TEST
It’s been a long, slow slog but science fiction (of the encounters with aliens variety) is finally making a comeback. I, for one, have been delighted with the quality of the work we are seeing as well as the increase in number. In this novel we have a plot that mixes Invasion of the Body Snatchers and War of the Worlds to create a fun, unique teen adventure.
No one knows what they are, where they came from or what they are doing here. Humanity awoke one morning to find themselves sharing the earth with spheres, brilliant-colored orbs that look like nothing so much as huge gemstones. Somehow we figured out how to “burn” them – put two matching spheres against your temples and they deliver little gifts – perfect teeth, added height, mathematical abilities, beauty. The rarer the sphere color, the greater the improvement it delivers. Naturally, humankind shared these gifts equally to ensure we all had the chance to benefit.
Of course not.
The spheres immediately became a commodity. Poorer countries export them to wealthy ones so the rich can reap the benefits of the “gifts”. Conglomerates have sprung up which hire professional hunters who look for the spheres all over the world. Spheres are big business and the rarer the sphere, the greater the financial reward.
David “Sully” Sullivan found –and “lost” – a rare Cherry Red sphere. He’d made a handshake deal with Alex Holliday, owner of a huge sphere conglomerate, and didn’t read the fine print on his multi-million dollar contract. It turned out the sphere’s “special ability” was to re-seed the earth with spheres. Holiday didn’t see this as a personal benefit and cancelled the check before Sully could make it to the bank. Now he is a sphere dealer at a flea market. It doesn’t pay much since Holliday’s stores have a stranglehold on the local market but it helps him and his mom make the rent. Well, not really. If Sully doesn’t have a big sale very, very soon then there will be no hope of making that rent. His mom lost her job and he’s essentially all that stands between them and having to live on his uncle’s charity.
Then she strolls into his market place. Calling herself simply Hunter, she brings a forest green sphere for sale and barter. Sully knows that he can make a nice profit for both of them on the sphere so they work out a deal. Once that transaction is successful, she comes back on a regular basis, selling what she can find. When she mentions the score would be bigger if she just had a way to get out to the country, the two strike a deal: a 60(Hunter)/40(Sully) split on all spheres found together if Sully will do the driving.
Their partnership leads to some great finds but also some big problems. Alex Holliday is used to being the big fish in this pond and he has no intention of letting two teens steal his thunder. The stakes become higher, the risks far greater. Until finally, Sully and Hunter make the greatest sphere discovery of all. But when this rarest of rare spheres is burned, what will it mean for humanity?
Romance, car chases, betrayals and the power of besties all make an appearance in this fun look at how the human desire for easy, instant solutions can sometimes lead us to dumb decisions. The spheres primarily deliver things that can be had through hard work but people are so eager to skip that step, they gamble with the unknown rather than do the boring labor necessary to get what they want. This is an intriguing theme that runs throughout the story and the author handles it brilliantly by never voicing it but simply letting us see for ourselves how things are.
Our four teens – Sully, his best friend Dom, Mandy (another teen with a grudge against Holiday) and Hunter – are all likeable characters. They may be a bit more saintly – alright, quite a bit more saintly – than the average teen, but they also enjoy a good laugh, watch TV, text and otherwise behave in a fairly typical fashion. They tread the line between fictional and realistic fairly well.
The romance between Sully and Hunter is handled very nicely. It never progresses beyond the kisses and handholding stage but the sweet rather than sexy factor works for the story. The two make a slow but steady progression from business partners to friends to more in what I think is a very natural manner. There are no fireworks or breathless moments here but the genuineness of what they build between them more than makes up for that.
I liked, too, how the book depicted the pull and push between new relationships and old. Dom and Mandy, who knew Sully first, don’t just throw open their arms and welcome Hunter into the group. She’s a loner who can be prickly and standoffish and while they accept her for Sully’s sake, it is clear where everyone’s loyalties lie. It is a nice reflection of how in real life our romantic interests can clash with our friendships.
No book is perfect, however, and I felt this one had a few flaws that kept it from being DIK material. The first is that the serious subject matter is perhaps glossed over a bit too much. This is a story for the same age group as The Hunger Games but it doesn’t seem willing to examine the darkness in the struggle for survival that that book looked at. The second is the depiction of the adults in the tale. Young adult and children’s novels need for the child protagonists to solve their problems on their own and I get that, but in this case, all the adults were basically worthless or scum. The exception might be Mandy’s parents, who seem like good, caring people but they are so far off page as to be non-existent. I would have liked to have seen more balance in the portrayals within the age groups.
That said this is a fun, fast, engrossing read which is sure to please science fiction fans, old and young alike. If you are a fan of the genre, I am happy to recommend it to you.
Grade: B
Book Type: Science Fiction Romance|Young Adult
Sensuality: Kisses
Review Date: 02/02/16
Publication Date: 2016/02
I've been an avid reader since 2nd grade and discovered romance when my cousin lent me Lord of La Pampa by Kay Thorpe in 7th grade. I currently read approximately 150 books a year, comprised of a mix of Young Adult, romance, mystery, women's fiction, and science fiction/fantasy.
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Recent Comments …
Yep
This sounds delightful! I’m grabbing it, thanks
excellent book: interesting, funny dialogs, deep understanding of each character, interesting secondary characters, and also sexy.
I don’t think anyone expects you to post UK prices – it’s just a shame that such a great sale…
I’m sorry about that. We don’t have any way to post British prices as an American based site.
I have several of her books on my TBR and after reading this am moving them up the pile.