Readers will be anxious for the second installment, soon to follow.
The debut of an action-adventure series that ties in with the popular “Assassin’s Creed” video games.
Monroe, the information technology guy at Owen’s high school, runs an unusual operation: his Animus console allows users to enter simulations to explore genetic memories. For the 15-year-old white boy, this means he might be able to uncover the truth about his father. He doesn’t believe what his grandparents say about his father: that he had a gambling addiction, robbed a store, shot a guard. Owen feels his father was framed by friends, and that landed him in prison. That thread of the story proves to be a dead end, left to future installments, but in a simulation that sends Owen and others to New York City during the 1863 draft riots, Owen and companions finds themselves caught in the middle of an ancient rivalry between two factions, the Templar Order and the Assassins Brotherhood. Amid the fast-paced action and historical drama, they uncover an ancient relic, a Piece of Eden, with tremendous power. The fascinating, free-wheeling blend of science, history, and action-adventure will make this a sure hit, even for those who haven’t played the video games. The consciously diverse cast includes, in addition to Owen, a Latino, an African-American brother and sister, a Central Asian girl, and a white boy in a wheelchair.
Readers will be anxious for the second installment, soon to follow. (Science fiction. 11-16)Pub Date: Aug. 30, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-545-85551-8
Page Count: 320
Publisher: Scholastic
Review Posted Online: May 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016
Packed with plot and studded with cliffhangers, Coben’s third Mickey Bolitar thriller grabs readers in the opening chapter...
Young Mickey Bolitar searches for his missing father, confronts the online infatuation of his best friend and tries to find the truth surrounding a basketball drug scandal.
The story picks up shortly after the end of teen Mickey’s previous caper (Seconds Away, 2012), with his pal Spoon in the hospital, his mother in drug rehab and his dad dubiously reported dead. The mystery surrounding this last remains murky after the senior Bolitar’s exhumed coffin is revealed to contain only ashes. New, dangerous problems pop up almost immediately to challenge Mickey. His goth friend Ema asks for his help in finding her missing boyfriend; Mickey didn’t even know that she had a boyfriend, and he’s half right. Ema and Jared have only interacted online and never met. Transfer student Mickey struggles to fit in with the varsity basketball team and is blamed when star player Troy is suspended for drug use. And the elderly doomsayer known as the Bat Lady magically reappears to put Mickey back on the path to finding his father. Mickey also works hard to repair his relationship with near-girlfriend Rachel, though it helps not at all that she has recently broken up with Troy. Veteran Coben juggles all these balls with expertise, keeping events moving with lots of dialogue.
Packed with plot and studded with cliffhangers, Coben’s third Mickey Bolitar thriller grabs readers in the opening chapter and never lets go. (Mystery. 11-16)Pub Date: Sept. 11, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-399-25652-3
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2014
A purple page turner.
This sequel to Clockwork Angel (2010) pits gorgeous, attractively broken teens against a menacing evil.
There's betrayal, mayhem and clockwork monstrosities, and the Shadowhunters have only two weeks to discover—oh, who are we kidding? The plot is only surprisingly tasty icing on this cupcake of a melodramatic love triangle. Our heroes are Tessa, who may or may not be a warlock, and the beautiful Shadowhunter warrior boys who are moths to her forbidden flame. It's not always clear why Tessa prefers Will to his beloved (and only) friend Jem, the dying, silver-eyed, biracial sweetheart with the face of an angel. Jem, after all, is gentle and kind, her dearest confidante; Will is unpleasant to everyone around him. But poor, wretched Will—who "would have been pretty if he had not been so tall and so muscular"—has a deep, dark, thoroughly emo secret. His trauma puts all previous romantic difficulties to shame, from the Capulet/Montague feud all the way to Edward Cullen's desire to chomp on Bella Swan. Somehow there's room for an interesting steampunk mystery amid all this angst. The supporting characters (unusually well-developed for a love-triangle romance) include multiple compelling young women who show strength in myriad ways. So what if there are anachronisms, character inconsistencies and weird tonal slips? There's too much overwrought fun to care.
A purple page turner. (Fantasy. 13-16)Pub Date: Dec. 6, 2011
ISBN: 978-1-4169-7588-5
Page Count: 528
Publisher: McElderry
Review Posted Online: Oct. 11, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2011
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