The Cage

June 22, 2015
Shepherd (The Madmanâs Daughter) gives a hoary premiseâalien abductionânew life in this twisty tale. Sixteen-year-old Cora Mason, daughter of a powerful Senator, has just gotten out of juvenile detention following a fatal car accident when she is kidnapped by psychic extraterrestrials and dumped in an Earthlike habitat with four other teens. Expected to mate within 21 days to âensure the continuation of speciesâ or face a dire fate, the captivesâincluding a Norwegian genius, a Thai model, a Maori black marketeer, and a Colombian-American with a mysterious connection to Coraâdiffer in their responses. Cora is determined to escape, but is going home possible or even desirable? While the characters and their cultural backgrounds remain lightly sketched, their complicated relationships with each other ring true. Multiple points of view provide a complex picture of Coraâs actions and their impact on the people around her. Shepherd is a master of pacing, and each chapter brings new revelations. First in a series, the novel ends with a satisfying conclusion to the central mystery, while maintaining suspense about Coraâs fate. Ages 13âup. Agent: Josh Adams, Adams Literary.

February 1, 2015

Gr 9 Up-When Cora wakes up in the middle of a desert, the last thing she can remember is driving to a ski resort with her brother. She comes across five other teenagers in this unfamiliar world, and they learn that they have been selected by highly intelligent aliens as study subjects; they are watched and controlled at all times. Each captive has been paired with another-with the charge to procreate within 21 days or face a fate worse than captivity. Cora can't forget home, and her constant search for an escape puts her at odds with the rest of the group, who begin to see her as a threat to their survival. The originality of the setting and its diverse cast of characters make the story compelling at the beginning, but as the book continues, the characters stagnate and become predictable. The romantic interest Cora has for Cassian, a 7-foot-tall, metallic-skinned alien, seems unlikely, but drives the plot and leads to the twist at the end. VERDICT Readers who want more alien YA fiction may like this one, but Rick Yancey's The 5th Wave (Putnam, 2013) and Pittacus Lore's "Lorien Legacies" series (HarperCollins) are a better place to start newly interested teens.-Marian McLeod, Convent of the Sacred Heart, Greenwich, CT

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 1, 2015
Six teenagers face a life of captivity in an alien-designed human zoo. Cora awakens in a most unusual land, one divided into disparate environments stitched closely together: a desert, a beach, a farm, a city, and more. She certainly isn't in Virginia anymore. Terrified, she runs, quickly encountering Lucky, a cute stranger who knows far more about her than he lets on. Cora reluctantly teams up with him, and together, they find three others inside a strange city filled with candy shops and toy stores. All around them are murky, black windows with shifting shadows behind them. Soon enough, an ET appears, looking much like an alluring figure from Cora's dreams. He calls himself their Caretaker. He's one of the Kindred, and it's their mission to protect humans-an endangered species. The cost of their protection is compliance with their rules. However, Cora isn't the type to be caged in. The narrative perspective shifts between her and far more thinly characterized cohorts; Cora's pulses with her fiery resilience, outshining the others. A love triangle that frustrates at first delivers both a swoon-worthy and thrilling cliffhanger that will compel readers to the sequel. A riff on a Twilight Zone plot unfolds into a richly drawn alien dystopian replete with romance and horror. (Science fiction. 13 & up)