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| Number | Call Number | Branch | Status | Volume |
| 1 |
YA F Stephens J.B |
CP |
In at CP (Corporate Parkway) |
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| 2 |
YA F Stephens J.B |
MK |
In at MK (Middendorf-Kredell) |
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| 3 |
YA F Stephens J.B |
SP |
In at SP (Spencer Road) |
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| In a near future, post-apocalyptic US (population cut in half, military dictatorship in Washington), seven teens meet in a small Missouri town, forced to work together for survival. Avoiding police, military patrols, and paramilitary groups, they've traveled by various means from the coasts or the south into the government-evacuated "Big Empty." One is a resister to the evacuation; two flee execution for theft; and four seek a mysterious, hidden group called Nova Mundum. In this plot-driven page-turner, point of view jumps from teen to teen and chapters end with cliffhangers. The cast consists of sketched-in types-the rich city kid, the intellectual girl, the skittish airhead-with just enough detail to keep readers involved, not enough to detract from the suspense. Add in a couple of interesting twists at the climax that wrap up the plot nicely, but leave room for a possible sequel, and you have a fun sci-fi read that will appeal to fans of Alison Goodman's Singing the Dogstar Blues (2003) and Garth Nix's Shade's Children (1997). (Science fiction. 12-14) Copyright Kirkus 2004 Kirkus/BPI Communications.All rights reserved. | | | |
| Gr 7 Up-In the very near future, a devastating virus has killed off more than half the human race. In the United States, a military dictatorship has taken over, moving the population toward the coasts, away from what has been renamed The Big Empty. Seven teens come together in what used to be Clearwater, MO. Keely, Jonah, and Irene are there looking for Novo Mundum, which seems to be a commune of intelligent, creative sorts who don't want to follow the martial law of the new and unelected president. Diego, a local, has been shot by soldiers after refusing to evacuate. Streetwise Amber is 15, pregnant, and looking for her ex-boyfriend. Michael and his about-to-be-ex-girlfriend, Maggie, meet up with the group when they flee their comfortable lives in order to avoid execution for a crime they didn't commit. Stephens's dystopian vision is all the more frightening because it's not outside the realm of possibility. The adventure is filled with little details that set it firmly in the next few years, and all of the teens are smart and resourceful (except for Maggie, a living, breathing clich‚ who absolutely refuses to admit that the world she knew no longer exists). The ending leaves the door wide open for further volumes. Give this one to fans of Jennifer Armstrong and Nancy Butcher's "Fire-Us" trilogy (HarperCollins).-Mara Alpert, Los Angeles Public Library Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information. | | | |
| Stephens's novel comes across as an attempt to cash in on the rising popularity of apocalyptic thrillers-such as the films 28 Days Later and The Day After Tomorrow and even the Left Behind series-and little more. There is nothing atypical here. A number of unconnected survivors of a viral pandemic that has the remaining world terrified of illness slowly make their way to a promising new underground society. Of course, the society, Novo Mundum (New World) can only give hints via clues and anonymous e-mails. Heroine Keely, Michael-who ends up on the lam with a girlfriend he was about to dump-and punky street tough Amber eventually end up crossing each other's paths in odd and at times convoluted ways Thinly drawn characters in an otherwise lifeless setting does not make for gripping reading. The beginning holds a little promise, but that vanishes as readers begin to see what a cardboard cutout, been-there-done-that scenario is going to play out through the pages. Even Maggie, Michael's shrew of a girlfriend, does not get much of a comeuppance when the reader would find it so desperately welcome. At best this novel would serve as brainless, popcorn-lite reading before an Armageddon flick. At worst, it lives up to its title.-Matthew Weaver 2Q 3P J S Copyright 2004 Voya Reviews. | | |
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St. Charles County, Missouri
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