Unleashed

November 15, 2020
When a well-loved corporation has less-than-pleasant plans, it is up to Lacey Chu and her classmates to stop them. One month after the events of Jinxed (2019), Lacey wakes up in the hospital with no recollection of how she got there. Everything that came after running after her beloved robot pet, Jinx, a black cat baku, is vague. As Lacey begins to piece together her memories and recall the secrets she uncovered, a race begins to rescue Moncha Corp's absent CEO, Monica Chan, and stop her co-founder, Eric Smith. Through his Team Happiness project, Eric plans to use the technology developed by Moncha Corp--aided by its ubiquity--for his own evil, unscrupulous ends. While there are fewer flashy baku moments than in the previous installment, McCulloch takes readers deeper into her baku-filled world as Lacey and her friends infiltrate and investigate the Canadian tech giant. Class disparity and social structures are explored, as are personal freedom and the technological ethics of privacy and data mining. Characters big and small return, and their arcs are satisfyingly--if a bit neatly--tied up. Especially welcome is the joining of forces between Lacey's Profectus Academy crew and her childhood friend Zora. The diverse team's determination and resourcefulness mesh with and support Lacey's resilience and drive. A fast-paced duology closer full of STEM adventures. (Science fiction. 9-13)

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December 1, 2020
Grades 4-7 As Lacey Chu wakes from a coma, the sinister events of Jinxed (2019) remain a blur, but she recalls that Jinx, the black-cat baku (robot animal companion) whom she found and repaired in order to get into Profectus Academy of Science and Technology, was stolen by her academic rival, Carter, whose father--working from MONCHA's corporate headquarters--harbors nefarious intentions. Now, as Lacey attempts to recover her memory, find Jinx, unravel the secrets behind his creation, and discover the plans that MONCHA executives have in store for him, she must also learn how to navigate life outside of Profectus. The resiliency of the teenage mind and spirit and the determination of Generation Z are on display in Lacey, making her an inspiring figure that will encourage young readers, especially girls, to pursue STEM disciplines. McCulloch's fast-paced plot reminds us that advanced technology and omnipotent corporations can be used for both good and evil--it's all in the eye of the baku-holder.

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December 1, 2020

Gr 4-6-This immediate sequel to Jinxed (2020) picks up with our hero, budding engineering genius Lacey Chu, in the hospital recovering from a mysterious coma, and missing her beloved "baku" electronic companion, Jinx. Her memory of recent events is spotty, but she knows that all is not well at MonchaCorp, the company entity that employs, trains, informs, and entertains most of her city and the wider world. She's not sure whom she can trust, but with the help of some old friends and neighbors (and some unexpected informants), she realizes she's in a race against time to keep everyone she knows from being "updated" into pleasant, sedate, ambitionless automatons. McCulloch taps into real concerns about the ubiquity of smart tech and data collection, presenting Lacey and her allies with a series of twists that make it increasingly clear how little they can control or conceal from a once-benign corporation-but the author shies from any real shift in ideas, resolving the plot with a weak promise of corporate responsibility once the villains are removed. VERDICT Predictable but pleasant, this is a fun, unchallenging read, full of deus ex machina solutions and lucky breaks. The talking animal robots don't hurt!-Katya Schapiro, Brooklyn P.L.

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