An exciting adventure with important messages about caring for our world.
Curious Jay and spirited Birch, young people in what was once Ontario, were eager to explore the ruined world they’d only heard about.
Fifty years ago, in 2123, humanity was nearly extinct; only pockets of civilization remained. Twenty-year-old Jay, a member of the guild of the Knowledge Seekers, was about to begin his first journey into the wider world. In this believable dystopian world, Knowledge Seekers were tasked with collecting and preserving knowledge from the Old World. They sought to learn from their ancestors’ mistakes and ensure humanity’s peaceful future. However, Jay’s first mission was derailed by a chance encounter with rebellious Elder Elm. Meanwhile, 19-year-old Birch, seeking her own adventure, left her fathers behind to set out after Jay, to whom she is “promised.” Although extreme weather and wild animals plagued their journeys, they each soon learned that humans were a far more dangerous threat. The Six, leaders of an “old-fashioned city-state,” wanted to use environmentally destructive technology that could return Earth to the brink of collapse. The easy-to-follow narrative switches between Birch’s and Jay’s perspectives in the year 2173 with their storylines half a century earlier. The engaging premise is full of poignant reminders that the greatest challenge humanity faces is itself; the climate change warnings are unsubtle but don’t detract from the steady pacing. Race in this world is an “antiquated” concept; Birch is racially ambiguous, and Jay has Nordic and Asian Indian ancestry.
An exciting adventure with important messages about caring for our world. (Dystopian. 16-adult)Pub Date: May 24, 2025
ISBN: 9781988989921
Page Count: 230
Publisher: Latitude 46
Review Posted Online: March 8, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2025
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
Some quality worldbuilding, but the story only inches along.
Juliette, the girl with the deadly touch, struggles to fit in with the resistance movement that saved her at the end of Shatter Me(2011).
In training to participate in an inevitable war against the Reestablishment, Juliette Ferrars should feel at home at Omega Point. In addition to no longer being a prisoner, she is surrounded by other people with supernatural gifts. Compassionate Castle tries to help her master her abilities, and Kenji tries to help her fit in, but the devastating nature of Juliette’s power hampers her efforts. Additionally, Adam is acting strangely—in large part because of his work with Castle to determine why he is able to touch Juliette safely—which causes difficulties in their relationship. Soon some of her new comrades are abducted while on patrol by soldiers led by Warner’s father, who demands a meeting with Juliette. The resistance is able to come away from the meeting with a hostage, Warner, who resumes his part in the established love triangle. Too much of the plot relies on Juliette’s withholding of important information and revelations, even against her own judgment. The bloated relationship drama takes priority over the captive resistance members in the buildup to the climax, which finally brings action before setting up the next novel.
Some quality worldbuilding, but the story only inches along. (Science fiction. 13 & up)Pub Date: Feb. 5, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-06-208553-5
Page Count: 480
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Dec. 11, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2013
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