FanFare

After the death of his father, a boy growing up on a lunar mining colony takes a trip to explore a legendary crater, along with his four best friends, prior to being permanently relocated to another planet. [more inside]
posted by 2N2222 on Sep 18, 2023 - 5 comments

16-year-old Henry has been regularly abducted by aliens since he was 13. But now they've given him a job. The earth will be destroyed in 144 days unless Henry pushes a button to stop it. It seems like an easy choice, but Henry hasn't been digging life lately. His boyfriend committed suicide last year, his best friend dropped out of his life too, his dad left years ago without saying goodbye, and his mom is an alcoholic chain smoker trying to get by on a waitress' income. His brother is a sadistic bully who just dropped out of college and moved back home because his girlfriend is pregnant. School is no better. Henry is doing poorly and is a target for the bullies there too, including the popular "straight" kid who he is secretly hooking up with on occasion. Henry isn't seeing any reason that the world should continue on in 144 days. He might be doing the world a favor by putting everybody out of their misery. Will he find a reason to push the button? The book gets into big issues of depression, mental health, self-worth, friendship, relationships, and bullying as Henry navigates the 144 days of his life before the world lives or dies on his command.
posted by COD on Apr 6, 2023 - 1 comment

Struggling to survive with her father after the collapse of Earth's ecosystem, 13-year-old Vesper must use her wits, strength and bio-hacking abilities to fight for the future.
posted by porpoise on Feb 19, 2023 - 4 comments

The AI from Kritzer's Hugo Award-winning short story "Cat Pictures, Please" is back at novel length -- along with "a group of teenagers who have found friendship and community online, never realizing that one of their online friends is actually an artificial intelligence." The author describes it as a "technothriller YA (young adult) novel about friendship, online community, AIs (artificial intelligences), robots, hacking, sex ed, and road trips". (I'd add: queerness, monstrous humans, art, dealing with cops, and being embarrassed by your parents.) Here's an excerpt (the second chapter of the book).
posted by brainwane on Nov 30, 2019 - 3 comments