Publishers Weekly
05/25/2015
In the far-off future, humankind has so ravaged the planet that plants and other life forms are nearly extinct. While a corrupt government exercises control over its remaining citizens, a strange boy named Rose turns up in 16-year-old Deedra’s home territory and inspires a quiet uprising that has her questioning everything, from the machines she builds at her factory job to the news provided via “wikinet” feed. The dystopian setting bears disturbing similarities to the modern world, serving as a cautionary tale about our own lasting impact on the planet. While the authors paint a frighteningly believable landscape, the characters remain opaque. Deedra, forced to be independent since her orphanage shut down when she was 12, becomes suddenly and inextricably dependent on Rose soon after meeting him. Their magnetic attraction also comes at a cost to Deedra’s heretofore best friend, Lissa, who—despite her own harrowing subplot—is all but forgotten. Loose ends and unanswered questions leave room for future books. Ages 15–up. Agent: Kathleen Anderson, Anderson Literary Management, and Steve Fisher, APA Talent and Literary Agency. (Aug.)
From the Publisher
"A fast-paced, nail-biting, action-packed must-read with a compelling commentary on the consequences of overpopulation." —Emily Griffin, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Something Borrowed and The One & Only
"Stunning...like a future-shock movie playing in your head." —Lee Child, author of the Jack Reacher series
"A powerful tale of the essence of truth and the strength of free will set in an Orwellian world brimming with imagination." —CJ Lyons, New York Times bestselling author of Watched
"Not just another dystopia: strong characters and adept world-building make this work stand out." —School Library Journal
"Rose's true genetic nature is unexpectedly novel, and that—combined with striking imagery, thrilling action, and adolescent true love—makes this a sure bet. Best-selling Barry Lyga gets his mitts on dystopian romance? Better get two."
—Booklist
School Library Journal
05/01/2015
Gr 9 Up—Facinelli, aka Dr. Carisle Cullen from the "Twilight" movies, and producer DeFranco team up with YA author Lyga to create a powerful postapocalyptic novel. This particular version of the future is so far post the apocalypse that no one can remember how exactly they got there, though theories abound, most of them involving a "red rain" that may or may not have killed half of the world's population. The main character, Deedra, was raised in an orphanage and now leads a plodding, government-controlled existence working in a factory and scavenging on her days off. It is on one of these trips that she meets the oddly named Rose, a boy her age who seems to have come from nowhere and is completely different from anyone she's ever met. When Rose's true nature is revealed—not a vampire or robot but something far stranger and more interesting—Deedra realizes that he may be the key to saving their dying world. She just needs to save him first. The story moves along without feeling rushed, and with the exception of the scenery-chewing magistrate, characters are fully formed and subtly drawn. VERDICT Not just another dystopia: strong characters and adept world-building make this work stand out from the crowd.—Eliza Langhans, Hatfield Public Library, MA
Kirkus Reviews
2015-05-12
Lyga (Blood of My Blood, 2014, etc.) is joined by actor Facinelli and film producer DeFranco for this post-apocalyptic novel. In the distant, environmentally devastated future, orphan Deedra's a factory worker and sometime scavenger. During a scrounging trip, she encounters the most beautiful boy she's ever seen; incredibly, Rose lacks the scars and callouses that mark everybody else. After their brief, mysterious encounter, she can't get him off of her mind. Lucky for her, he feels the same, reappearing just in time to rescue her from a highly placed would-be rapist, magistrate's son and factory overseer Jaron. As Deedra learns about Rose's mysterious abilities, she eventually discovers his true nature—it's an implausible abuse of science, but at least it's original. When Jaron is mysteriously and brutally murdered, suspicion turns to outsider Rose, and even Deedra has doubts about his innocence. Jaron's murder sends his father—an all-powerful, cartoonishly evil dictator—on a witch hunt against Rose and toward war. Interesting themes—the elimination of history as social control and philosophy of utilitarianism vs. individual rights—are clumsily overstated and lack subtlety. The worldbuilding, even in the context of the cultural blank slate, is too weak to sustain the story. The prose alternates between choppy and frustratingly repetitive. The ending promises a sequel. Give these cardboard characters and their ludicrous plot a miss. (Post-apocalyptic romance. 14 & up)
