Review of The Loop by Ben Oliver

Oliver, Ben.  The Loop.  Chicken House, 2020.

The Third World War, also known as “Futile War”, ended with the dropping of twenty-nine nuclear bombs and the deaths of nine-hundred million civilians.  Even more people died afterwards when the temperature of the Earth dropped.  A coalition of rebels from both sides of every country ended the war, but  it was billionaires who caused it in order to stay rich and in power.  This resulted in only one governing system called The World Government and the birth of Happy, their computer operating system, which controls life all over the globe.  Citizens are divided by caste, with the Elite being the highest. 

 

Sixteen-year-old Luka “Luke” Kane is living in The Loop, a death row prison for teens, for a crime he did not commit.  Life in The Loop is no picnic; inmates are in solitary confinement and get only one hour of exercise per day.  Their energy is harvested nightly in order to power the prison, and they receive chemical-laced showers immediately afterward.  Prisoners can extend their lives every six months by agreeing to Delays, scientific experiments which benefit the Elite of society.  The only pleasure Luke receives is reading books brought to him by the Warden of the prison.

 

After a cataclysmic event, Luke and some of his friends are able to escape from The Loop.  However, they discover that the outside world is even more dangerous than inside the prison.  Citizens have become vicious and are maiming and killing each other.  The former prisoners must defend themselves, run for their lives, and avoid being captured.

 

This debut novel, the first in a planned series, by Ben Oliver is a terrifying journey into a dystopian society created out of a planned, devastating war.  The world that the author has created, both inside and outside of the prison, is both eye-opening and terrifying.  The prisoners are treated brutally, and the caste system is set up to be mandatory and discriminatory.  The book is packed with gripping action and surprises.

 

Billed as a “mashup of The Matrix and The Maze Runner”, this class-warfare novel is a political and social commentary on what might happen to our world if these events were to become reality.  There is an ethnically diverse group of characters which are well-developed and fleshed-out.  The futuristic world-building is well-thought out and presented.

 

The Loop is the first in a planned trilogy by this Scottish author.  Hand it to fans who enjoy dystopian and science fiction novels.  I recommend it for upper middle school, high school, and public libraries and give it four out of five stars!

 

Thank you to Edelweiss and Chicken House for allowing me to read and review this book.

Review of The Chosen Ones by Veronica Roth

                                                                                    

Roth, Veronica.  The Chosen Ones.  HMH, 2020.

 

Fifteen years ago, Sloan Andrews and four other teens helped to defeat “The Dark One”, a diabolical villain intent on destroying the world.  Since then, they have been hailed as heroes and become celebrities.  Sloan, living in Chicago, has PTSD and resents being dogged by the press, while Matthew Weeks, the group’s leader and Sloan’s boyfriend, attends many charitable events.  Ines and Albie also live in Chicago, and Albie is struggling with substance abuse.  Esther lives in California, taking care of her sick mother, and is a social influencer.  All of them have had a hard time adjusting to a “normal” life.

 

On the tenth anniversary of The Dark One’s death, the five heroes attend the dedication of the Ten Years Monument and the Ten Years Peace Gala.  Shortly afterward, one of the five commits suicide, and during his funeral, three of others are thrown into an alternate, parallel version of Chicago.  It turns out that The Dark One is not actually dead; he has just been waiting.   The three, now twenty-somethings, must learn new, magical powers to defeat him, once again.

 

Veronica Roth, well-known for her young adult novels, has taken the dive into adult fiction, with this first installment in a new series. The book is divided into three parts and is written in third person.  Part One, which deals with the backstory, is extremely slow, and I struggled through it.  However, when I got to Part Two, things began to pick up speed.

 

The author shows off her incredible world-building expertise, blending old and new architecture together to create a different but distinctive version of Chicago.  There are lots of action scenes, unusual magic, and a twist at the end of the novel that I didn’t anticipate.  The characters are highly developed and multi-layered.

 

Comprehensive interviews, government documents, literary works, and transcripts are included in the book to help the reader understand the backstory.  To prepare for writing the novel, the author read many government documents on the CIA website, as well as on The Black Vault, which is the largest privately-run archive of declassified documents in the world.  She also read many celebrity profiles in order to define Sloan’s character.

 

High school librarians might consider purchasing this book as an adult crossover novel.  Hand it to fans of Veronica Roth and those who enjoy action and adventure stories.  I recommend it for high school and public libraries and give it four out of five stars!

 

Thank you to Edelweiss and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt for allowing me to read and review this book!

Shusterman, Neal.  Thunderhead.  S&S, 2018.

