This Splintered Silence by Kayla Olson
2018; Johns Hopkins University Press; Volume: 72; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1353/bcc.2018.0779
ISSN1558-6766
Autores Tópico(s)Utopian, Dystopian, and Speculative Fiction
ResumoReviewed by: This Splintered Silence by Kayla Olson Elizabeth Bush Olson, Kayla This Splintered Silence. HarperTeen, 2018 [368p] Trade ed. ISBN 978-0-06-248490-1 $17.99 E-book ed. ISBN 978-0-06-248492-5 $8.99 Reviewed from galleys Ad Gr. 7-10 A deadly virus has rampaged through the space station for six weeks now, leaving only kids born within the craft immune and alive. Lindley Hamilton has stepped into her mother's command position, along with five of her lifelong friends to keep the other kids aboard safe and under control until their collective future can be sorted out by the space agency in Nashville. Communication with Earth is lost, however, and the blood-spattered body of a teen indicates the virus has mutated and extended its reach. The only place to turn for help is the commander of another ship on the terraforming mission, and he's known to be narrow-minded and devoid of compassion. As food and water run low, anxiety runs high, grieving youngsters get liquored up, and romance adds to the confusion, additional bodies are found with no sign of viral infection. What's a seventeen-year-old acting commander to do? Olson deploys tried and true plot points to fashion a promising locked room mystery/space adventure, and the ensemble, though predictably cast, is credibly fleshed out. However, when the drama shifts into murder mystery territory, the sci-fi backdrop becomes mostly irrelevant as Lindley's internal torment bounces from "OMG, the virus will kill us!" to "OMG, there's a serial killer among us!" to "OMG, two boys kissed me and I don't know which one I like better!" Space adventure fans probably won't consider this a must-read, but YA readers looking for a fast-paced whodunnit may be sufficiently invested in the peril and interpersonal drama to stick around for the big reveal. EB Copyright © 2018 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois
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