An exuberant start to a promising new YA series about a totalitarian America.
Lawson (Resist, 2012, etc.) mixes true-to-life fears with intimate character portrayals in this conspiracy thriller, her first work of YA fiction.
In the not-too-distant future, tensions across the globe escalate, and America transforms into a totalitarian state to protect its citizens. Many basic freedoms and creature comforts, from large public gatherings to grocery shopping, remain distant memories, as the Office of Civilian Safety and Defense assures citizens that these measures will keep them secure. But “Compliance is a small price to pay for your safety” isn’t good enough for Careen Catecher and Tommy Bailey, 18-year-olds whose dark histories give them a unique perspective on threats and control. When the OCSD announces an antidote to a dangerous new terrorist weapon, the public accepts the drug without question. But Careen and Tommy, among others, experience vivid hallucinations and profound disorientation, and it becomes harder and harder to think about why they’re taking the medication. When it becomes clear that the threat is a fabrication and the so-called antidote is nothing but a tool to pacify and control the populace, the two decide they must leave everything behind to escape and find the Resistance. At one point, a Resistance member explains the movement’s philosophy: “Free thinkers, like those of us in the Resistance, want to decide for ourselves what’s good for us. We’d like our private affairs to remain private. We’d like the chance to take a risk.” While the psychedelic quality of some of the early chapters makes it difficult to initially connect with the characters, they quickly grow and morph into striking individuals. Beyond Tommy’s ongoing struggle with injury and Careen’s deep-seated anger, the novel introduces a host of secondary characters with their own senses of purpose and drive, rendering a mad world human. As with many dystopian settings, parts of the conspiracy strain the limits of believability, but the concept here is deeper and more complex than one might expect at first glance. The author delivers intriguing details about this fractured world, from the nuances of how the government divided the country into quadrants to the fact that the antidote contains a large quantity of LSD—a clever reference to America’s real-life experimentation with the drug in Project MKUltra. There’s much here to discover.
An exuberant start to a promising new YA series about a totalitarian America.Pub Date: Aug. 25, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-9966108-0-3
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Lawson Publishing
Review Posted Online: Feb. 11, 2016
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A tightly written, fast-paced prose supernova.
Budding starship captain Ryan Thompson helps battle an alien invasion in Miller’s (The Kronos Interference, 2012) inventive sci-fi tale.
In 2012, fighter jets scrambled to intercept a UFO above Nevada’s Nellis Air Force Base. The rectangular object flew erratically, displaying no hostile behavior, and the jets followed as it crashed. Now, 150 years later, 2162 sees the United Earth Defense Fleet patrolling space, with outposts on Mars and Pluto. Cadet Ryan Thompson is a brash youth whose willingness to break the erules is matched only by his desire to win the Golden Cadet Award. Unfortunately, his brilliant ex-girlfriend Amanda just might win instead. They can’t stand each other since their romance ended the day Ryan’s mother died—a tragedy for which he blames himself. They must attempt to reconcile, however, when Earth’s fleet leaps to action against alien ships approaching from beyond Pluto. The menacing Altarrans, led by Supreme Commander Granthaxe, want something impossible—their wrecked envoys that crashed to Earth 150 years ago, perhaps with survivors. While the fleet dwindles in battle, Ryan, Amanda and their fellow cadets try to save lives with creative defense tactics. Quick thinking reveals that the strange amulet necklace Amanda wears—a family heirloom from her great-great-grandfather—may be more than it appears. With clever ideas and agile prose, Miller builds a world reminiscent of Star Trek: Ryan is a rebellious young Capt. Kirk who knows that “sometimes going by the book [isn’t] the best course to take.” Amid the pop-culture references to Star Wars and comic books, Miller’s believable, motivated characters shine, as Ryan’s brashness conflicts with Amanda’s search for peaceful solutions. In tight spots, they innovate: For instance, they create a solar-flare weapon by “overloading [a ship’s] light-speed generator and shutting it down milliseconds before detonation.” There’s also a secret connection between the Altarrans and Earth that honors the concept of a peaceful, inclusive universe. Nevertheless, right before someone survives a dose of radiation (à la Spider-Man), Ryan thinks they’re “going to need a damn super hero or something.”
A tightly written, fast-paced prose supernova.Pub Date: June 13, 2013
ISBN: 978-0615805580
Page Count: 338
Publisher: Pop Culture Zoo Press
Review Posted Online: Sept. 17, 2013
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Teenage readers might be swept up in the passion between Therese and Than, though the story is unlikely to inflame any sort...
In this teen fantasy novel and love story, an orphaned girl finds herself at the center of a war brewing among the gods of Olympus.
When a book opens with a bang like this, readers might expect great things. Fifteen-year-old Therese is riding in a car with her parents when a gunman opens fire, hitting her mother and causing her father to careen off the road into a pond. Before Therese can free herself from the submerged car, she watches helplessly as both her parents die. Pohler’s (The Mystery Box, 2012, etc.) description of their deaths is gruesomely clear and heartbreaking. While Therese is still in a coma following the accident, she travels through the dream world and meets two alluring young men, Hypnos, or Hip, and Thanatos, or Than, twin sons of Hades. Hip is a cad—he says things like “Are we going to make out now, or what?”—while Than is quiet and sensitive. Than, whose job is to eternally guide the souls of the dead to the entrance of the underworld, is immediately drawn to Therese. After this fast and eventful introduction, things slow down—way, way down. Than makes a deal with his father: 40 days among humans to try to make Therese his bride, with some stiff and arbitrary conditions attached; these are Greek gods, after all. As Than and Therese flirt with one another, the story plods along with unnecessary subplots and minor characters, as well as turgid descriptions of everyday actions. Things pick up again about two-thirds of the way through: The entire pantheon of Greek gods picks sides, and, in an arena battle sure to thrill Hunger Games fans, Therese shows her mettle. The outcome neatly tees things up for the three books (at least) in the series still to come. But Pohler’s straightforward storytelling might not appeal to many teenagers, and the book’s central metaphor, a dying tree, feels like an afterthought.
Teenage readers might be swept up in the passion between Therese and Than, though the story is unlikely to inflame any sort of literary fervor.Pub Date: Aug. 16, 2012
ISBN: 978-0615685960
Page Count: 384
Publisher: Green Press
Review Posted Online: Jan. 6, 2014
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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