Zeroes by Scott Westerfeld, Margo Lanagan and Deborah Biancotti
Zeroes bk 1. Allen and Unwin, 2015. ISBN 9781925266955
(Age: 12+) Highly recommended. Thriller. Super heroes. Six teenagers
have awesome super powers and when one of them gets into trouble,
the Zeroes pull together as a team to sort out some dangerous
criminals. Ethan aka Scam has a voice inside him that blurts out
things people often don't want to heart. The Voice has gotten him
into trouble when it divulged things about his four friends, and
they are not very keen on being his friend. However when Ethan comes
to grief during a bank robbery, they decide to come to his aid, and
in the process find Kelsie who can manipulate a crowd and who is
desperate to help her father who was involved in the robbery. Led by
Nate, aka Bellwether, the group's 'glorious leader' and ably helped
by Anonymous, the handsome boy that everyone forgets, Crash who can
wreck anything electrical and Flicker who can see through other
people's eyes, the Zeroes team face danger and adventure as they
chase the mob in an attempt to rescue Kelsie's father.
Written by three outstanding authors, Zeroes will
immediately grab the reader with its fast paced action and great
characters. Each of the six is so well described that it is easy to
become engaged with them, to see how they use their fabulous powers
but also to see their fears and weaknesses as well. Each chapter is
narrated by a different character who gives a description of the
action that is going on and the reader gains insight into how the
differing teens operate and feel.
This is a powerful combination of fantasy as the teens use their
superpowers and crime thriller as they chase the dangerous gang.
There are some explosive moments and thrills galore.
I really enjoyed this story - the rollercoaster action and the
characters' superpowers were gripping. Zeroes is a stand
alone novel in a trilogy and this makes it a winner for me. I will
be sure to pick up others in the series and look forward to more
adventures and fun.
Pat Pledger