Pretty Fierce

February 15, 2017
Kaia is the daughter of professional assassins whose final job went bad and killed them both. Now, however, Kaia has some reason to believe that her mother might be alive, and she sets out with her boyfriend, Oliver, to find out.Fortunately, Kaia's parents trained her in some of their methods, and Kaia knows where their safe houses are. After a mysterious man attacks her, asking the whereabouts of her mother, Kaia decides that she must find her. With Oliver, who has learned to survive an abusive foster father, she makes her way to the first safe house, where they find abundant cash, weapons, and a convenient, unremarkable car. However, it seems they're being tracked--and attacked--as they travel. Narrowly winning fights and continuing to evade their pursuers, they finally and surprisingly meet with Kaia's uncle, who knows exactly what has happened to Kaia's mother and where she is. Despite the extreme danger, the trio travels there in an attempt to find her. Of course, it may be that Kaia herself doesn't know the whole truth. Scott delivers a zippy narrative that downplays romance. The result is a story with all the driving suspense of a spy thriller. She divides the narrative between Kaia and Oliver in alternating first-person chapters, creating interesting, well-rounded characters. Oliver appears to be white, while Kaia is of at least half-Mexican heritage. A page-turner. (Thriller. 12-18)

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February 1, 2017

Gr 8 Up-Kaia has spent the past year trying to live as a normal teenager. Even the people closest to her don't know anything about her past, which is anything but normal: she is the daughter of professional hit men. When a job goes wrong and her parents are nowhere to be found, Kaia goes into hiding, trying to pass as an average high schooler. Fellow student Oliver is a great distraction, and together they share ordinary teen experiences until the day that Kaia is attacked by her parents' enemies and Oliver witnesses the whole thing. Now Kaia's secret is out, and she must take Oliver with her on the run as she escapes. Though Kaia's particular experiences will be foreign to almost all teens-having assassins as parents, attempting to take down a drug cartel-the struggles she faces with her identity and relationships with her parents and with her boyfriend feel universally real and relevant. Told in alternating viewpoints, with well-integrated flashbacks to Kaia's previous life, Scott's novel is a fast-paced page-turner that combines elements of a thriller with romance.

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 15, 2017
Grades 9-12 For the past 18 months, Kaia has been living a normal life. Unbeknownst to everyone, her recently deceased parents just happened to be former CIA operatives/guns for hire. Though she's adjusted well to her new situation, Kaia is unprepared to arrive home one day to find an assassin lying in wait for her. Demanding to know where her mother is, Kaia fights him off only to have boyfriend Oliver walk in on all the action! In a split-second decision, they go on the run together. Luckily for her, Oliver proves he is more than capable of fending off some bad guys, and gladly accepts the role as her sidekick. Scott's latest book is an action-packed romp that will entertain readers looking for a kick-butt heroine who is not distracted by romantic possibilities. Kaia and Oliver's relationship is well established before the start of the story, so readers fearing an insta-love plot can breathe easy. Readers willing to suspend their disbelief will enjoy the fast-paced, Jason Bourneesque story.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)