Marked

December 1, 2015
Lyla is 16, and her only goal is to keep her seat in the Bright--the section of school for the smartest children--and earn the best grades so that she may go on to university one day and become an inventor. In her society, only the elite get the opportunity to thrive. The rest have to work risky, low-paying jobs. And if they are Marked--tattooed as evidence of committing a crime--their chances of employment and thus survival are greatly diminished. The Marked sometimes go over to the side of the Red Fists, the highly dangerous rebel group that takes advantage of those angry, desperate, and frustrated with the system. Lyla takes a risk and makes a costly mistake, which ends up getting her Marked. She is then offered a shot at redemption, but it comes at quite the price: her second chance at the future she's always dreamed of means betraying an old friend she may be falling in love with, risking her relationships with her family members, and maybe even more. Interspersed with Lyla's story are snatches of Pirate Jackman, a graphic-novel zine that reveals both the history and the current state of Lyla's world. McCaffrey's society has a Dickensian feel to it, with a heaving, discontented underclass dominated by the barons who control the source of power and the inventors who wield it. An original, textured page-turner. (Fantasy. 12 & up)

COPYRIGHT(2015) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

December 1, 2015

Gr 6 Up-In McCaffrey's dystopian science-fiction thriller, Lyla lives in a society where criminals are tattooed-Marked-and the schism between the rich (barons) and the poor (miners, farmers, and so on) is palpable and volatile. After becoming Marked for visiting a black market, Lyla undertakes a dangerous spy mission to infiltrate the Red Fists, a unlawful band of misfits, in order to erase her Mark. Complicating the situation are her intense feelings for a childhood friend and newest misfit, Gill. Once drawn into the Red Fists's web of rebellion, Lyla must make important choices on what and whom to sacrifice. Comic-style strips are included throughout and give some background on Lyla's society. McCaffrey's world-building is on the scarce side; readers are thrown into this community with little fleshing out of the nuances, aside from the one-page comic strips. However, the strength of the characters, especially the strong female protagonist, allows teens to fully engage with Lyla and her struggles. Full of fast-paced action and ethical quandaries, this work will appeal to fans of Laini Taylor's Daughter of Smoke and Bone (Little, Brown, 2011) and Carrie Ryan's The Forest of Hands and Teeth (Delacorte, 2009). VERDICT With its top-notch characters and a cool premise, this is a must-purchase for fantasy collections.-Amanda C. Buschmann, Atascocita Middle School, Humble, TX

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.