The Hit

Starred review from December 23, 2013
Burgess (Smack) returns with a boundary-pushing thriller that all-too-believably builds on contemporary threads including income inequality, the Occupy movement, and a YOLO mentality. On the night he attends rocker Jimmy Earle's final concert, Adam knows that his life has changed. Earle's on-stage demiseâsupposedly from Death, an expensive drug that provides the consummate one-week high followed by deathâhas awakened a riotous fervor in depressed Manchester, England, which may mark the beginning of a larger revolution. The high of Adam's night out with his girlfriend, Lizzie, comes crashing down when Adam's older brother, Jess, is reported dead. Suddenly, taking Death means a way out. Burgess's prose is straightforward and fast-paced, and his third-person narration hopscotches from character to character while giving readers clear insight into the motives that drive them. His plot swerves are unexpected but well-maneuvered, and his characters' flaws and self-absorptions make them complex and real. Amid violent action, existential anguish, and the heightened appreciation for life that death can bring, Burgess has created a premise that readers will find hard to forget. Ages 14âup.

December 15, 2013
After 20 years of economic recession, the gaps between England's rich and poor are wider and starker than ever. Young lovers Lizzie and Adam are keenly aware of the challenges they face: She's been raised in a bubble of privilege, while he's from a family barely scraping by due to his father's disability. Against this backdrop of economic and social inequity, the hot new recreational drug is Death, which gives its users one extraordinary last week of life, followed by, well, death. Adam and Lizzie are curious, but they steer clear of Death until Adam's brother, Jess, who's been keeping their family afloat financially as a chemist, is suddenly revealed to be a member of the revolutionary political group the Zealots (akin to the hacker group Anonymous, if they resorted to self-immolation and suicide bombings). Shattered by the news of his brother's secret life and presumed death, Adam attends a disastrous party with Lizzie, steals a stash of Death and in a reckless moment of grief, takes the drug. From there, the plot--jam-packed with ill-advised escapades, secret identities, fights and chases--threatens to spiral out of control, but in spite of some Grand Guignol violence administered by grotesque villains just this side of Carl Hiaasen, Burgess' surprisingly gritty hero and heroine are able to enjoy some muted hopefulness for their pains. Refreshingly rooted in the issues of the day, Burgess' near-future thriller stands out. (Dystopian thriller. 15-18)

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February 1, 2014

Gr 10 Up-It's the biggest concert of the year, and when it's all over, Jimmy Earle will be dead. Planning to join the "27 Club" of famous musicians who died at the age of 27, Jimmy has taken Death, a newly created euthanasia drug that binds to the brain and gives the user one last amazing week followed by an inescapable death. Friends Adam and Lizzie are excited to be at the show and more excited to be falling in love with each other, but they doubt that Jimmy will go through with it. So when their friend actually dies, the two watch stunned as the crowd and city of Manchester explodes. The death sparks the community's pent up frustrations about living with extreme economic inequality. To make matters worse, a revolutionary group, the Zealots, enflamed by the riots, begins passing out Death in the street. Surrounded by such chaos, Adam's life and relationship quickly begin to fall apart, and he must decide if he'll join the fight or give up to Death. An exciting, dark story of sex, drugs, and revolution that is sure to grip readers.-Ryan F. Paulsen, New Rochelle High School, NY

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from January 1, 2014
Grades 10-1 *Starred Review* Burgess' dystopian novel posits a near-future world in which the gap between rich and poor has grown to an unbridgeable chasm. In their despair, many have-nots are taking a new drug called Death that offers seven days of euphoric bliss followed by the oblivion of death. Adam, 17, is one of these. His hopes for an education are dashed, his brother is missing and presumed dead, and he has been dumped by his girlfriend, Lizzie. Seeing nothing but a bleak future, he impulsively takes the pill, but as his own options are precluded, enormous changes are underway. Led by a group called the Zealots, society is teetering on the brink of revolution. Meanwhile, a drug lord and his psychopathic son enter Adam's and Lizzie's lives to potentially catastrophic effect. Will Lizzie survive? Will Adam die or is it possible that there might be an antidote to Death after all? Burgess, a master of YA literature, has written a novel of white-knuckle suspense that has considerable violence and ambitious philosophical underpinnings. How does one deal with socioeconomic inequity? Is revolution a viable strategy? Is death? If this ambitious novel has flaws, it may be a lack of attention to these very questions. In addition, the villainsthough terrifyingare over the top. But all that said, the novel is viscerally exciting and emotionally engaging. Best of all, it is sure to excite both thoughtful analysis and heated discussion among its readers. A clear winner from Burgess.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)