Be My Enemy

Starred review from August 1, 2012
In this exciting first sequel to outstanding series opener Planesrunner (2011), 14-year-old science whiz Everett Singh continues to outthink his enemies while navigating the multiverse searching for his dad, lost in a parallel universe. Everett's enemies multiply in this installment. There's still the marvelously imagined villain Charlotte Villiers, with her impeccable 1940s style and the confidence of genius, but now Everett's "alter," Everett M, his double from another parallel-universe Earth, has been made into a cyborg instructed to eliminate Everett. Add to those a new threat: sentient advanced technology gone bad. The quirky crewmates on their rogue airship, especially Sen, the wonderfully original Airish girl with her enjoyably distinctive dialect, keep the conversations lively as they dodge death at every turn. McDonald roots Everett's heroism in his intelligence. Everett knows mathematics, physics and Punjabi cooking. He wins because he outthinks his rivals, not because he's faster or stronger, like his alter. Stuffed with science, this series has the potential to fascinate young readers as William Sleator's books did, tackling concepts on the slippery edge of current understanding. Science causes danger, but it's also the weapon that combats those terrors. Smart, clever and abundantly original, with suspense that grabs your eyeballs, this is real science fiction for all ages. More! More! (Science fiction. 12 & up)

COPYRIGHT(2012) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

January 1, 2013

Gr 7 Up-Teen science whiz and star goalie Everett Singh is back in this exciting sequel to Planesrunner (PYR, 2011). As he found out in the first volume, there are many Earths, many universes. The key to traveling among them is the Infundibulum, an electronic map of the multiverse created by his dad. But Dr. Singh is missing, "shot" into a random parallel universe, and before Everett can find him he has to escape from Charlotte Villiers and her storm troopers. Villiers has big plans and needs the Infundibulum to carry them out, but Everett is too fast and too smart for her. So she recruits the only person in the known worlds who can catch him-his double from another Earth. With the crew of the airship Everness, from the electro-steampunk Earth 3, Everett jumps through alternate universes, trying to stay one step ahead of Villiers and the one enemy who knows him as well as he knows himself. McDonald is a master of science fiction, and this story is chock-full of danger and excitement as well as mind-bending physics. The science doesn't overwhelm but readers will be far less confused, especially at the start, if they read Planesrunner first. The author once again includes a helpful glossary of Palari, the Airish argot of the Everness crew. The climax is heart-stopping and shows Everett at his genius best. The ominous denouement will leave readers hungry for the next installment.-Anthony C. Doyle, Livingston High School Library, CA

Copyright 2013 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.