Thunderhead follows up Neal Shusterman’s popular futuristic novel, Scythe, which deals with a death-free earth and a unique way to control the human population.

In this second book in the Arc of a Scythe series, Rowan has become a phantom vigilante, Scythe Lucifer, tracking down corrupted scythes in MidMerica and killing them.  Citra, now Scythe Anastasia, is taking her job very seriously, gleaning victims with humane compassion.  She has become quite popular among the junior scythes and is living with her mentor, Scythe Curie.   They are concerned about the attitude that many of the newer scythes have developed—gleaning with glee and wild abandonment, instead of doing their jobs with seriousness and dignity.  Through a newly introduced character, Greyson Tolliver, it is revealed that the lives of Scythes Anastasia and Curie are in mortal danger due to their “old world” views. 

The powerful A.I. Thunderhead is observing everything that is happening on earth, with increasing disappointment, but does nothing to directly interfere with the Scythes.  However, it has its hand in every other aspect of human life across the globe.  In an effort to help earth, and ultimately, the Scythedom, Citra takes her life into her own hands, hoping that she can connect with the only thing that can save the world.

OMG.  This. Book.  I thought that Scythe was exceptional, but the Thunderhead is even better!  How can that even be possible!?

Neal Shusterman has made expanded the Thunderhead into a “living breathing character” by putting its dialogue into diary-like entries, allowing the reader to know how it feels and sees the world.  The characters from Scythe have been fuller developed, and the additional ones add even more depth to the sequel.  The world building of Endura, the Scythe government seat of power, and of The Great Library of Alexandria is outstanding.  Add in the fascinating plot and the surprising twists, and you have what I think is the Novel of the Year, even if it is a sequel.

So…five things.

1.     Brilliant, flowing writing

2.     Likable and vile characters—both remarkably refined

3.     Amazing world building

4.     Shocking plot twists

5.     A cliffhanger ending  (Insert, “Noooooo!” here!)

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I highly, highly recommend Thunderhead to upper middle school, high school, and public libraries and give it five fleur de lis.  I’d give it ten if I could!

Review of The Cage by Megan Shepherd

Shepherd, Megan.  The Cage.  Balzer + Bray, 2015.  978-0-06-224305-8; 385p

Cora wakes up in the desert with no recollection of how she got there.  Her clothes and jewelry are gone, and she is wearing someone else’s dress.  The last thing she remembers is riding in the car with her brother, Charlie, to see their family in Virginia.  Dazed and confused, she begins trudging through the sand.

When she gets to a high point in the desert, she sees a farm, a winter tundra, an ocean bay, mountains, and a cityscape in the distance.  How can these environments exist right next to one another?   Cora meets four other kidnapped teens in a strange town with a mixture of cultures mingled together.  All throughout the habitats, there are black one-way windows—someone or something is watching her and the others.

A Caretaker, who supposedly watches over the teens, appears and tells them that they have been taken from Earth and placed in a type of zoo, provided with all the “comforts” of home.  They are told that there are only three rules they must follow.  First, in order to maintain their physical and mental strength, they must solve the enrichment puzzles scattered throughout the habitats.  Solved puzzles result in token rewards, which can be used to purchase items in the town.  The second rule is to maintain their health by eating the food provided for them, getting the proper amount of sleep each night, and cooperating in their mandatory health assessments.  Finally, the teens must engage in procreative activities by the time twenty-one days have passed.  To determine mates, the Caretaker has paired teens with one another via a constellation tattoo behind each one’s right ear.  If they do not comply with the rules, they will be removed or exterminated.

Cora and the others are shocked at their situation, especially by the rule three.  As they begin to trust one another, Cora desperately searches for a way to escape and get home.  However, trust soon turns to suspicion, jealousy, and a matter of life or death, as the Caretaker and the other Kindred who kidnapped them manipulate their lives.  Cora grows closer and closer to the Caretaker, but can she really trust him to help and protect them like he has promised?

What a terrific “Space Opera” Megan Shepherd has created with her new novel, the first in a new series of the same name!  The world building is superb—opposing habitats along side one another, archaic shops, a planet that is actually not a planet, but some asteroids.  The teens—a beautiful model, a nerd genius, a strong hulk, and the boy-next-door, seem like stereotypes, but, in reality, they are multi-dimensional characters, with much more personality than is what is originally revealed to the reader.  The layers are peeled away as the book progresses, producing unusual back-stories for each of the characters.  They all have secrets to hide and unusual quirks.  The forbidden love triangle that develops is shocking and intriguing.  Readers will be frustrated at the cliffhanger ending, but it is a series, after all, and the plot has to be set up for the next book.

