This Splintered Silence

September 15, 2018
A deadly virus kills off all the adults on a space station, leaving the children and teens to figure out how to survive and whom to trust.Five days after the last adult has died, Lindley, daughter of the former commander, and her five friends are left in charge of the Lusca and the remaining, parentless young survivors. Everyone finds their own ways to cope, and though she works through her own grief, she does her best in the leadership role as acting commander and ship doctor. When they come across new deaths, however, Lindley and friends struggle to control panic and paranoia while dealing with the threat of a mutated virus, dwindling food and water supplies, and challenges with asking for help. In this already claustrophobic setting, the author packs in a love triangle, questionable forensics practices, and grief fiction on top of a flimsy plot that could have been easily solved if someone had just contacted authorities and told the truth earlier on. There is some variation in characters' skin tones, and ethnic diversity is indicated through names. The main strengths in this story are the main character's relationships with her mother and friends. Otherwise, believability of the plot points reaches absurd levels.For die-hard fans of the genre. (Science fiction. 13-17)

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October 1, 2018
Grades 9-12 Olson (The Sandcastle Empire?, 2017) throws readers into the midst of tragedy with this story of recently orphaned teenagers who struggle to survive while a new threat lurks in the shadows. Lindley Hamilton takes up the reins of the Lusca? space station after her mother, the former commander, and every first-generation crew member is wiped out by a deadly virus. Along with her five closest friends, Lindley must keep the station running smoothly and hold her crew?or what's left of it?together. Tensions rise as some of the younger generation are inexplicably found dead, and Lindley is faced with an entirely different dilemma: she can no longer trust the people she's always known, because all signs point to murder. Olson's writing is haunting and devastating, and she expertly captures the raw emotions of her characters. Although the climax and resolution of the tale are underwhelming and the love triangle can be awkward, Olson does an excellent job portraying grief in all its forms within the framework of a well-developed murder mystery.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)