The Undercurrent

April 1, 2018

Gr 9 Up-Set in futuristic Australia where a corporation called Paxton Federation incentivizes farmers to grow genetically modified food and animals because traditional farming methods have left people starving. The main character, 18-year-old Jules, has an electrical current running under her skin that she can't control. She is the daughter of Mike Di Marchi, a now-deceased war veteran, and Angie DiMarchi, who had been the leader of a left-wing political group called the Agitators, which she left after being blackmailed and denied work. Additionally, Pax Fed is involved in experimental programs involving the country's soldiers, and Angie believes that the military administered vaccines to Mike, which changed his DNA and caused Jules to have the current. When Jules interviews for a job at Pax Fed out of desperation, she's rescued from mercenaries in the building by a soldier named Ryan, whose motivations are unclear at first. Weston's novel is packed with action, and the romantic chemistry between Jules and Ryan serves as a subplot. Ryan's father's struggle with alcoholism is addressed, as well as Ryan's professional football career which never came to fruition after a knee injury. The internal and external conflicts that each character faces feel realistic; they enhance the plot and maintain the pace of this long novel. The conclusion leaves some threads unresolved but brings character-driven arcs to a satisfactory close. VERDICT Purchase where science fiction, dystopia, and futuristic stories are popular.-Liz Anderson, DC Public Library

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May 15, 2018
In near-future Australia, a girl with unusual powers is caught up in a battle for the soul of her country.Two years ago, Julianne "Jules" De Marchi blew up a wing of her school--a wing paid for by the Paxton Federation, an agricultural company engaged in questionable practices that dominates Australia. Now 18, Jules and her mother, Angie, scrape by, Angie's journalism career and activism derailed by a blackmailer who knows what really happened at school that day: Jules can generate electricity, and the explosion was an accident that occurred when she couldn't control the current. After a lot of narrative delay, the truth comes out: Her abilities are the result of Pax Fed experimentation--and Pax Fed is torn between studying her and killing her. It will take the help of Ryan, a member of a secret Australian army unit who conveniently falls for Jules, and the rest of his unit to protect Jules and reveal the truth about Pax Fed. The Australian setting is well-realized. While there are nods to diversity in the supporting characters, all the protagonists appear to be white. Chapters told from the point of view of adult characters dilute the impact of Jules' story, especially as none of the characters are particularly vivid or compelling.A good idea undercut by the author's choices. (Science fiction/dystopian. 16-adult)

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May 1, 2018
Grades 9-12 Set in a disturbingly plausible near-future Australia, Weston's speculative thriller is filled with action and romance. Julianne De Marchi is a secret experiment by a corporation with a mysterious and sinister goal. Left with electric current flowing just beneath her skin, she lives 16 years of her life unable to control it until she meets Ryan Walsh. But what she doesn't know is that he's working for the same corporation that caused her dangerous condition. He saves her life, but can she truly trust him? Filled with hidden agendas, Weston's imagined future is clearly fiction, but the path of corporate overreach and unchecked ambition already exists, which gives the story an unsettling subtext. Despite its near-constant action, the novel's plot sometimes meanders, but Weston shines when highlighting Julianne's growth from a timid, repressed victim to an empowered, capable woman. Despite Julianne's character arc being muddied by too many subplots and characters, The Undercurrent is filled with enough intrigue and all-too-possible premises to keep many readers engaged.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)