Reckoning

May 12, 2014
Twenty-five years after civil war tore England apart and beloved King Victor put it back together, the Kingdom’s inhabitants eke out a precarious living with just enough shelter and food. Sixteen-year-old Silver Blackthorn and her best friend Opie face the annual nationwide Reckoning, where the young are assigned their level in society; a lucky few are selected as Offerings to King Victor and sent to Windsor Castle to help him forge a new future from the ashes of the present. Silver is chosen, naturally, and the Offerings soon find their fate is nightmarish, as Victor proves to be a sociopathic monster. British author Wilkinson creates a villain and a system so unpleasant that readers will long to see them destroyed, and the Offerings face as much danger from their companions turning on each other as from their dangerous circumstances. A strong voice and an intricate endgame help compensate for the mishmash of overfamiliar dystopian trappings in this first book in a planned trilogy. Ages 14–up. Agent: Nicola Barr, Greene & Heaton.

May 15, 2014
Selected as an Offering to the king, one teenage girl discovers the truth behind her country's revered leader and attempts to expose him in this nail-biting dystopian adventure.Every July, as part of the celebration that marks the end of the war, all 16-year-olds must face the Reckoning, a mysterious test that classifies each of them as an Elite, Member, Intermediate or Trog. Beyond assignment to jobs and social statuses, those in the Reckoning also risk inclusion in the pool of thirty Offerings to King Victor. No one knows what being an Offering entails. Silver Blackthorn, a tech-savvy girl from the Northern Realm, learns firsthand the disturbing truth behind the mystery. Brutality lies in wait at every camera-studded corner in Middle England, and a friend made today may be gone tomorrow. Silver quickly realizes the only way to survive is to escape from Windsor Castle. Though Wilkinson frames this trilogy opener with heavy nods to tropes popularized in Suzanne Collins' Hunger Games trilogy, the plot soon veers into a briskly paced escape mission. Hints at romance fall flat, but there's true joy in Silver's evolving friendships and the game-changing spirit of camaraderie they inspire.Though derivative, this new dystopian novel ultimately engages with its blurring of lines between medieval castles and sci-fi technology. (Science fiction. 14 & up)

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June 1, 2014

Gr 7 Up-In the far-off future of England, Silver Blackthorn is ready for her Reckoning, the annual event in which 16 year olds are assigned their lifelong role in society. Silver should be happy. She is assigned the role of Offering to the king, the most honorific assignment. What does the role entail? No one knows because it is kept a secret from year to year. Wilkinson creates a haunting and all-too-believable backstory in which England has forged a new existence in the wake of a nuclear war. This England is a surreal mix of high tech and the medieval. Technology is advanced but used only so the king and his men can monitor the people and their thoughts, purchases, and locations. The monarch keeps the people docile by instilling fear, paranoia, and strict control over food and heat distribution. When Silver arrives at the palace with the other Offerings, she discovers that the term "offering" is literal. One by one, the teens succumb to the king's capricious, sadistic cruelty. Silver resolves to escape. Her skill with electronics will get her only so far and she must forge an uneasy alliance with a few of the other Offerings. She discovers that escape involves more than just exiting the king's palace-it involves taking down the entire government infrastructure. False starts, red herrings, and narrow escapes keep the pace moving briskly and the resolution a big question mark right until the end. In a crowded market of apocalypic YA fiction, this title stands out.-Jennifer Prince, Buncombe County Public Libraries, NC

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