The Cruelty by Scott Bergstrom

High School Fiction

G/M. Bergstrom, Scott. The Cruelty. Feiwel and Friends, 2017. 371p. 978-1-250-10818-0. 18.99.

When special agents from the Bureau of Diplomatic Security show up at her door, Gwendolyn Bloom knows something serious has gone wrong with her dad.  She is shocked to find out that he has gone missing and even more surprised when she discovers his diplomatic job was just a cover.  When the trail for her father grows cold, and the Bureau is no longer is aggressively pursuing his case, Gwendolyn takes it upon herself to go search for him.  With the clues that her father left for her and with help from friends, she leaves New York with little more than a backpack and first travels to Paris, where he was last seen, following clues that take her all across Europe.  Her search plunges her into a world of organized crime, witnessing first-hand the cruelty and brutality of it, and is forced to commit unspeakable acts herself.  This spy action-packed thriller is at times unbelievable, but is overall engrossing. However, with the level of violence in the book, it is recommended for older teens and young adults.  There is a sequel in the works, and the film rights for the book has been optioned by Paramount. Camille Campos, Benjamin Franklin Library, LAPL. 

The Long Game: A Fixer Novel

High School Fiction

VG/A Barnes, Jennifer Lynn. The Long Game: A Fixer Novel. Bloomsbury, 2016. 360p. 978-1-61963596-8. 17.99.

When Emilia Rhodes asks Tess for help in winning a high school presidential campaign, she never thought that it would turn deadly.  With Washington is under siege by a terrorist threat and the terrorist in question has personal ties to the White House, Tess is finding there are less and less people she can trust.  The threat soon finds its way right to Hardwicke School’s doorstep, despite having a campus full of armed guards.  Tess is rocked by a betrayal so great, she can only depend on herself to keep a dire situation from becoming even more tragic.  Will Tess be able to outwit these power players or will she be another sacrificial pawn in this long political game?  Camille Keo Campos, LAPL, Angeles Mesa Branch 

The Fixer

High School Fiction

VG/A Barnes, Jennifer Lynn. The Fixer. Bloomsbury, 2015. 372p. 978-1-61963-594-4. 17.99.

Uprooted from her life in Montana when her grandfather becomes too ill to take care of her, Tess Kendrick is forced to move in with her estranged sister in Washington, D.C. After enrolling in the esteemed Hardwicke School, where the children of the nation’s capital elite attend, Tess learns that her sister, Ivy, is a fixer”, someone who fixes the problems of D.C.’s politicians.  Without meaning to, Tess soon develops a reputation for being her high school’s resident fixer, after helping the vice president’s daughter out of a terrible situation.  Her new friend, Vivvie, comes to her, confessing that she overhead her father’s conversation and suspects him of having done something dreadful, connecting him to a Supreme Court justice’s recent death.  In investigating, Tess finds herself embroiled in the machinations of Washington and surrounded by secrets and lies that soon turn dangerous.  Barnes weaves a clever tale of secrets, cover-ups, conspiracies, and political intrigue.  Camille Keo Campos, LAPL, Angeles Mesa Branch   

Daughter of Deep Silence

YA Fiction

G/A Ryan, Carrie. Daughter of Deep Silence. Dutton, 2015. 378p. 978-0-525-42650-9. 17.99.

Frances Mace is one of only three survivors of the Persephone yacht disaster.  The other two are Senator Wells and his son, Grey.  At first, Frances is overjoyed when she learns that Grey has survived, but then realizes something is terribly wrong when Senator Wells and Grey claim that a large wave swallowed the Persephone. However, Frances knows the truth – that men with guns attacked the Persephone and massacred three hundred and twenty-seven people.  Frances has lost both her parents and her friend, Libby, in the aftermath. Frances is rescued by Libby’s father, and he decides that the only way to keep her safe is to have her assume Libby O’Martin’s identity.  Now four years later, France puts her plan into action. Intent on exposing the Senator and Grey and uncovering the truth of the massacre, Frances will stop at nothing to get revenge, even if it means hurting Grey, the boy she once fell in love with years ago.  Camille Campos, YA Librarian, Angeles Mesa Branch Library, LAPL

Illuminae: The Illuminae Files_01

YA Fiction

E/A Kaufman, Amie and Jay Kristoff. Illuminae: The Illuminae Files_01. Knopf, 2015. 608p. 978-0-533-49911-7. 18.99.

The day that Kady dumps Ezra – their whole world falls apart. Their remote mining colony, Kerenza, is attacked by a warship, the Lincoln, which is owned by a rival corporation—BeiTech Industries.  Kady and Ezra escape with their lives to end up on two different ships.  Kady and her mother are on the Hypatia, the scientific exploration vessel, while Ezra is on the battlecarrier Alexander and is later conscripted by the United Terran Authority, as a pilot for their Cyclone fighter crafts.  The Lincoln is relentlessly pursuing them, and it’s only a matter of time before it catches up to them.  Meanwhile, a deadly and highly contagious plague breaks out, and their artificial intelligence, AIDAN, seems to have gone mad and turned against them.  When Kady realizes that Ezra is stuck onboard the Alexander the ship where the virus is getting out of control, (even though she swore she never wanted to see or talk to him again) she risks everything to go and save him. A great sci-fi thriller illustrated and told as a dossier of memoranda, reports, emails, journal entries, intercepted messages and other “classified” documents.  Camille Campos, YA Librarian, LAPL, Angeles Mesa Branch Library