An addictive, original debut that will leave readers clamoring for more.
Formerly a luxury cruise ship, the Arcadia became a refuge for those fleeing Europe after a deadly virus was unleashed during biological warfare in this duology opener.
It’s 2094, and the refugees have been stranded shipboard in the Atlantic for 40 years—the isolationist Federated States, which seceded from the United States, will not admit them. Sixteen-year-old Esther and her boyfriend, Alex, are part of an elite group studying to be medics who will have the opportunity to work on land. Esther lives in her grandparents’ former honeymoon cabin with her parents and sister, May. Secretly in cahoots with Nikhil, her love interest, May and other renegades strive to liberate the passengers in a large-scale rebellion against Hadley, the ship’s authoritarian commander. Classism and systemic oppression persist, although race does not seem to be a factor, with comfortable upper-level cabins juxtaposed against poverty-ridden passengers known as Neaths who live beneath the waterline, are ruled by gangs, and never see the light of day. Over time the ship has become decrepit and food, scarce. Possession of outside information is cause for arrest. This fast-paced, action-packed, near-future thriller explores social and political issues that feel relevant today. The characters are well fleshed out through chapters that shift between various points of view. Esther’s arc, in particular, embodies an eye-opening journey. A morally gray cloud surrounds many characters, supporting plot twists. Main characters default to White; Nikhil and his family are British Punjabis.
An addictive, original debut that will leave readers clamoring for more. (Dystopian. 13-18)Pub Date: Jan. 3, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-72825-812-6
Page Count: 464
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2022
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
A descriptive and atmospheric paranormal social thriller that could be a bit tighter.
After a Nigerian British girl goes off to an exclusive boarding school that seems to prey on less-privileged students, she discovers there might be some truth behind an urban legend.
Ife Adebola joins the Urban Achievers scholarship program at pricey, high-pressure Nithercott School, arriving shortly after a student called Leon mysteriously disappeared. Gossip says he’s a victim of the glowing-eyed Changing Man who targets the lonely, leaving them changed. Ife doesn’t believe in the myth, but amid the stresses of Nithercott’s competitive, privileged, majority-white environment, where she is constantly reminded of her state school background, she does miss her friends and family. When Malika, a fellow Black scholarship student, disappears and then returns, acting strangely devoid of personality, Ife worries the Changing Man is real—and that she’s next. Ife joins forces with classmate Bijal and Benny, Leon’s younger brother, to uncover the truth about who the Changing Man is and what he wants. Culminating in a detailed, gory, and extended climactic battle, this verbose thriller tempts readers with a nefarious mystery involving racial and class-based violence but never quite lives up to its potential and peters out thematically by its explosive finale. However, this debut offers highly visually evocative and eerie descriptions of characters and events and will appeal to fans of creature horror, social commentary, and dark academia.
A descriptive and atmospheric paranormal social thriller that could be a bit tighter. (Thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 26, 2023
ISBN: 9781250868138
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: June 8, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
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