Rated

June 24, 2019
At elite Maplethorpe Academy, six students receive riddles and clues suggesting that all is not right with their society’s universal rating system, which decides everything from education and healthcare to social standing. Each teen has a reason to challenge or distrust the system, but only by working together can they decipher the messages and discover the truth behind current events. After graffiti warns that “the ratings are not real,” academically struggling jock Chase becomes close to overachieving Bex; professional e-gamer Javi is drawn to photographer Noah; and driven figure skater Hana befriends goth outcast Tamsin, whose rating is plummeting due to a bullying campaign. The six separate narratives don’t intersect until near the end, at which point the teens join forces, leading up to an open-ended conclusion. Grey (the Girl at Midnight books) presents an intriguing premise, but the lack of detail behind the rating system creates uneven worldbuilding, and the story hits perhaps too many buttons, between Chase’s dyslexia and alcoholic father, Hana’s anorexia, Noah’s sister’s leukemia, Javi’s confusion over his attraction to Noah, and Bex’s domineering parents. Still, despite the somewhat cluttered narrative, this is a provocative dystopian offering. Ages 12–up. Agent: Catherine Drayton, InkWell Management.