Insurgents among the remaining Kerenza IV colonists must sabotage and delay BeiTech to stay alive long enough for survivors from Illuminae (2015) and Gemina (2016) to return and give them a fighting chance.
Rhys Lindstrom, a handsome blond techie space Marine-type, and Asha Grant, a pharmacy intern and Kady Grant’s light brown-skinned cousin, are on opposite sides—spelling trouble for this star-crossed couple. Rhys works for occupying BeiTech, while Asha’s in the resistance. Rhys has been working on the Magellan’s (nearly complete) repairs but is reassigned to the surface to maintain the crumbling colony’s infrastructure as BeiTech finishes replenishing their hermium supply so they can leave the system. Some of the (fatal) technical difficulties are the result of sabotage by colonist resisters who know that when BeiTech no longer needs them that they’re likely to be liquidated just as the “nonessential” colonists were. With Rhys horrified by the planetary situation and seeking to reconnect with his ex Asha, the resistance turns to him for a Hail Mary plan. Meanwhile, the consolidated Hypatia and Heimdall crews face tight resources, tense leadership struggles (including pushback from adults not wanting to take orders from teens), and impossible choices as they race to the colony for a long-shot rescue mission. Design as tightly controlled as the plot clarifies complicated situations and provides visceral emotional gut punches.
An adrenaline-pumping action story with timely themes and lasting resonance thanks to the focus on the characters’ humanity. (Science fiction. 13-adult)Pub Date: March 13, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-553-49919-3
Page Count: 624
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: March 20, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2018
Did you like this book?
Engrossing, contemplative, and as heart-wrenching as the title promises.
36
GET IT
What would you do with one day left to live?
In an alternate present, a company named Death-Cast calls Deckers—people who will die within the coming day—to inform them of their impending deaths, though not how they will happen. The End Day call comes for two teenagers living in New York City: Puerto Rican Mateo and bisexual Cuban-American foster kid Rufus. Rufus needs company after a violent act puts cops on his tail and lands his friends in jail; Mateo wants someone to push him past his comfort zone after a lifetime of playing it safe. The two meet through Last Friend, an app that connects lonely Deckers (one of many ways in which Death-Cast influences social media). Mateo and Rufus set out to seize the day together in their final hours, during which their deepening friendship blossoms into something more. Present-tense chapters, short and time-stamped, primarily feature the protagonists’ distinctive first-person narrations. Fleeting third-person chapters give windows into the lives of other characters they encounter, underscoring how even a tiny action can change the course of someone else’s life. It’s another standout from Silvera (History Is All You Left Me, 2017, etc.), who here grapples gracefully with heavy questions about death and the meaning of a life well-lived.
Engrossing, contemplative, and as heart-wrenching as the title promises. (Speculative fiction. 13-adult).Pub Date: Sept. 5, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-06-245779-0
Page Count: 384
Publisher: HarperTeen
Review Posted Online: June 5, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2017
Categories: TEENS & YOUNG ADULT FICTION | TEENS & YOUNG ADULT SOCIAL THEMES
Did you like this book?
BOOK TO SCREEN
This grittily provocative debut explores the horrors of self-harm and the healing power of artistic expression.
17
GET IT
After surviving a suicide attempt, a fragile teen isn't sure she can endure without cutting herself.
Seventeen-year-old Charlie Davis, a white girl living on the margins, thinks she has little reason to live: her father drowned himself; her bereft and abusive mother kicked her out; her best friend, Ellis, is nearly brain dead after cutting too deeply; and she's gone through unspeakable experiences living on the street. After spending time in treatment with other young women like her—who cut, burn, poke, and otherwise hurt themselves—Charlie is released and takes a bus from the Twin Cities to Tucson to be closer to Mikey, a boy she "like-likes" but who had pined for Ellis instead. But things don't go as planned in the Arizona desert, because sweet Mikey just wants to be friends. Feeling rejected, Charlie, an artist, is drawn into a destructive new relationship with her sexy older co-worker, a "semifamous" local musician who's obviously a junkie alcoholic. Through intense, diarylike chapters chronicling Charlie's journey, the author captures the brutal and heartbreaking way "girls who write their pain on their bodies" scar and mar themselves, either succumbing or surviving. Like most issue books, this is not an easy read, but it's poignant and transcendent as Charlie breaks more and more before piecing herself back together.
This grittily provocative debut explores the horrors of self-harm and the healing power of artistic expression. (author’s note) (Fiction. 14 & up)Pub Date: Aug. 30, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-101-93471-5
Page Count: 416
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: May 4, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2016
Categories: TEENS & YOUNG ADULT FICTION | TEENS & YOUNG ADULT SOCIAL THEMES
Did you like this book?
© Copyright 2022 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
