September 1, 2012
A band of orphans travels into a post-apocalyptic London and finds horror. Lucy-Anne, Jenna, Emily, Sparky and Jack have all grown up in the shadow of Doomsday, when London was transformed into a toxic wasteland. After an encounter with Rosemary, a Londoner with mysterious powers, the intrigued teens embark to the ruined city in an attempt to find their missing parents. As Jack and his crew explore the ruins, they encounter the denizens of the Toxic City: the Irregulars, who attempt to blend their new powers with their humanity; the Superiors, who cast aside who they used to be; and the feared Choppers, the patrol force that watches over them all. Lebbon, an award-winning author for adults, never finds his footing with this cliched mess of a teen novel. There's no character development beyond the missing-parent trope, and Jack's leadership is as inspiring as bland oatmeal. Lucy-Anne's obviously established mental instability holds no suspense and is poorly executed to boot. The mutant hook doesn't come together, drawing unfavorable comparisons to Michael Grant's Gone series and Marvel's X-Men franchise. A potentially interesting setting is wasted with shoddy characters, derivative content and dull action. (Science fiction. 12-16)
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September 1, 2012
Gr 9 Up-Ever since the terrorist attack on London two years earlier, life has been anything but normal for 17-year-old Jack and his younger sister, who live on the outskirts of the city. With their parents presumed dead, Jack has had to grow up fast and learn how to care for Emily. His friends, Lucy-Anne, Sparky, and Jenna, also experienced loss in some form. The government insists that the city is a wasteland, full of mutant monsters, and that access in and out is strictly denied. The friends don't believe the government's lies, so when an older woman, Rosemary, comes looking for them, claiming to be from inside London, they feel compelled to follow her back in to see for themselves the reality of the situation. What they experience is far more terrifying and bizarre than they had imagined. Some inhabitants did survive and they developed special powers and skills. Always on the run, the survivors are hunted by the vicious Choppers, who conduct brutal experiments on them when captured. Jack and his friends must first stay alive and then figure out how to tell the truth to the rest of the world. This is the first title in what promises to be a gripping series depicting a near-future England in the throes of a postapocalyptic disaster. Lebbon tells a grim tale, made a bit lighter by the well-developed friendship among the teens and the devoted relationship between Jack and his sister.-Ragan O'Malley, Saint Ann's School, Brooklyn, NY
Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
January 1, 2013
In the aftermath of a biological terrorist attack on London no one is allowed in or out of the city. Truth is blurred by rumors as five teens come together and travel to the forbidden city with a mysterious stranger to find their missing families. The plot has potential, but slight characters, weak writing, and clichid dialogue dull the narrative.
(Copyright 2013 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)