False Sight

June 15, 2013
Memories and bodies hop across dimensions in this sequel to False Memory (2012). Red-eyed Miranda and her fellow Roses, teens with psychic abilities and unknown origins, just lost two of their own in a sudden burst of violence. Now on the hunt for their murderous member, "Sequel," aka Nina, Miranda stumbles upon an ominous black liquid that links her world to many others. Unfortunately, the black goo provides a passageway for an army of blind monsters to hop from world to world, an army that may be controlled by the people who developed Miranda and the Roses. Miranda sheds some of her kick-ass nature in her second adventure, which is disheartening, as the action is sometimes shelved in favor of romance. However, when Miranda is dueling, wrestling or kicking, she's in top form, and the adrenaline is palpable. The supporting characters are unremarkable for most of the story, only becoming relevant in the romance subplot and even then remaining bland. The eyeless psychic monsters do make for an effective threat, although the dimension-hopping and heavy-duty cloning-origin story tie confusing knots into an otherwise smooth story. A remix of the first, weighed down with extraneous back story. (Action. 10-14)

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January 1, 2014

Gr 9 Up-As this story opens, clones Miranda (going by the name Kristin), Sequel (from the same clone family as Miranda), Rhys, Peter, and Noah are trying to blend in as typical high school students, but without much success. They are super soldiers, who can send out mental energy that causes people to panic or go insane. On prom night, Sequel hears a phrase that awakens "Nina" within her mind, causing her to kill Noah and turn against her former team. The relationship of memory and identity is examined as it is only memory shots that allow team members to keep their memories intact and thus remain themselves. Miranda downloads Noah's memory after his death and is able to tap into his knowledge and thoughts. Meanwhile, she is afraid that some secret phrase may awaken a "Nina" within her. Miranda is the focus of the story, as she, Peter, and Rhys follow Sequel/Nina into the Black, where Gane watches over The Verge. They find out that the universe of the Black has many worlds, the most powerful of which is True Earth. In order to "cleanse" worlds of human inhabitants, the razor-clawed Eyeless have been set free, and if Miranda and her team can't obtain the Torch that controls them, the Earth that Miranda knows will be their next target. The book is heavy on action and occasional romance, without a lot of subtlety or depth. It ends with a sword fight in the Oval Office of the White House, followed by a trip through the Black to True Earth, where Miranda makes a sacrifice that sets up the cliff-hanger ending. A good choice where the first book is popular.-Maggie Knapp, Trinity Valley School, Fort Worth, TX

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2013
Grades 8-11 Engineered to be lethal assassins, Miranda and her fellow cloned friends are on the run and trying to lead normal lives. It's not long, however, before one of them sets her own deadly course. The chase to find the rogue clone unleashes a war of worlds with terrifying monsters, and Miranda is forced to make the ultimate sacrifice to save the future of the planet. The love triangle begun in False Memory (2012) becomes even more complicated and unusual in this sequel. This is just one of many surprises that fuels the high energy level and keeps readers guessing until the final installment.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)