4/29/2023 0 Comments Unison legend![]() ![]() Characters follow a White default.Ĭharacters to love, quips to snort at, insights to ponder: typical Spinelli.Some legends say that a rabbit lives on the moon. Spinelli shines at setting a tongue-in-cheek tone for a tale with serious underpinnings, and as in Stargirl (2000), readers will be swept into the relationship that develops between this adolescent odd couple. What follows, in a long conversational ramble through town and beyond, is a day at once ordinary yet rich in discovery and self-discovery-not just for Worm, but for Becca too, with a climactic twist that leaves both ready, or readier, for whatever may come next. But being (or having been, anyway) a more outgoing sort, she sees their encounter as a sign that she’s got a mission. Becca Finch is as surprised and confused as Worm, only remembering losing control of her car on an icy slope that past Christmas Eve. Like many of his classmates, shy, self-conscious Robbie “Worm” Tarnauer has been looking forward to Dead Wed as a day for cutting loose rather than sober reflection…until he finds himself talking to a strange girl or, as she would have it, “spectral maiden,” only he can see or touch. On the second Wednesday in June, every eighth grader in Amber Springs, Pennsylvania, gets a black shirt, the name and picture of a teen killed the previous year through reckless behavior-and the silent treatment from everyone in town. Still, it's wonderfully refreshing to see a heroine using her brain to win a war rather than strapping on a sword and charging into battle.ĭespite the stale fat-to-curvy pattern, compelling world building with a Southern European, pseudo-Christian feel, reminiscent of Naomi Kritzer's Fires of the Faithful (2002), keeps this entry fresh.įor two teenagers, a small town’s annual cautionary ritual becomes both a life- and a death-changing experience. Elisa’s "mountainous" body shrivels away when she spends a month on forced march eating rat, and thus she is a better person. With a character so smart that she doesn't have much to learn, body size is stereotypically substituted for character development. Elisa uses her untried strategic knowledge to always-good effect. War is coming, and perhaps only Elisa's Godstone-and knowledge from the Belleza Guerra-can save them. With no warning, this fat, self-loathing princess is married off to a distant king and is embroiled in political and spiritual intrigue. She's a devout reader of holy books and is well-versed in the military strategy text Belleza Guerra, but she has been kept in ignorance of world affairs. Readers will often find themselves vacillating between like and dislike.Īdventure drags our heroine all over the map of fantasyland while giving her the opportunity to use her smarts.Įlisa-Princess Lucero-Elisa de Riqueza of Orovalle-has been chosen for Service since the day she was born, when a beam of holy light put a Godstone in her navel. The rest of the adventures are disjointed and far less entertaining. The best parts of the uneven novel are the engaging and even satirical descriptions of the social network (“Too many Events to attend? Feeling overwhelmed? Fake your own Account deletion with Unigone!”). Together, they learn the real meaning of friending. The plot becomes one chase after another as Mistletoe seeks out more information on their origin and Ambrose attempts to block the launch of Unison 3.0 from his maniacal father/creator. ![]() In an underground world of terrorists plotting to overthrow Unison, the teens discover that they are actually hybrid organisms built to become part of Unison. The 15-year-olds cross paths after Ambrose flees his Level Seven hypothalamus modification to live without sleep and become more efficient. Mistletoe), who ekes out an existence in the dark subcanopy of Eastern Seaboard City, and Ambrose Truax, son of the Unison CEO and the youngest UniCorp Associate, who lavishly resides topside in an atmoscraper. Chapters alternate perspectives between blue-pigtailed Anna (a.k.a. In this debut novel with Matrix overtones, those who can afford it live a “BetterLife” in the alternate reality of the Unison social network. What if the ultimate social network tried to take over the world? ![]()
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