Synopsis:
Bruiser literally feels everything for those he cares about, making it dangerous for him to fall in love–but, of course, he does.
Review:
I’m pretty bullish on Neal Shusterman but Bruiser didn’t do it for me. I didn’t like the multiple POVs, especially because Bruiser’s were written in free verse poetry.
Synopsis:
Allie the Outcast, the Chocolate Ogre, the McGill, and Mary Queen of Snots meet up with Jackin’ Jill and Zach the Ripper and discover that there’s a lot more to Everlost than just limbo after death.
Review:
In Everwild, Neal Shusterman deepens the mythology he created in Everlost, adding new characters and concepts with tremendous panache.
Allie the Outcast has discovered the power to leap into the bodies of the still living, and when she joins forces with a small group of fellow skinjackers, she hones her powers and makes new discoveries about the rules of Everlost. Meanwhile, Nick, now the Chocolate Ogre, is building an army to take on Mary Hightower, the Queen of Snots, whose stranglehold over the children of Everlost is preventing them from reaching their just reward. Suffice it to say that Shusterman always sends the plot in an unexpected direction, keeping me turning pages to the very end. I’m in desperate anticipation of Everfound, the trilogy’s finale, coming out later this year, and plan to seek out the rest of Shusterman’s books.
Synopsis:
Two teens find themselves in a limbo world between life and death.
Review:
I first read about Everlost on It’s All About Books and was totally intrigued by Suey’s rave review.
Nick and Allie were victims of a fatal car accident, but instead of making it to the bright white light they were bumped into Everlost. They learn quickly that they have to keep moving or else they will sink through the ground all the way to the center of the earth. There are certain spots where they can walk, and some objects and buildings that have also passed through. And only kids live in Everlost–adults never get lost on the way. Mary Hightower seems to run the show, and everyone fears the McGill.
I really liked how Shusterman subverted expectations and gave us characters who don’t fit the neat little molds you so often find in genre YA. Allie in particular is a different kind of heroine and I was particularly taken by how Shusterman develops her character. I’ve got high hopes for the rest of the series.
Synopsis:
Edgar must leave Atherton, the only home he’s ever known, to finish his creator Dr. Harding’s work on the poisoned Dark Planet.
Review:
The Dark Planet, a stirring conclusion to the Atherton trilogy of science fiction adventures for middle grade readers, finds Edgar heading off his home planet towards the Dark Planet, where children like him are worked as slaves tilling a despoiled earth. It’s his own journey into Mordor–except the plot of the Atherton trilogy owes more to “Lost” than Tolkien.
The world of Atherton was created by a mad scientist, and is populated by wondrous creatures and machines powered by fire and light. Dr. Max Harding, the creator of Atherton, was but a boy when he dreamed up the refuge from the increasingly toxic Dark Planet, and wrought as many mistakes as he did miracles. Nevertheless, he’s left a map of sorts for Edgar, hoping that his only son will find his way to finishing Dr. Harding’s grand master plan.
Treasure map stories can be frustrating, when predestination overpowers causality. Patrick Carman strikes a marvelous balance, with a story that depends as much on Edgar & Co.’s ingenuity as it does on Dr. Harding’s plan.
I had a great time with this whole trilogy and think they will stand the test of time as classics. While the books are not as weighty as Lois Lowry’s The Giver or as edgy as Neal Shusterman’s Unwind, they have just enough complexity to intrigue younger YA readers. The books raise good questions about ecological resonsibility, and the nature of heroism. I also think that they would inspire budding writers and artists, because Carman’s imagination is so potent and compelling. And I think that they’d make fantastic movies, so here’s hoping!
Synopsis:
A boy marked for termination and organ harvesting escapes into a world where he has no legal right to live.
Review:
I heard about Unwind from the Queens Library, in an email newsletter talking up good new young adult books. I’m so glad that I did, because it’s a dystopian thrill ride in the same vein as Scott Westerfeld’s Uglies trilogy, only with the same intellectual depth and emotional heart that you find in Lois Lowry’s The Giver.
Here’s the deal with unwinding. Anyone under the age of 18 can be unwound by their legal guardian. It’s like a retroactive abortion, only every last piece of the unwind is harvested for reuse by another person. Organs, limbs, brain cells, even eyelashes–they all get doled out to the needy. Connor’s parents send him for unwinding because they have too many kids, but he’s lucky–and smart–enough to get away. He ends up on the run with Risa, a ward of the state whose unwinding comes when the home runs out of beds, and Lev, a “tithe” whose parents are unwinding him as a sacrifice to God.
I was so impressed with the way that Neal Shusterman engaged with big issues in Unwind. He didn’t shy away from tackling the abortion and bioethics debates head on in all their complexity. He didn’t dumb anything down, and he didn’t moralize or proselytize. The result is a book that offers a lot of food for thought in what also happens to be a page-turning thriller.
