Joyride

January 1, 2018

Gr 9 Up-One morning, several British teens wake up realizing that they are no longer in their bodies. In fact, they are committing egregious acts of crime without their consent. Theft, property damage, murder, and attempted suicide are just some of the things many are forced to do against their will. This sparks the attention of a group of teens at Coal Hill Academy, a special school where the students are tasked with assisting a certain eternal timeless Doctor in rescuing the world from alien attacks. This original novel is inspired by the latest BBC series created by YA author Ness, Class, a spin-off from the hit show Doctor Who. Fans of the show will enjoy seeing some of their favorite characters spring into action and finding out background information not revealed in the program. Readers not familiar with Class should have no problem jumping on board this story, as Adams painstakingly explains many of the backstories and intentions of the characters (which, unfortunately, makes the pacing lag in several spots). VERDICT Fans of both shows will want to pick this up, but otherwise, there might not be many new converts.-Christopher Lassen, BookOps: The New York Public Library and Brooklyn Public Library

Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.