Dread Nation by Justina Ireland

Dread Nation by Justina Ireland
Balzer + Bray, 2018

The author creates an extraordinary world in this genre-mixing alternate history set after the Civil War.

After the battle of Gettysburg, the dead started rising and attacking the living, so the war between the states turned into the war against the restless dead. The country has turned into autonomous walled city states on the East coast and defended homes and towns elsewhere. The ruling Survivalist party believes that the reason for the dead rising is that the Civil War changed the “natural order” and that only by having White Christian men at the top and everyone else knowing their place would  America be made “safe again”.

This means that the “Negroes” (the official term, less official words used are “darkies” and “coons”) though enfranchised have been forcibly put through combat training school and made to work protecting individuals and cities. Seen as disposable, like animals, and often poorly equipped, they are slaves in another guise, while being told they should be grateful for being taught.

Our protagonist, 17-year-old Jane McKeene is about to graduate from the presitigious Miss Preston’s combat academy. She is dark-skinned and a typical feisty YA heroine who acts before she thinks and is thoughtful, smart, resourceful, and curious. She has her own code of loyalty and self-protection, and while it leads her into some difficult scrapes, the reader is always on her side. Of course she gets into trouble and she, her classmate and nemesis Katherine, a light-skinned beauty, and multiracial Jackson are forcibly sent to Summerland, a new model town which is being built as a model for shambler-free (ie undead-free) settlements everywhere. There are some dark secrets in Summerland and Jane is just the person to uncover them, all the while battling the ever-evolving restless dead.

The characters are all vividly and generously dimensional and there is plenty of thought-provoking parallels to contemporary American society wrapped up in an exciting adventure punctuated with some horrific zombie (though that word is never used) slaying. As the book ends, Jane and her companions are headed off on a new quest and, presumably, for a sequel.

Broken Things by Lauren Oliver

Broken Things by Lauren Oliver
HarperCollins, October 2018.

Lauren Oliver has switched between realistic fiction and sci fi, but the common thread is always young women pushed to their limits. I’ve been a fan since Delirium way back and I think this new one is a perfect encapsulation of Oliver’s talents as a creator of credible and nuanced characters, sharp plotting, and an atmospheric setting.

Five years ago in Twin Lakes, Vermont, 13 year-old Summer was murdered in an apparently ritualistic way. Her two best friends, Brynn and Mia were suspected but never charged, as was her boyfriend Owen. Since then, as they’re still seen as the “Monsters of Brickhouse Lane”, Brynn has hidden away in unnecessary rehab facilities, Mia has withdrawn, and Owen’s family moved abroad.  But now on the five year anniversary of her death, the teens are all back in town and starting to work out who the real murderer was.

So far, so Kara Thomas which in itself is an excellent recommendation. Layering on top of this, the murder seems to be linked to an old children’s fantasy book called The Way into Lovelorn which the girls were obsessed with and wrote a sequel to, and which seemed to have come to life for them.

The narrative is split between Mia and Brynn and Then and Now, and a picture is built up of lonely “broken” girls on the fringes of their communities: Summer was with a foster family, Mia got so anxious she couldn’t speak, and Brynn expressed her rage through fighting. But together they made sense and Lovelorn helped them to do that. But when adolescence hit Summer and Brynn, Mia felt excluded and Summer’s attraction to older boys left the other two behind and Lovelorn is abandoned.

As with her previous realistic novels, the author does an excellent job of vividly drawing an insular small-minded community, and the pressure that brings on teen girls who don’t conform and the murder mystery on top of this works well.

The plot is neatly worked out as the teens (all significant characters in this book are white) unearth clues, both in real life and in the fanfic they wrote. A satisfying resolution is reached without stretching credibility, and both Mia and Brynn are on the road to dealing with their lives now that the weight of suspicion is off them and they can reach closure about Summer’s death.

Perfect for teen readers who enjoy mystery and/or realistic novels with a side of creepiness.

Thanks to HarperCollins and Edelweiss for the digital review copy.

Little Do We Know by Tamara Ireland Stone

Little Do We Know by Tamara Ireland Stone
Hyperion, 2018

Stone explores complex aspects of faith and trust in this respectful, character-driven novel. White seniors Hannah and Emory had been best friends for 17 years but, after a shattering argument 3 months ago, have not spoken to each other since. They go their separate ways – Hannah to her father’s church school and Emory hanging out with her boyfriend Luke – until one night Luke has an accident and everything changes for all three of them.

Hannah’s family is deeply Christian and so was she, but now she is questioning this blind faith and she looks for alternatives. Religion has not been a factor in Luke and Emory’s lives, but after his near-death experience Luke starts finding comfort in it.

Hannah and Emory are distinct and fleshed-out narrators in alternating short chapters as they gradually unpeel what happened three months ago to drive them apart and what is happening now that might bring them back together. As they deal with the secrets that can undermine even the closest relationships, they also find the glue that keeps friends and families together.

Ideal for teens interested in unusual and unexpected ideas.

Ship It by Britta Lundin

Ship It by Britta Lundin
FreeForm, 2018.

Set in the world of comic cons and fanfic, this warm-hearted and funny debut novel takes a sharp look at identity and representation. High school junior narrator Claire is obsessed with Demon Heart, a TV fantasy show, and she writes romantic and explicit fanfiction about the two male leads, Smokey and Heart (in the vernacular, she ships SmokeHeart). Second narrator Forest plays Smokey and is openly appalled when Claire asks at a con panel about the possibility that his character is gay.

Over the course of several cons, both Claire and Forest evolve, understanding more about themselves and the importance of empathy. Claire’s connection with Demon Heart has grown from from her nerdy misfit loneliness in small town Idaho and her nascent understanding of her sexuality. As she finds more friends who get her and even tentatively starts a relationship with Tess, a black “homoromantic pansexual” she realizes there is more to real life than SmokeHeart going canon.

Forest is laser-focused on a career in action movies and believes  any suggestion of homosexuality in his role would be a death blow to his ambitions. But he come to (maybe unrealistically quickly) realize the importance of representation of all communities in the media and that once something is on screen it is up to the audience how they interpret it.

The support cast, including Rico who plays Heart, Claire’s somewhat overinvolved parents, and the PR team are all warmly supportive of Claire’s struggles. Tess is an interesting love interest – though seemingly sure of herself in many ways, she is also ashamed of her fandom and there are several missteps between the two young women.

TV writer Lundin creates a frothily manic, if slightly idealized world, informed by her knowledge of the realities of TV show production, social media, and the intense world of comic cons. She acknowledges the lack of diversity in mainstream TV shows and though the ending suggests that attitudes are changing, it’s probably slower in real life.

Ideal for teens who enjoy shipping their favorite TV and movie characters.