Ruthless

November 15, 2018
In her sequel to Sinless (2018), Tarkoff returns readers to a world where sin makes people ugly and 18-year-old Grace Luther keeps fighting the rule of prophets who aren't as benevolent as everyone thinks.In Sinless, Grace, a pastor's daughter, learned that her idyllic world was built on a lie: What most people believe to be divine retribution for sin is actually a worldwide control mechanism that causes physical disfigurement and injury as a response to guilt. Her decision to join the resistance has given her more questions than answers, and as Grace works as a double agent, her questions will only multiply. Abhorrent as Grace finds the prophets' false utopia, she is no less bothered by the resistance's ruthless tactics and savage in-fighting. More personal doubts plague Grace as well: She is sure her supposedly dead mother saved her on a mission gone wrong, but was she hallucinating? Is God, also known as the Great Spirit, talking to her personally? Can she be honest with Zack, the charming and handsome agent assigned to spy on her? When Grace's cover is blown, her faith in everything she trusts is deeply challenged. From her parents to her religious beliefs to her own judgment: Is anything safe? Tarkoff weaves a tight plot with an ever ratcheting tension. Grace's sense of being trapped in a world with no good choices is compelling (and helps offset the occasional tweeness of her teenage romantic problems). A climactic showdown with the world's most famous prophet seems doomed to fail...unless Grace's quick thinking can save the day.Readers will be eager to see what happens in the next installment of an original series that blends science fiction with faith in a premise that continues to hold its own.

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December 1, 2018

This sequel to Sinless follows 18-year-old Grace Luther as she embroils herself further in a dystopian future. It's been a decade since the Revelations, when the Great Spirit saved humankind by forming a single religion that punishes wrongdoing with physical pain and deformities and encourages piousness with beauty. Grace has been a double agent, serving Prophet Joseph as well as Dawn, the leader of the local resistance. Taking pills each day that prevent her from receiving punishment, Grace risks her life to bring an end to the mind control and manipulation of her society. With the assistance of two possible love interests, she dives deeper into the resistance and soon learns that right and wrong are not so clearly defined, making her own decisions for which path to follow. VERDICT While the plot is predictable and almost hackneyed, the social commentary of a person's looks being tied to sin is compelling. Tarkoff's (Arrow) screenwriter background may result in some interest from YA dystopian lovers in this title reminiscent of the "Divergent" series.--Chelsie Harris, San Diego Cty. Lib.

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