This Shattered World

October 15, 2014
It's not exactly a meet-cute. Despite a cease-fire, the planet of Avon is only a hair's breadth from tipping into open war, so it's not surprising that two characters from opposing sides have an unfriendly first encounter when they meet in a bar. It's unsettling that when Flynn, a white teen from a community of rebels living in hidden caves, uses a gun and gasoline fumes to kidnap Lee, a brown-skinned, partly Chinese military officer with a combat specialty, readers are expected to accept Flynn's physical dominance. Readers unperturbed by this early dynamic-later, Lee becomes more kickass, and her competence equalizes with Flynn's-will find a fast-paced adventure, though enjoyment requires accepting that a forceful kidnapping is a fine start to an oh-but-they're-enemies romance. Alternating first-person narration, Flynn and Lee overcome wariness to work together, coping with barbarous mind manipulation, horrific violence and mysteries-like why Avon's terraforming never progresses to become an ecosystem and how an unidentified compound of buildings repeatedly vanishes into midair. The bad guy and his methods-mind control of humans via torture of aliens from another realm-carry forward from series opener These Broken Stars (2013), and its protagonists have cameos here. The cringe-worthy romantic setup chafes, but on the plus side, this soft science fiction offers intense, nongratuitous bloodshed, corporate conspiracy and intriguing explorations of culpability. (Science fiction. 13 & up)

COPYRIGHT(2014) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

November 1, 2014

Gr 7 Up-Kaufman and Spooner focus on new characters and a new world in this splendid return to the universe that they created in These Broken Stars (Hyperion, 2013). Captain Jubilee Chase is the longest serving soldier on the partially terraformed planet of Avon, the only person who has proved immune to "The Fury," the mindless rage that strikes off-worlders who come to serve on Avon. Flynn Cormac is a member of the native Fianna rebels, who hopes that by kidnapping Chase, he can discover more about a mysterious facility hidden in the swamp to the east of the military's main outpost. Neither wants a return to the open warfare between the military and the Fianna that ended a decade earlier with the execution of the Fianna's former leader, Flynn's sister. The two develop a mutual respect that grows to something more-even as their alliance comes to be seen as a betrayal by both sides. Midway through the book, Tarver Merendsen and Lilac LaRoux make appearances, tying the many unexplained events in this title to those in the first volume of the "Starbound" trilogy. Kaufman and Spooner prove that their first brilliant installment was no fluke with this strong second outing. They provide complex characters and a situation with no simple solution. There is action, a spark of romance, and a mystery, all set on a fully realized planet. This should have broad appeal among teen and adult science-fiction readers.-Eric Norton, McMillan Memorial Library, Wisconsin Rapids, WI

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 1, 2014
Grades 8-12 The format's the same, the worlds are familiar, the authors identical, but the main characters are different in this second book in the Starbound trilogy. Instead of star-crossed lovers Lilac and Tarver, Lee and Flynna soldier and a rebelare destined to be enemies on the cloud-shrouded, unfinished Avon. Flynn is convinced that somethingperhaps the wisps or the whispersis sabotaging his planet's progress. Lee is the captain sent to tamp down rebellion, keeping order regardless of the cost. Neither side is right, neither is wrong, but this sci-fi Romeo and Juliet are destined to fall in love in spite of the hatred and danger that surround them. Kaufman and Spooner have transitioned smoothly from These Broken Stars (2013) to this book, while reintroducing Lilac and Tarver at the perfect moment to meld the story lines. The authors' world building, their ability to combine unique and familiar themes, their talent for sustaining dual voices in the midst of romance and tension create a companion series that promises another world, another adventure, and, if we're lucky, another set of lovers, this time on Corinth.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)