Valley of Fires

October 15, 2014
Earth might be conquered, but the teens of the western United States haven't given up completely in this series conclusion. Teenagers Mira Toombs and Holt Hawkins are back together and able to act on their mutual affection, but their young friend Zoey, called Scion by the alien Assembly, has been abducted by Earth's conquerors. Mira, Holt and their cohorts want to rescue Zoey and maybe save Earth (or at least keep things from getting worse). To do that, the Wind Traders, the paramilitary group White Helix and the rebel factions of the Assembly will have to work together. Mira heads to the Citadel in San Francisco, the seat of Assembly power, while Holt tries to enlist the pirates of the Menagerie in the fight. Zoey struggles against her captor; Mira, now psychically connected to the Assembly, fights to keep both coalition and sanity intact; and Holt, who, after a surprise attack by the Assembly, thinks he's lost Mira for good, comes face to face with the man who's been hunting him down: Tiberius, leader of the Menagerie. Is there any way this shaky association can prevail against the superior numbers and firepower of the Assembly? In the conclusion to his science-fantasy trilogy, Mitchell's heavy description sometimes bogs down the action, but the battles are intense and numerous. Series readers will enjoy it, but newbies should definitely start with the first. Good if slightly overstuffed post-apocalyptic sci-fi. (Science fiction. 13-18)

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January 1, 2015

Gr 9 Up-In this postapocalyptic sci-fi series, alien invaders have taken over Earth, using mind control to conquer the will of all adults. With only teenagers left to save the day, this thrilling conclusion sees protagonists Holt, Mira, and Zoey taking part on separate journeys in the hopes of finally fighting off their invaders. Though not quite as heavy on action as some readers might like, this wrap-up is one that series fans won't want to miss.

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 15, 2014
Grades 9-12 Mira Toombs and Holt Hawkins are on a mission. Their friend Zoey, a little girl with uncanny powers, has been captured by the armored alien invaders known as the Assembly. To rescue her, they must forge an alliance between the hostile factions of conquered Earththe no-nonsense Wind Traders, ninjalike White Helix, and piratical Menagerie. This finale to the Conquered Earth trilogy is focused on strategy: Mira and the other leaders learn to deploy their troops against Assembly fighters, while Holt and his allies navigate the treacherous politics of Faust, the Menagerie capital. Meanwhile, Zoey struggles to find a way to reconcile the Assembly's desire for freedom with humanity's survival. Though with its many battle scenes and power struggles, this installment moves at a slower pace than the previous books in the series, readers looking for strong, diverse characters in an interesting postapocalyptic worldsimilar to Julianna Baggott's Pure or Dan Wells' Partials serieswill want to add this trilogy to their list.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)