Zenith

July 1, 2009
Gr 9 Up-A well-written and well-paced sequel to "Exodus" (Walker, 2008). Mara has sailed away with a group of people to find a land that may or may not exist at the top of the world. Fox, her true love and co-revolutionary, has chosen to stay behind to fight the corrupt government. Mara communicates with him using their stolen cyberwizz technology. Tuck is a sticky-fingered, misunderstood boy from a floating atoll of scavengers whose existence is said to have brought bad luck to his family and his town. After the ship that Mara is on destroys part of his town, he sees his chance of escape and stows away on it. Their quest to build a future while trying to survive will keep teens involved from the first chapter. While familiarity with the first book is not a necessity, it is recommended. Fans of postapocalyptic fiction will snap this novel up."June H. Keuhn, Corning East High School, NY"

Copyright 2009 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from February 15, 2009
Grades 6-10 *Starred Review* In this sequel to Exodus (2008), 16-year-old Mara guides a ship of refugees north from New Mungo, hoping to find safe haven in Greenland now that their globally warmed world is almost completely submerged. Upon arrival their ship is sunk and they are enslaved by the barbaric inhabitants of Ilira, who live in apartment-style caves shuttered by automobile doors scavenged from the sea. Eventually Mara and a few others escape, hiking to an interior valley with a glacial lake where they settle permanently. Although told alternately by Mara, Fox, and Tuck, this is mostly Maras storya plucky, imperfect heroine leading the way to an uncertain future in a hostile world filled with inhabitants who do whatever it takes to survive. Still, signs of hope emerge: Maras (and Foxs) baby is born just as the group discovers their promised land; Fox finds encouragement in his campaign against world corruption; and Tuck rehabilitates himself from pirate and thief to builder of fantastic bridges. Sadly, Mara and Fox can no longer communicate (Tuck has stolen part of her cyberwizz, a tool for surfing the Weave), but with a forthcoming final volume in the works, fans can still hope for a reunion.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2009
In the drowned world of the near future, Mara (Exodus) continues to lead her people (now including the refugees and former slaves of the gilded sky city) north toward land, while Fox, her love, deals with the loneliness of being left behind. The timely environmentalist premise and vivid post-apocalyptic setting don't fully compensate for the story's gaps in logic.

(Copyright 2009 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)