Shatter

December 1, 2017

Gr 9 Up-Another intriguing and fast-paced novel set in the corporate Kingdom of Sonoman-Versailles. Danica is married to the King of Versailles after being betrayed and hand-delivered by the drug lord Reginald. While her status in society has been elevated to the highest level, and many are envious of her position as queen, Danica is in the same gilded prison that she was in Glitter. However, in this installment, the stakes have been raised. Danica now finds herself facing three enemies instead of one. There is the king's jealous lover Lady Cyn who wishes to discredit her and rob her of power. Justin Wyndham, the king himself, seeks to dominate and control Danica. Then, of course, there is the duplicitous Reginald who is blackmailing Danica so she will sell more drugs and who holds the life of her enslaved lover Saber in his hands. To rescue herself and everyone she cares about, she must assume her role of queen and drug dealer and harness the power of both while venturing further down the path of perdition. Fans who have waited for this sequel to will not be disappointed. The complex plot and Pike's highly adept writing will leave readers breathless to find out what happens next. VERDICT Give this to those who enjoy "The Selection" series by Keira Cass, Graceling by Kristin Cashore, or Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor.-Ellen Fitzgerald, Naperville Public Library, IL

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 1, 2017
In this sci-fi duology closer, Queen Danica must embrace her role to find a way to break out of her gilded, 22nd-century cage.Dani's been back-stabbed by her crime-lord contact and returned to the palace, where she's forced to wed the king and to continue dealing Glitter. The young white woman resolves to take down the men controlling her and to rescue her enslaved love, Saber (a green-eyed man of Mongolian descent). Playing along until she has the resources to make a true move, Dani must take down social rivals (such as King Justin's bully of a mistress, Lady Cyn) and scheme against dissident factions within Sonoman-Versailles. The strategies required demand that she think of the consequences (and said consequences' consequences) of her actions, which reinforces the guilt she feels about the casualties of her decisions--but they also reveal something she finds unpleasant about herself: she enjoys the power games, especially winning them. While pulling at threads to find weaknesses in her enemies, Dani and her friends uncover company secrets that trigger heavy themes about automation's impact on economies and the concentration of wealth. Dani and Saber's relationship is much better realized than in Glitter (2016), especially when they disagree or he's criticizing her decisions (and helping her grow stronger--literally). The hard-fought ending tonally matches the story.A delicious drama of morally imperfect characters in a fantastical future world with timely, relevant politics. (Romantic thriller/science fiction. 12-adult)

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