Unison Spark

September 26, 2011
This far-future dystopian novel extrapolates the future of social networking, crossing it with virtual reality. Mistletoe is a 15-year-old orphan from the slums of Little Saigon beneath Eastern Seaboard City. Her world is disrupted when her guardian is killed by the police while aiding a wealthy boy her age, who has strayed beneath the canopy that separates the haves and have-nots. Ambrose, she discovers, is on the run from his father, the inventor of Unison, the powerful social network that essentially rules their world. The two soon learn that they’ve shared the same terrifying dreams and that they are both the result of a horrendous genetic experiment. Escaping the police and moving in and out of Unison, Mistletoe and Ambrose search for a way to defeat their megalomaniacal enemy. Incorporating Facebook-like elements—its pushy emphasis on friending, status updates inserted into the narrative—Marino’s first novel is well written, energetic, and inventive, though the characters are thin and the plot predictable. Still, this tale should appeal to fans of the current crop of dystopian fiction. Ages 12–up.

October 1, 2011
What if the ultimate social network tried to take over the world? In this debut novel with Matrix overtones, those who can afford it live a "BetterLife" in the alternate reality of the Unison social network. Chapters alternate perspectives between blue-pigtailed Anna (a.k.a. Mistletoe), who ekes out an existence in the dark subcanopy of Eastern Seaboard City, and Ambrose Truax, son of the Unison CEO and the youngest UniCorp Associate, who lavishly resides topside in an atmoscraper. The 15-year-olds cross paths after Ambrose flees his Level Seven hypothalamus modification to live without sleep and become more efficient. In an underground world of terrorists plotting to overthrow Unison, the teens discover that they are actually hybrid organisms built to become part of Unison. The plot becomes one chase after another as Mistletoe seeks out more information on their origin and Ambrose attempts to block the launch of Unison 3.0 from his maniacal father/creator. Together, they learn the real meaning of friending. The best parts of the uneven novel are the engaging and even satirical descriptions of the social network ("Too many Events to attend? Feeling overwhelmed? Fake your own Account deletion with Unigone!"). The rest of the adventures are disjointed and far less entertaining. Readers will often find themselves vacillating between like and dislike. (Science fiction. 12-15)

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March 1, 2012

Gr 7 Up-Mistletoe, 15, lives in Little Saigon, one of the sub-canopy cities below the ESC-Eastern Seaboard City-where the wealthy live in atmoscrapers and from their windows can see Providence and Boston. Like many of the sub-canopy dwellers, she dreams of going topside and having the funds to join Unison, the "social network that knows you better than you know yourself." Her hardscrabble life changes the day she rescues a boy who is obviously from topside. She finds out that he is Ambrose Truax, one of the heirs of Martin Truax, the CEO of UniCorp, owner and developer of Unison and other subsidiaries, such as BetterFoods-nutritionally balanced artificial foods that taste like and give the sensations of their real counterparts. As Mistletoe and Ambrose talk, she realizes that they share the same dreams of tubes and wires and a place not home. Investigating, they realize that they are both created and not human. Digging further into the mystery of their creation, they are led into Unison itself and the plan for the upgrade to Unison 3.0, which could possibly lead, through friending, to the creation of an entirely new world and the dismantling of another. Nothing is, however, what it seems and the deeper the teens delve, the more unreal things become. Give this novel to readers who are obsessed with social networking sites, or are fans of films such as The Matrix, Tron, and Inception.-Suanne Roush, Osceola High School, Seminole, FL

Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

October 15, 2011
Grades 7-10 Marino's debut novel is decisively cinematic, with nods to both Blade Runner and Stieg Larsson. In a not-so-distant future, where socioeconomic classes are segregated, the lowest end up in the sub-canopy of slums that includes Little Saigon. Here 15-year-old Mistletoe witnesses her guardians' deaths, as does a wealthy, young visitor from the upper levels, Ambrose Truax. Ambrose's father created Unison, a sort of super-Facebook feed that plans and runs your life for you, and he is senior officer and heir to the Unison fortune. Both Ambrose and Mistletoe are, however, haunted by bizarre dreams that turn out to be memories of their unique creation and the keys to their true identities. Mistletoe is a feisty warrior woman, using her motorized scooter, fighting skills, and well-honed distrust to keep safe in a world in which she can trust no one. Marino keeps the story moving with archetypal characters, multiple and diverse settings, a lightning-fast pace, and a firm footing in teens' fascination with social networks.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)