Extraction

May 5, 2014
Sixteen-year-old Clementine is trapped on the surface of Kiel, where deadly acid rains down into the atmosphere from the nearby moon, held at bay by a force field maintained by the oppressive government. Every year, a few candidates with exceptional intelligence, strength, and obedience are “extracted” from the surface to join the elite citizenry living safely in the planet’s Core. Clementine is one of them, but leaving the surface means leaving her boyfriend, Logan. Clementine’s selection comes as little surprise, so the first section of Diaz’s debut novel drags a bit, and the social dynamics of the surface world will be familiar to avid readers of recent dystopian YA. The story picks up once Clementine reaches the Core, where her initial impression of paradise is replaced with suspicion at the eerie compliance of her fellow extractees and horror at revelations that threaten the surface world. The finale hits a few false notes—Clementine’s plan to save her former home gets overcomplicated—but the story remains entertaining as it sets up the next book in this planned trilogy. Ages 12–up. Agent: Alison Fargis, Stonesong.

May 15, 2014
Another Hunger Games-wannabe latecomer.In this toxic Surface settlement, everyone is an under-20 manual laborer (and yet also half of the population receives intensive formal educations that cover chemical formulas and Yates' correction). The only way to avoid being worked to death or executed ("replaced") at age 20 is to be picked for Extraction to the planet's rich, underground Core sector. Every year, the 16-year-olds undergo a mysterious test that measures their Promise. The top scorers in each of the outer sectors (which are work camps established after the Core put down unsuccessful rebellions) are Extracted to the Core. Heroine Clementine is, of course, Extracted, even though this means leaving behind her boyfriend; she vows to find a way to convince those in power that Logan is worthy of a late Extraction. Once in the core, the Extractions undergo training and more testing in order to be assimilated. Clementine so excels that she draws the ire of the Commander's favorite, a violent bully with a penchant for sexual assault. Unsurprisingly, Clementine discovers that the government running this system has dark secrets. The setting is undeveloped not just logistically and culturally, but also in physical description. Some of the training sequences are cool, though, and the ending sets up a more promising plot for the obligatory second novel.Half-baked, confusing and highly derivative. (Science fiction. 12-17)

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June 1, 2014

Gr 9 Up-Unless you're fortunate enough to be born in the Core, survival on planet Kiel is extremely difficult and life expectancy is short. Spunky, clever 16-year-old Clementine is a resident of the Surface where a field protects the destroyed planet from the moon's toxic acid. She has managed to not only survive without a family, but has also thrived in her education. Because the teen has proven to be obedient, intelligent, and strong, she and other young people from various sectors are selected for "Extraction" and will be sent to live in the Core. Clementine is torn about leaving her best friend, Logan, who will be "replaced" in three years after hard labor on the Surface, and is determined to convince the top Commander to allow Logan to join her. Clementine's training in her new home is challenging and nonstop. She inadvertently makes an enemy of one of the officers, a bully who injures and sexually harasses her at every opportunity. As truths are revealed about the society's history, its imperfections, and the destruction that the leaders have planned, the main character and a small group decide they must intercede before it is too late. Overall, this first installment feels like a combination of elements taken from other popular series. Hopefully, the next book in the planned trilogy will focus more on the science fiction aspects of the narrative (particularly the aliens). Still, with its selfless, likable heroine and themes of oppression/hope/rebellion, Extraction will appeal to fans of dystopian fiction.-Sherry J. Mills, Hazelwood East High School, St. Louis, MO

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2014
Grades 7-10 Clementine shows promise on her sixteenth birthday, enough to get her extracted from the toxic Surface of her world and into the Core, where citizens live a productive life of plenty. But she feels lost without her love, Logan, who was deemed unworthy of extraction. Then Clementine discovers that the Surface is in danger from the Core, and she must fight to save everyone she knows. Diaz's first novel in a planned trilogy is competently written with a sympathetic protagonist, intriguing side characters, and a unique setting on an alien world in a strange galaxy. Unfortunately, the work occasionally falters thanks to unavoidable comparisons with similar dystopian series that have already made it big, particularly Hunger Games and Divergent, with which it shares too many elements. By the last third of the book, however, when Diaz shifts focus to the sf elements of the story, it begins to stand on its own merits. Though the cliff-hanger ending is suspenseful, it will be Clementine's determined character that brings the most rabid dystopian fans back for the sequel.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)