Strange Skies

March 15, 2015
After a hasty exodus from a sun-ravaged Earth, a girl finds herself on a beautiful, lush planet only to discover she's still fighting the same old fight. Jumping in where Burn Out (2014) left off, the novel finds gun-toting, smart-mouthed Tora Reynolds in a hospital bed, weak and dependent on medication. She is liberated from the hospital by her old gang, the Resistance, and reunited with James, whom she is still trying to forgive for shooting her back on Earth. Tora learns she's been transported to Caelia, a verdant planet brimming with cool, potable water. However, the seeming peace of her surroundings is quickly shattered when she learns that her father's legacy-a cache of dangerous weapons-has also made it to Caelia, and both the oppressive Consulate and defectors from the Resistance are out to find her and the arsenal. Tora has lost most of the edge she had in the previous book; the once-sassy fighter has dissolved into a starry-eyed cream puff who thinks more about boys than finding the people who murdered her family. In contrast to the scorched, burning Earth, bland Caelia doesn't demand the same heart-pounding attention from readers. While the action is continuous, nothing much seems to happen until the last quarter of the novel, making for a frustrating experience. A tepid, disappointing sequel. (Science fiction. 13-18)

May 15, 2015
Grades 7-10 Tora Reynolds wakes from a drug-induced haze to find herself in the custody of the Consulate on Caelia, the new Earth. The sequel to 2014's Burn Out proceeds at breakneck speed as Tora is reunited not only with the Resistance and James but her father, who she presumed was dead. The frenetic action is matched by Tora's hectic thoughts as she grapples with her strange new planet and her feelings for James while they attempt to recover her dad's weapons from a power-mad Kale, who ordered her murder. Ever-increasing stakes and a solid cliff-hanger ending will have thriller fans hanging on every word.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)