Article 5

When Ember's mother is arrested for violating Article 5 of the government's new Moral Statutes, 17-year-old Ember is taken into custody to be "reformed." Jennifer Ikeda's controlled voice expertly counterbalances the emotional turmoil Ember feels as her safe world crumbles. Fear, disbelief, and helplessness subtly war in Ikeda's voice as Ember absorbs the fact that the boy she once trusted, Chase, participated in her capture. When he returns to break her out of the Rehabilitation Center, Ember finds herself realizing that the boy she once loved and lost has little in common with the hardened young man who has returned to keep her safe. As they run for their lives, Ikeda skillfully guides listeners through Ember's emotional journey. J.M. © AudioFile 2012, Portland, Maine

December 12, 2011
In her debut novel, Simmons portrays a right-wing dystopian America still reeling from a vaguely described war. Seventeen-year-old Ember Miller lives quietly with her free-spirited mother, trying to avoid the puritanical Federal Bureau of Reformation and their increasingly stringent Moral Statutes. When Ember’s mother is arrested as morally suspect (she’s an unwed mother), Ember is carted off to a repressive reform school that is essentially a concentration camp. Worse, one of the soldiers involved in the arrest is Ember’s former boyfriend, Chase, now barely recognizable in military uniform. The novel details naïve Ember’s experiences first as a prisoner, then as a fugitive, with the emotionally scarred and secretive Chase as her companion. Heavy-handed in its delivery, the tale is well-written, though there are occasional clunkers (“I answered as assertively as I could. I was so mad my organs vibrated”). Simmons’s story includes a fair amount of believable action, a few mildly horrific events, and some not quite R-rated romance on its way to a conclusion that sets up the next installment in this planned trilogy. Ages 14–up. Agent: Browne & Miller Literary Associates.

June 1, 2012

Gr 9 Up-How far is the government willing to go for national security? In her debut novel (Tor Teen, 2012), the first title in a projected trilogy, Kristen Simmons spins her own answer to this question with a dystopia that is as chilling as George Orwell's 1984. After the War, the Bill of Rights was replaced by the Moral Statutes, unrealistically stringent regulations strictly enforced by the Federal Bureau of Reformation (FBR). Violators have a way of disappearing, and terrible rumors abound about their fate. When Ember's mom is arrested for being a single parent (an Article 5 violation), Ember is shipped off to a correctional facility where inmates are bullied by armed guards and brutally punished by a sadistic headmistress. She'll remain here until she turns 18-if she can last that long. Just when things seem most bleak, Ember is unexpectedly rescued by Chase Jennings, former-crush-turned-FBR officer. Now fugitives, they must trust each other if they are to survive. But will their inner demons get the better of them? A cliffhanger ending sets the stage for the next installment. This absorbing story is darker than the typical dystopia, and the extreme situations Ember and others face can be difficult to stomach. Violence and some mature content make this title best suited for older teens. Jennifer Ikeda's emotionally charged reading gives Ember's first-person account a haunted quality that is not as apparent in the print version. Therefore, libraries might want to consider purchasing both formats of this must-have story.-Alissa LeMerise, Oxford Public Library, MI

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