Unravel

May 15, 2014
Elissa and Lin return to Sekoia to try to help out in the aftermath of the secrets they exposed in Linked (2013).Sekoia's economy has been devastated by the revelations about the Spares-psychic twins enslaved, tortured and brutally used as human spaceship batteries in the planet's biggest industry, spaceflight-and subsequent legal declarations of their humanity. Now the lack of operable ships leaves the planet defenseless against unsavory space types. As Elissa and Lin have discovered that linked twins can safely run a ship together, they wish to bring this discovery back home to save their planet. But the world they return to is a much more dangerous place than it was-aside from rationing, martial law and violence, Spares and their twins are being targeted for abduction and even murder. The girls befriend other sets of twins before they are swept into poorly paced, confusing action sequences in which they're pursued by hate groups and terrorists with vaguely defined motivations and agendas. In a late twist that may save the book for some, they learn one last credibility-stretching secret about the Spares that poses a new kind of danger. Elissa and Caden's romance barely develops further, mostly staying in the realm of convenient miscommunication. Elissa and Lin's intense sisterhood is richer, as are the moral questions they wrestle with.The plot is uneven, but it ends strongly. (Science fiction. 12-17)

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May 1, 2014

Gr 9 Up-Elissa reunites with her sister Lin, a victim of the Sekoian government's experiments on identical twins (called "Spares"), after both escaped and exposed the planet's nefarious and abusive treatment of these superpowered siblings, and the sisters return to help in the chaotic aftermath. The InterPlanetary League (IPL) has given all Spares full human status, but most of Sekoia still sees and treats them as non-human. Forced into hiding and hunted by vigilantes, they are transported off planet for their own safety. Lin and Elissa are further disheartened when Spares start to snap and kill their siblings. Does Elissa need to fear her own twin? This sci-fi adventure starts off right where Linked (S. & S., 2013) ended, and it continues to raise questions about prejudice, human nature, acceptance, and consequences. Narrator Elissa was sheltered growing up, so she's blindsided by the complicated nature of what should, to her, be a very simple concept: Lin is human. Her confusion, pain, and anger at those who don't agree or understand are very palpable. In turn, her sister expects the worst from people even as she hopes for acceptance. Lin sees her telekinesis and ability to manipulate electrical systems as a beneficial power that can help the world, and doesn't understand why it creates fear instead. Cadan, Elissa's love interest, is a steadying influence and voice of reason, and helps create a balance between the twins' polar opposite personalities. For fans of the previous installment.-Heather Miller Cover, Homewood Public Library, AL

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