The Cage will be released on May 26, 2015 and its sequel, as yet unnamed, in 2016.   Both science fiction and non-science fiction fans, alike, will enjoy The Cage.  I recommend it for middle school, high school, and public libraries and give it four out of five fleur de lis!

*Reviewer’s note:  The copy reviewed was an uncorrected proof received from the publisher at the 2015 TX Library Association Conference.

                               

Review of The Fire Sermon by Francesca Haig

Haig, Francesca.  The Fire Sermon.  Gallery Books, 2015.

In the distant future, the world has been ravaged by an atomic blast and radiation, supposedly caused by technology.  Twins, one boy and one girl, are now always born to couples.  One twin, the Alpha, is perfect, while the other twin, the Omega, is flawed in some way.  Either a limb is missing, or the baby is blind or deaf, or the Omega is a Seer and has no obvious physical deformities.

Alphas and Omegas are split as soon as possible, with Omegas being branded, banished, and persecuted.  Alphas are the Golden Children, born into privilege and opportunity.  But there is a fatal element to the twin relationship; the twins are linked.  No matter how far apart the siblings live, when one twin dies, so does the other.

Zach and Cass aren’t split until they are thirteen years old.  Cass does her best to hide the fact that she is a Seer, but Zach waits patiently until he can expose her, and she is ultimately branded and exiled.  Years later, Zach has become a leader on the Alpha Council and has Cass kidnapped.  She is imprisoned in The Keeping Rooms, where she is interrogated by The Confessor, an Omega Seer working for the Alpha Council.

After several years, Cass manages to escape and frees another prisoner from a situation worse than hers.  With Council soldiers chasing them, She and “Kip” flee, searching for a supposedly mythical island—a haven where Omegas can live safe and free.  But both Alphas and Omegas need Cass, not just because she is a Seer, but because she sees things differently and hopes for a world where Alphas and Omegas can coexist.

This is the debut novel and the first installment in a new series by Francesca Haig.  The prose the author uses is beautifully written, testifying to her poetry background.  Haig’s world building is amazing and unique, with vivid descriptions of the island, the Omega settlements, and the ocean.  Her characters are strong and well developed.  My favorite character is Kip, who has been through so much, but still manages to remain positive and strong for Cass.

The twin concept in The Fire Sermon offers a fresh and interesting twist in the currently popular dystopian genre.  The action scenes in the book will keep the reader turning the pages!  The movie rights for novel have been optioned by Dreamworks, and the sequel will come out in January, 2016, first in the UK and then in the US.  Haig is already working on the third volume. 

The Fire Sermon will be enjoyed by The Hunger Games and Divergent fans.  I highly recommend it for middle school, high school, and public libraries and give it four out of five fleur de lis!

 *Reviewer’s note:  The copy reviewed was an e-ARC received from Net Galley.

Review of Alienated by Melissa Landers

Landers, Melissa.  Alienated.  Disney Hyperion, 2014. 

High school senior Cara Sweeney has gotten every honor attainable—Young Leader Award, state debate champ for two years, president of the National Honor Society, and class valedictorian.   All she needs now is a good scholarship for college.

Imagine her surprise when Cara’s family is chosen to host an interplanetary exchange student from Planet L’eihr.  As payment for hosting, Cara will receive full tuition to any college she chooses.  Not only that, she will be able to post about her experiences with the alien on her blog.

When Aelyx, the L’eihr exchange student, arrives, Cara discovers that even though he is he handsome, he is rather cold and aloof.  He likes the drab colors of winter, doesn’t care for earth food, and is dreading his time with his host family.  As Cara and Aelyx grow closer, HALO—Humans Against L’eihr Occupation, begin staging protests, hoping to upset the alliance between Earth and L’eihr.  HALO’s demonstrations become increasingly violent and eventually result in another exchange student’s death.

Fearing for their lives, Aelyx and Cara flee earth.  Cara discovers that Aelyx and the other exchange students have tried to sabotage the Earth alliance by poisoning crops with a L’eihr parasitic tree.  Feeling that Aelyx has betrayed both her and Planet Earth, Cara must decide if she will accept his apology and continue with their relationship.

The plotline and world building of Planet L’eihr and its inhabitants are ingenious.  The novel is extremely character-driven, and the two main characters—Cara and Aelyx—are strong and likable.  There are some intense romance scenes between the two that will leave readers breathless.  Aelyx is very literal in his comments to others, which adds humor to the novel.  Alienated is the first book in the new series by the same name and will be released this Tuesday, Feb. 4.

Invaded, the second book in the series will debut in 2015.  I highly recommend Alienated for high school and public libraries.   I give it five out of five fleur de lis!