Monster

August 1, 2017

Gr 9 Up-The next entry of the popular science fiction/fantasy series focuses on Shade Darby, the daughter of scientists. She lost her mother and appears disconnected from her father. Acting with friends, she intends to alter the course of events beginning with intercepting an alien rock. Other characters from the previous books, including Dekka, are also present. Readers are left with little to decipher regarding character development. Grant plainly describes a character's thoughts and personality; much is said before it is shown. While attempts are made to portray diversity in terms of race and sexual orientation, the characters remain flat. Violence is followed by more violence without the benefit of it being artfully described. Fans of this very popular series will no doubt clamor for this most recent addition, and libraries will want to satisfy their desire to see the series' continuation. VERDICT Purchase where the series is popular.-Maureen Sullivan, Calumet City Public Library, IL

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

August 15, 2017
The Gone series continues.It has been four years since the invisible dome created by an alien virus stunned the world and left hundreds of children to fend for themselves inside. Now, meteors are striking the Earth with even deadlier effects: mutating human beings into monsters. Some of these new mutants use their powers for selfish reasons, while others team up to use them for good. Meanwhile, shady government agencies are doing their best to contain the fallout. New characters and old favorites abound in this follow-up, which feels heavily influenced by comic books and the author's pseudonymous work on the Animorphs series. Grant's action sequences have improved, crisply composed here with exciting powers and a grounded sense of destruction. There are casualties, and the author doesn't skip over the collateral damage these characters create. The psychological toll helps shade the author's broad characterizations. The most complex and interesting characters are the ones brought over from the earlier books, but the new faces engage easily enough. The cast is fairly diverse, covering a wide variety of skin colors, sexual orientations, and gender identities. The setup for the sequel is blessedly minimal, growing naturally out of the story. Longtime fans will surely be excited by the novel's final moments. A bombastic, engaging start to a sequel series full of potential. (Science fiction. 14-17)

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August 1, 2017
Grades 9-12 Grant returns to the FAYZ, the gruesome site of his best-selling Gone series, in a heart-stopping follow-up. Four years ago, Shade Darby witnessed the alien dome that trapped the children of Perdido Beach inside with a virus finally fall away. Now her father is tracking seven meteors that are speeding toward Earth, carrying the same alien virus that rewrote the laws of physics . . . and turned random teen sociopaths into superpowered killers, and she intends to find one before it falls into the wrong hands. Grant's modern take on the Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde narrative ratchets up the gore and action, and features a diverse cast of characters who are forced to confront the monstrous aspects of their identities as their bodies morph into deadly, powerful creatures. Fans of Paolo Bacigalupi (Ship Breaker, 2010) will appreciate this evocative, intricately plotted companion series that delves into similar issues of bioethics and gray areas of morality.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)