The Brokenhearted

October 14, 2013
In an atmospheric, adventure-laced debut, Kahaney launches a series in which a wealthy ballerina becomes a superhuman vigilante in the corrupt, crime-ridden city of Bedlam. Seventeen-year-old Anthem Fleet falls in love with a boy from the wrong side of town, but he's soon kidnapped and held for ransom. After Anthem suffers an accident that results in a mad scientist replacing her heart with a bionic one, she uses her newfound superhuman speed, strength, and stamina to track down and fight the criminals who have disrupted her life. The further she takes her crusade, the more she becomes a symbol of hope, even as she discovers some uncomfortable truths about Bedlam's secret history. Kahaney's graceful world-building allows the setting to emerge as a character in its own right, while hinting at intriguing developments to come. Strong characterizations and an enveloping plot are only mildly undermined by some light soap operatics and logistical implausibility, with the majority of the narrative fueled by Anthem's steady development as an action heroine. An Alloy Entertainment property. Ages 13âup.

December 1, 2013

Gr 9 Up-Anthem Fleet, 17, has everything going for her: a wealthy family, a dreamy boyfriend, and a budding ballet career. But just like the dystopian society in which she lives, the teen isn't as perfect as she seems. One night, she and her friend leave their pristine neighborhood and head to the dangerous South Side. There, at a nightclub, Anthem meets Gavin. After an intense, brief romance, they sleep together. In the morning, though, her world changes forever. Gavin is kidnapped and Anthem wakes up in a filthy, blood-soaked laboratory with a jagged scar down her chest and a bionic heart that gives her special powers. But will her new abilities be enough to confront Gavin's kidnappers and save herself? Kahaney has created an uneven package here. On one hand, there are cliches and plot contrivances at regular intervals. For example, Anthem discovers she can float/fly and yet she only uses the talent when it's convenient to the plot. There is also a melodramatic moment when the heroine declares, "I would gladly die here and enter the next world with Gavin." It's rather silly. On the other hand, there are many excellent moments in the writing. For instance, when she is pathetically pining over Gavin, Anthem's friend bluntly tells her, "The world doesn't need another brokenhearted girl." The scenes of Anthem's mother dealing with the grief of losing a child are also particularly moving. Faults aside, with the dystopian angle, the fast-paced action, and the stellar cover, this novel is bound to float/fly off the shelves.-Laura Lutz, Convent of the Sacred Heart, New York City

Copyright 2013 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

In a futuristic society solidly divided into the haves and have-nots, a ballerina from a wealthy family finds romance, danger and deception when she crosses class lines. Seventeen-year old Anthem Fleet lives in Upper Bedlam, on the right side of the tracks. The wrong side is the South Side, where poverty is the norm, along with widespread crime sponsored and supported by the Syndicate. Coaxed by her best friend, Zahra, a fun-loving bad girl, she slips out of her family's high-rise penthouse to crash a South Side warehouse party. Here, Anthem meets a tall, chisel-cheeked South Sider named Gavin, and soon, the entranced Anthem is skipping her ballet practices to see him--and drawing the attention of the Syndicate, which kidnaps him from the bed where they lie sleeping. Distraught, Anthem runs through the perilous streets, only to fall off a bridge, suffering fatal injuries. But death is not her end: An underground doctor brings her back to life, illegally implanting Anthem with a mechanical heart that endows her with superhuman powers and enables her to begin a dangerous quest to save Gavin. No matter that no heartstrings will be tugged here; the action and subplots provide a strong and steady force to push readers forward. Some stunning revelations coming out of left field will cause jaws to drop. A ripping if unsubtle page-turner. (Science fiction. 14 & up) COPYRIGHT(1) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

September 1, 2013
In a futuristic society solidly divided into the haves and have-nots, a ballerina from a wealthy family finds romance, danger and deception when she crosses class lines. Seventeen-year old Anthem Fleet lives in Upper Bedlam, on the right side of the tracks. The wrong side is the South Side, where poverty is the norm, along with widespread crime sponsored and supported by the Syndicate. Coaxed by her best friend, Zahra, a fun-loving bad girl, she slips out of her family's high-rise penthouse to crash a South Side warehouse party. Here, Anthem meets a tall, chisel-cheeked South Sider named Gavin, and soon, the entranced Anthem is skipping her ballet practices to see him--and drawing the attention of the Syndicate, which kidnaps him from the bed where they lie sleeping. Distraught, Anthem runs through the perilous streets, only to fall off a bridge, suffering fatal injuries. But death is not her end: An underground doctor brings her back to life, illegally implanting Anthem with a mechanical heart that endows her with superhuman powers and enables her to begin a dangerous quest to save Gavin. No matter that no heartstrings will be tugged here; the action and subplots provide a strong and steady force to push readers forward. Some stunning revelations coming out of left field will cause jaws to drop. A ripping if unsubtle page-turner. (Science fiction. 14 & up)

COPYRIGHT(2013) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

September 15, 2013
Grades 8-12 In the dystopian city of Bedlam, rich, privileged teen Anthem Fleet falls madly in love with Gavin, a poor artist of the South Side. Risking her parents' wrath and the ire of her abusive, vindictive boyfriend, Anthem sneaks to Gavin's warehouse apartment for a night of lovemaking, only to have it broken up by masked individuals who kidnap Gavin. Alone, she struggles to find her way back home, a journey that gets her killed and then revived with a hummingbird heart transplant and a determination to avenge her lover's kidnapping. Kahaney approaches this rather troubling story with a light touch. Bedlam's newspaper is the Daily Dilemma, and people get hooked on Droopies, MoodEases, and Pharms; smoke Rollies; and frequent the Hades Mall. Bad guys gas-and-dash, poisoning people with giggle gas to harvest their organs and sell them at the Chop Shop, while rich drug addicts detox at Weepee Valley after Interventions or Anxiety Assessments. But the story itself is troubling and violent, a miserable juxtaposition of a societyand lovegone bad and the surprising power of hope.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)