A gripping post-apocalyptic survival story featuring a multinational cast and just the right amount of introspection.
It’s 2072, and a group of teens has one chance at surviving the end of the world: a prototype spaceship.
Eighteen-year-old Leigh Chen, daughter of the president of the United States, knows a volcano will soon erupt, leading to the destruction of Earth’s atmosphere. She also knows the Global Fleet Planning Commission has a plan: to rebuild on a new planet, 5.4 light-years away. While Leigh and other children of GFPC members are touring a launch site in California, the eruption unexpectedly begins. Approximately 50 teenagers from around the world find themselves on a journey that will last many lifetimes, relying on an unfinished ship and a minimal supply of food. On their side is Eli, White American daughter of the spaceship’s intended pilot. Eli forms a small leadership council to run the ship that includes Chinese American Leigh along with members from Kenya, Russia, Bolivia, and Egypt. As fault lines in the group quickly become apparent, Leigh busies herself with smoothing over conflicts among the survivors. But as they begin to repeat the mistakes of their parents, she must confront a question from her almost-friend, Anis Ibrahim: What does she really stand for? Part survival story and part exploration of the tenuous ties of cooperation, this memorable page-turner is a successful foray into science fiction for Redgate.
A gripping post-apocalyptic survival story featuring a multinational cast and just the right amount of introspection. (Science fiction. 14-18)Pub Date: April 5, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-368-06472-9
Page Count: 400
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Review Posted Online: Jan. 10, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2022
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A thoughtful and thrilling story of life, death, and meaning.
Two teens train to be society-sanctioned killers in an otherwise immortal world.
On post-mortal Earth, humans live long (if not particularly passionate) lives without fear of disease, aging, or accidents. Operating independently of the governing AI (called the Thunderhead since it evolved from the cloud), scythes rely on 10 commandments, quotas, and their own moral codes to glean the population. After challenging Hon. Scythe Faraday, 16-year-olds Rowan Damisch and Citra Terranova reluctantly become his apprentices. Subjected to killcraft training, exposed to numerous executions, and discouraged from becoming allies or lovers, the two find themselves engaged in a fatal competition but equally determined to fight corruption and cruelty. The vivid and often violent action unfolds slowly, anchored in complex worldbuilding and propelled by political machinations and existential musings. Scythes’ journal entries accompany Rowan’s and Citra’s dual and dueling narratives, revealing both personal struggles and societal problems. The futuristic post–2042 MidMerican world is both dystopia and utopia, free of fear, unexpected death, and blatant racism—multiracial main characters discuss their diverse ethnic percentages rather than purity—but also lacking creativity, emotion, and purpose. Elegant and elegiac, brooding but imbued with gallows humor, Shusterman’s dark tale thrusts realistic, likable teens into a surreal situation and raises deep philosophic questions.
A thoughtful and thrilling story of life, death, and meaning. (Science fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: Nov. 29, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4424-7242-6
Page Count: 448
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: July 25, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2016
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