An engaging adventure in the world of YA dystopian cyberpunk, even if the program code is familiar.
A girl born without authorization in a computer-regulated, high-tech dictatorship of the future struggles to persevere in Cross’ YA SF novel.
In the future, a Brave New World – –like technocratic metropolis called Unity has evolved amidst the ashes of human civilization that surrounds it. Unity is micromanaged by an omnipotent AI called Auto that regulates social order and (especially) procreation and the development of new citizens. Chiara was disadvantaged from birth: Her parents met and fell in love willingly—the second disobedient generation of her lineage to do so—and consequently the girl suffers the “Anomaly” stigma. Scorned by her teachers, robot guardians, and other minions of Auto, Chiara finds herself on her own after her mother, Elara, and father, Martin, perish in a mysterious industrial explosion (she loses her grandfather in even murkier circumstances). As an honors student, inventor, and hacker, Chiara wants to prove the naysayers wrong and ascend to Unity’s most elite ranks. But first she must undergo a risky surgical procedure to strengthen her online link to the “DataStream”; a major transgression or failure to serve Unity usefully can mean banishment outside the city to languish among the dreaded “Streamless,” “discarded people and robots living outside Unity’s walls” who are routinely harvested and killed to provide Auto’s subjects with fresh organs. The novel is split rather neatly in half, the opening set in the sterile perfection of the city, the latter section in the anarchic, dirty, and toxic environs outside. In both arenas, the hero must determine who is friend and who is foe. Chiara is also faced with a wildly contrasting choice of potential boyfriends. As the action ramps up in the lively finale and the stakes escalate to determine the very fate of humanity itself, invested readers should enjoy the ride, though some of the ingredients might have a strong whiff of cyber–déjà vu.
An engaging adventure in the world of YA dystopian cyberpunk, even if the program code is familiar.Pub Date: May 10, 2023
ISBN: 9781957656151
Page Count: 318
Publisher: Monarch Educational Services, L.L.C.
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2023
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
Black is building a complex mythology; now is a great time to tune in.
Black is back with another dark tale of Faerie, this one set in Faerie and launching a new trilogy.
Jude—broken, rebuilt, fueled by anger and a sense of powerlessness—has never recovered from watching her adoptive Faerie father murder her parents. Human Jude (whose brown hair curls and whose skin color is never described) both hates and loves Madoc, whose murderous nature is true to his Faerie self and who in his way loves her. Brought up among the Gentry, Jude has never felt at ease, but after a decade, Faerie has become her home despite the constant peril. Black’s latest looks at nature and nurture and spins a tale of court intrigue, bloodshed, and a truly messed-up relationship that might be the saving of Jude and the titular prince, who, like Jude, has been shaped by the cruelties of others. Fierce and observant Jude is utterly unaware of the currents that swirl around her. She fights, plots, even murders enemies, but she must also navigate her relationship with her complex family (human, Faerie, and mixed). This is a heady blend of Faerie lore, high fantasy, and high school drama, dripping with description that brings the dangerous but tempting world of Faerie to life.
Black is building a complex mythology; now is a great time to tune in. (Fantasy. 14-adult)Pub Date: Jan. 2, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-316-31027-7
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Sept. 25, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2017
Immersive and engaging, despite some flaws, and destined to capture imaginations.
Magic, mystery, and love intertwine and invite in this newest take on the “enchanted circus” trope.
Sisters raised by their abusive father, a governor of a colonial backwater in a world vaguely reminiscent of the late 18th century, Scarlett and Donatella each long for something more. Scarlett, olive-skinned, dark of hair and attitude, longs for Caraval, the fabled, magical circus helmed by the possibly evil Master Legend Santos, while blonde, sunny Tella finds comfort in drink and the embraces of various men. A slightly awkward start, with inconsistencies of attitude and setting, rapidly smooths out when they, along with handsome “golden-brown” sailor Julian, flee to Caraval on the eve of Scarlett’s arranged marriage. Tella disappears, and Scarlett must navigate a nighttime world of magic to find her. Caraval delights the senses: beautiful and scary, described in luscious prose, this is a show readers will wish they could enter. Dresses can be purchased for secrets or days of life; clocks can become doors; bridges move: this is an inventive and original circus, laced with an edge of horror. A double love story, one sensual romance and the other sisterly loyalty, anchors the plot, but the real star here is Caraval and its secrets.
Immersive and engaging, despite some flaws, and destined to capture imaginations. (Fantasy. 14 & up)Pub Date: Jan. 31, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-250-09525-1
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Flatiron Books
Review Posted Online: Sept. 18, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2016
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