The Waning Age

December 15, 2018
Set in an alternate San Francisco, Grove's (The Crimson Skew, 2016, etc.) latest posits a world where humans lose all emotions beginning at the age of 10. Understandably, Natalia Peña expects her 10-year-old brother, Cal, to undergo the waning process just like she did, but instead, his emotional capacity intensifies day after day. Cal's resistance to the fade eventually attracts the attention of RealCorp, a shadowy, mighty pharmaceutical corporation that manufactures synaffs--expensive drugs that incite feelings in users. When RealCorp kidnaps Cal for testing, Nat sets off on a single-minded pursuit to get her brother back. But what exactly is fueling her determination? Grove expertly builds a memorable, if eerily unflappable, heroine via a first-person narratorial voice that will keep readers engrossed until the bittersweet end. Chapters from Cal's limited point of view serve to fill in contextual and worldbuilding gaps left behind by Nat's adult-oriented narrative, revealing a world ruled by apathy and nostalgia for bygone eras. On her journey, Nat must contend with absent parents (deceased or otherwise) as well as the Fish, a drooglike group who've cast aside society's rules in favor of bleak violence. What's behind humanity's lack of emotions? Some potential answers (a decline in empathy coupled with unmonitored technological progress) seem terrifyingly plausible even in today's social climate. With few physical descriptions, diversity is indicated mostly through names, and Nat is cued as Latinx.A provoking, striking call to self-reflection. (Dystopian fiction. 14-adult)

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Gr 9 Up-In her first solidly YA novel, Grove crafts a dystopian society of teens who "wane" or lose all emotional sensitivity. Wealthy individuals create synthetic drugs that allow them to experience a range of feelings, while the poor attempt to secure cheap, often lethal versions of similar substances. As adolescence begins, children "wane" and are educated to follow logical rules and order. A portion of youth still turn to senseless acts of violence. When Natalia and Calvino lose their mother, they are forced to grow up quickly and fend for themselves. Calvino's late waning and constant show of emotion make him a prime target for lab testing at RealCorp. When RealCorp conspires to adopt Cal with the intent of indefinite testing, Natalia must break every rule to release him from a life of experimentation. The author creates a bleak society of people who yearn to feel, but offers hope through the relationship Natalia has with her brother. Unexpected twists create a fast-paced plot. Topics of suicide, rape, extreme violence, and murder arise but are discussed with reserved detail and sensitivity. Readers will explore the implications of a negative biological evolution and the relationship between human emotion and social order. VERDICT A must-have for libraries with dystopian fans.-Monica Cabarcas, Albemarle High School, Charlottesville, VA

February 25, 2019
Emotions have dried up in this stripped-down sci-fi noir novel by Grove (the Mapmakers trilogy), in which people “wane”—lose their ability to experience feelings—around age 10, a benchmark that keeps getting younger. Natalia Peña, 17, has been taking care of her younger brother, Cal, almost 11, since their mother died. Nat works as a maid at San Francisco’s Landmark Hotel, where she occasionally rubs elbows with the very rich, who can buy calibrated emotions, or “synaffs,” from manufacturing conglomerate RealCorp. Without feelings to guide them, the populace must follow strict rules to maintain law and order (“Know what harm is. And cause no harm. Know what need is. And help those in need”) to keep from becoming violence-seeking “Fish.” But Cal still responds to the world empathically and emotionally. When he is identified as a late waner and taken to RealCorp for testing, Nat determines to help her little brother, even without the ability to feel traditional love. Logic and reason are king in Grove’s rich near-future world, where a Raymond Chandler-style narrative meets questions of ethics and technology. This fast-paced novel provides readers with a deep range of emotions while highlighting the importance of empathy, attachment, and emotional intelligence. Ages 14–up. Agent: Dorian Karchmar, William Morris Endeavor.