The Fire Sermon

January 5, 2015
Best known for her poetry, Haig debuts as a novelist with this first installment of a post-apocalyptic, dystopian trilogy. Centuries after a devastating nuclear war, all children are born as twins: a physically perfect Alpha paired with a deformed or mutated Omega. The Alphas oppress and shun their opposites, but if either an Alpha or an Omega dies, their twin is psychically constrained to die as well. Cass, an Omega with vaguely defined psychic abilities, is imprisoned by her brother, who has risen to prominence among the Alphas. When she escapes, she rescues the amnesiac Kip and discovers a terrifying secret about the Alphas’ ultimate plan for dealing with the Omegas. Haig presents a scenario ripe with potential, but the harsh divide between the Alphas and Omegas is hard to believe in, given their inherent dependence on one another. Cass’s powers work conveniently as the plot demands, and the twists still carry an air of familiarity. Haig’s prose is almost wistfully descriptive, elevating the otherwise tired story. Agent: Sasha Raskin, Agency Group.

October 1, 2015

A gifted teen stays one step ahead of a government determined to prevent her from changing the status quo. Four hundred years after a nuclear event, Cass and her brother, Zach, are born into a world in which everyone is a twin. One twin is an Alpha. The other is an Omega, born with a deformity or mutation, shunned and separated from its family. However, when one twin dies, the other does, too. Cass has a rare mutation, which she hides as long as she can. She is a seer-she can sense events before they happen. After Zach exposes her, Cass spends her teen years in an Omega settlement, while her brother joins the governing Council and starts working with a woman dubbed the Confessor, a rare Omega collaborating with the Alphas. Zach's influence grows, and he kidnaps Cass and locks her in an underground cell where he can protect her from his enemies. Cass escapes and travels toward the sea in search of the island, a rumored safe haven for Omegas and a hotbed of rebellion. There are intimations that Cass has a special gift that makes her invaluable to the rebellion, but readers will have to wait for the next in the trilogy to find out just what that might be. Haig emphasizes ideas, character, and setting more than fast-paced action. VERDICT An original premise gives this otherwise run-of-the-mill postapocalyptic novel an interesting spark.-Angela Carstensen, Convent of the Sacred Heart, New York City

Copyright 2015 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 15, 2015

A nuclear apocalypse has devastated the human race and planet Earth. Animal species are wiped out, the ground no longer produces enough food, and humans now have a genetic quirk--all babies are born as twins, one deformed and one "perfect." This determines a child's station in life, either as member of the ruling class known as Alphas, or the downtrodden Omegas. As children Cass and Zach are both "perfect," until Zach betrays Cass's hidden Omega secret. Cass can see the future, a dangerous and feared ability that only occurs in rare Omegas. Meanwhile, Zach prospers in the Alpha hierarchy and works toward building a society that will all but destroy the Omegas. Cass sees the future her brother envisions and journeys to find help from a hidden Omega resistance, hoping to change the course of humanity. VERDICT In her fiction debut, award-winning poet Haig beautifully details a ruined world and primitive society divided by class. Readers who enjoy the "Hunger Games" series, Pierce Brown's Red Rising, and like-minded dystopian literature will enjoy this first title in a trilogy.--Jennifer Funk, McKendree Univ. Lib., Lebanon, IL

Copyright 2015 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.