by Tony Rothman ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 7, 2013
Intelligent in its technical details, but also refined and delightfully complex in its storytelling.
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In this scientific thriller (Everything’s Relative: And Other Fables from Science and Technology, 2003, etc.) a laboratory in Texas working to harness fusion energy must deal with sabotage from a rival lab—or possibly someone closer to home.
When a Controlled Fusion Research Center (CFRC) demonstration publicly fails at sustaining fusion for energy, physicist Nathaniel Machuzak is appointed acting director, partially because during the test the current director was electrocuted. Nathaniel and his colleague Slava suspect sabotage from their European competitor, International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER)—both labs are in a race to convert fusion into usable energy. Rothman’s novel is filled with scientific discussions on everything from the equipment used to the different types of fusion, like cold or laser, complete with corresponding jargon. But Rothman turns all of it, even a convoluted conspiracy, into a diverting, worthwhile story. The terminology is adequately explained without pretension, largely thanks to T.J. D’Abro, a female cop Nathaniel hires to work security and investigate the sabotage. She acts as both a potential romantic interest for the physicist and a repository for lay terms; for instance, she equates a pool break shot with particle accelerators. Often, the story alternates between past and present tense, sometimes in the same scene, which can be disorienting. The result is something that can read like an online game in play: “At this point Nathaniel feels blocked and remains silent”—fitting, since the cybertaunting mole might be hiding inside avatars within a roleplaying game called “The Real World.” Nathaniel falls prey to bouts of paranoia—he only seems to trust Slava and T.J.—but he seems right, since the shiftiest characters tend to be indisputably villainous: Cyrus, the previous director, who had been monitoring CFRC employees’ Internet usage; Balard, the ITER director, with obvious animosity toward all things CFRC; Senator Whitman, who openly challenges the financial strategy at Fusion Center; and Moravec, the GlobeTex chief executive officer and CFRC’s principal investor, whose limited, virtual appearances in “The Real World”—both as a male and female—suggest androgyny and omniscience. When the pervasive threat of sabotage insinuates itself into the ranks, even Nathaniel and Slava are not immune to allegations.
Intelligent in its technical details, but also refined and delightfully complex in its storytelling.Pub Date: Feb. 7, 2013
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 411
Publisher: AuthorHouse
Review Posted Online: June 7, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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by Tony Rothman
by Marti Dumas illustrated by Stephanie Parcus ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 11, 2017
In more ways than one, a tale about young creatures testing their wings; a moving, entertaining winner.
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A fifth-grade New Orleans girl discovers a mysterious chrysalis containing an unexpected creature in this middle-grade novel.
Jacquelyn Marie Johnson, called Jackie, is a 10-year-old African-American girl, the second oldest and the only girl of six siblings. She’s responsible, smart, and enjoys being in charge; she likes “paper dolls and long division and imagining things she had never seen.” Normally, Jackie has no trouble obeying her strict but loving parents. But when her potted snapdragon acquires a peculiar egg or maybe a chrysalis (she dubs it a chrysalegg), Jackie’s strong desire to protect it runs up against her mother’s rule against plants in the house. Jackie doesn’t exactly mean to lie, but she tells her mother she needs to keep the snapdragon in her room for a science project and gets permission. Jackie draws the chrysalegg daily, waiting for something to happen as it gets larger. When the amazing creature inside breaks free, Jackie is more determined than ever to protect it, but this leads her further into secrets and lies. The results when her parents find out are painful, and resolving the problem will take courage, honesty, and trust. Dumas (Jaden Toussaint, the Greatest: Episode 5, 2017, etc.) presents a very likable character in Jackie. At 10, she’s young enough to enjoy playing with paper dolls but has a maturity that even older kids can lack. She’s resourceful, as when she wants to measure a red spot on the chrysalegg; lacking calipers, she fashions one from her hairpin. Jackie’s inward struggle about what to obey—her dearest wishes or the parents she loves—is one many readers will understand. The book complicates this question by making Jackie’s parents, especially her mother, strict (as one might expect to keep order in a large family) but undeniably loving and protective as well—it’s not just a question of outwitting clueless adults. Jackie’s feelings about the creature (tender and responsible but also more than a little obsessive) are similarly shaded rather than black-and-white. The ending suggests that an intriguing sequel is to come.
In more ways than one, a tale about young creatures testing their wings; a moving, entertaining winner.Pub Date: Nov. 11, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943169-32-0
Page Count: 212
Publisher: Plum Street Press
Review Posted Online: Feb. 22, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 2018
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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by Marti Dumas
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by Marti Dumas
by Paul Langan Ben Alirez ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 1, 2004
A YA novel that treats its subject and its readers with respect while delivering an engaging story.
In the ninth book in the Bluford young-adult series, a young Latino man walks away from violence—but at great personal cost.
In a large Southern California city, 16-year-old Martin Luna hangs out on the fringes of gang life. He’s disaffected, fatherless and increasingly drawn into the orbit of the older, rougher Frankie. When a stray bullet kills Martin’s adored 8-year-old brother, Huero, Martin seems to be heading into a life of crime. But Martin’s mother, determined not to lose another son, moves him to another neighborhood—the fictional town of Bluford, where he attends the racially diverse Bluford High. At his new school, the still-grieving Martin quickly makes enemies and gets into trouble. But he also makes friends with a kind English teacher and catches the eye of Vicky, a smart, pretty and outgoing Bluford student. Martin’s first-person narration supplies much of the book’s power. His dialogue is plain, but realistic and believable, and the authors wisely avoid the temptation to lard his speech with dated and potentially embarrassing slang. The author draws a vivid and affecting picture of Martin’s pain and confusion, bringing a tight-lipped teenager to life. In fact, Martin’s character is so well drawn that when he realizes the truth about his friend Frankie, readers won’t feel as if they are watching an after-school special, but as though they are observing the natural progression of Martin’s personal growth. This short novel appears to be aimed at urban teens who don’t often see their neighborhoods portrayed in young-adult fiction, but its sophisticated characters and affecting story will likely have much wider appeal.
A YA novel that treats its subject and its readers with respect while delivering an engaging story.Pub Date: Jan. 1, 2004
ISBN: 978-1591940173
Page Count: 152
Publisher: Townsend Press
Review Posted Online: Jan. 26, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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