Revolution

October 15, 2014
The stakes are high in the third volume of the series begun with Replica (2013).Picking up from Resistance (2014), Nadia and Nate are hiding in the Basement from Thea, the artificial intelligence who created a Replica for herself and claims to be the daughter of Nate's father. Now in control of Paxco, Thea will do anything to see them dead. Joining Nadia and Nate are Kurt, Nate's lover; Dante, resistance spy and Nadia's love interest; and Agnes, Nate's new fiancee. The five teenagers need to find a way to defeat Thea and save Paxco, yet without any resources, there are no good options-so a padded subplot that deals with the Basement and its social structure gives the characters plenty of time to vacillate about what they should do. When they finally make their move by reaching out to Agnes' father, chairman of a state with a major military presence, the plot only advances toward the final standoff with Thea thanks to coincidences and cliched nick-of-time rescues. Nadia and Nate might win, but will they be happy about the aftermath? The previous books in this series have suffered from convenient plotting and mediocre characterization; this work adds poor pacing with the drawn-out Basement section. Most of the loose ends seem to be wrapped up; here's hoping Black is done with this world. (Dystopian adventure. 14-18)

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November 15, 2014
Grades 9-12 Framed for the recent murder of the Chairman, Nate Hayes and his best friend, Nadia Lake, are on the run and hiding in Debasement, Paxco's dangerous gang-ruled slums. Only Nate and Nadia know the truth about the Chairman's death and about Dorothy, the new Chairman hunting them down. But they also know the truth is twisted, confused, and unbelievable, especially in the face of the ensuing revolution brewing around them. This winning, action-packed conclusion to the Replica series follows Nate and Nadia as they struggle to find a way to clear their names and save Paxco. Readers are advised to read the trilogy in order because of the number of characters and the complex relationships between them.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)