Somewhat bland social commentary bookended by SF twists.
In Dikkers’ YA novel, a boy from 1950s America travels through time to the year 2020.
Twelve-year-old Patrick Stoodle lives in Cordial Falls, Nevada, in the year 1957. He’s an introverted boy who, when he’s not worrying about the H-bomb, fuels his imagination with SF comic books and radio programs. Meanwhile, he and his scientist father have an emotionally distant relationship. On Patrick’s birthday, however, his dad gives him the ultimate present—a journey through time to the year 2020. The boy is excited at first, but the experience doesn’t go as planned. America in the future has survived the threat of nuclear war, but there are people fighting in the streets, and a deadly virus is killing thousands. Worse, it turns out that Patrick’s whole life has been a lie: Cordial Falls, it turns out, was created by Patrick’s billionaire father to ease his son’s formative years. As Patrick tries to come to terms with life in 2020, a being claiming to be Jesus Christ appears on Earth, throwing the world into further disarray. Dikkers, a founding editor of The Onion and the creator of the comic strip “Jim’s Journal,” has an easygoing prose style and a good grasp of dialogue. Patrick and the other characters ring true, and the tempo of the story effectively ramps up over the course of its three major movements. However, it’s hard to pin down this work’s target audience. The 1950s time-capsule section seems more likely to appeal to nostalgic grandparents than to a young readership. The next section allows for a child’s view of modern society, but it features adult commentary as much as it does Patrick’s newly awoken impressions. The dénouement manifests as an invasion narrative that promotes rationalism over unthinking religious belief. As intriguing as the novel’s ideas are, they’re more edifying than enjoyable. Indeed, given the book’s title and Dikkers’ resume, readers may be surprised by the dearth of humor here. The only discernible joke is of the joke’s-on-you variety, as the narrative tackles the dark folly of humanity.
Somewhat bland social commentary bookended by SF twists.Pub Date: Oct. 9, 2020
ISBN: 979-8-69-574147-6
Page Count: 282
Publisher: Self
Review Posted Online: Dec. 8, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
This gripping page-turner will keep readers guessing until the final twist.
Seventeen-year-old Hunter Gifford has no memories of the car accident he was in the night of the homecoming dance with Chloe Summers, his now-missing girlfriend.
In the small southern Kentucky city of Bentley, comments on social media condemn Hunter as responsible for Chloe’s disappearance. When he attends the community vigil for her, Chloe’s mother publicly accuses Hunter of obstructing the investigation. Hunter’s own mom died when he was 15 and his sister, Olivia, was 12. Their dad has awkwardly attempted to pull his weight as a solo parent, and Hunter has stepped in and nurtured Livvy. Small but mighty Livvy is an ardent defender of her brother and is fiercely in love with her girlfriend, Gabriela. To make things worse, childhood friend Daniel informs Hunter that he’s making a true-crime documentary about Chloe. Hunter is upset, especially since it makes him look like a prime suspect, and a subsequent dramatic event draws more attention to the video. Hunter and Chloe met in creative writing club, and he knew she kept a journal—but it’s missing. Enter the sleuthing team of Hunter, Livvy, and Gabriela, who hatch a plan to find it. The dynamics between Hunter and Livvy and Livvy and Gabriela are endearing and will charm readers, who will root for them to solve the well-executed mystery. Main characters default to White; Gabriela is Mexican American.
This gripping page-turner will keep readers guessing until the final twist. (Thriller. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 1, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-72825-420-3
Page Count: 360
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Review Posted Online: Aug. 30, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2022
Guaranteed to fly off the shelves.
Cliques writ large take over in the first of a projected dystopian trilogy.
The remnant population of post-apocalyptic Chicago intended to cure civilization’s failures by structuring society into five “factions,” each dedicated to inculcating a specific virtue. When Tris, secretly a forbidden “Divergent,” has to choose her official faction in her 16th year, she rejects her selfless Abnegation upbringing for the Dauntless, admiring their reckless bravery. But the vicious initiation process reveals that her new tribe has fallen from its original ideals, and that same rot seems to be spreading… Aside from the preposterous premise, this gritty, paranoid world is built with careful details and intriguing scope. The plot clips along at an addictive pace, with steady jolts of brutal violence and swoony romance. Despite the constant assurance that Tris is courageous, clever and kind, her own first-person narration displays a blank personality. No matter; all the “good” characters adore her and the “bad” are spiteful and jealous. Fans snared by the ratcheting suspense will be unable to resist speculating on their own factional allegiance; a few may go on to ponder the questions of loyalty and identity beneath the façade of thrilling adventure.
Guaranteed to fly off the shelves. (Science fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: May 3, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-06-202402-2
Page Count: 496
Publisher: Katherine Tegen/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: April 5, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2011
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