , Vol. 1

A lackluster and sometimes disturbing mishmash of overused tropes.

The Plague has left a population divided between Elites and Ordinaries—those who have powers and those who don’t; now, an Ordinary teen fights for her life.

Paedyn Gray witnessed the king kill her father five years ago, and she’s been thieving and sleeping rough ever since, all while faking Psychic abilities. When she inadvertently saves the life of Prince Kai, she becomes embroiled in the Purging Trials, a competition to commemorate the sickness that killed most of the kingdom’s Ordinaries. Kai’s duties as the future Enforcer include eradicating any remaining Ordinaries, and these Trials are his chance to prove that he’s internalized his brutal training. But Kai can’t help but find Pae’s blue eyes, silver hair, and unabashed attitude enchanting. She likewise struggles to resist his stormy gray eyes, dark hair, and rakish behavior, even as they’re pitted against each other in the Trials and by the king himself. Scenes and concepts that are strongly reminiscent of the Hunger Games fall flat: They aren’t bolstered by the original’s heart or worldbuilding logic that would have justified a few extreme story elements. Illogical leaps and inconsistent characterizations abound, with lighthearted romantic interludes juxtaposed against genocide, child abuse, and sadism. These elements, which are not sufficiently addressed, combined with the use of ableist language, cannot be erased by any amount of romantic banter. Main characters are cued white; the supporting cast has some brown-skinned characters.

A lackluster and sometimes disturbing mishmash of overused tropes. (map) (Fantasy. 14-18)

Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2023

ISBN: 9798987380406

Page Count: 538

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Review Posted Online: Sept. 9, 2023

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2023

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