Teen Scene

The book is about the aftermath of a robot revolution, the characters born into a post-apocalyptic world. The main character is Nick, but his siblings Cass and Kevin are focused on as well. The characters know nothing about the world before the revolution, so when they find “pre-rev” artifacts they are very surprised. The world is filled with both cities and “freeposts” which are small villages of people using natural resources and moving from place to place so they are not spotted by the “bots”. Nick has lost one eye in an incident with a robot when he was an infant and is the oldest of the group. Cass is an athletic artist who spends her time drawing and sketching. Kevin is a technological genius, and knows more about technology than everyone in the freepost but his mentor, Tom. Each character is unique with their own personality.

It was a great book that reminded me of Brian Falkner’s futuristic thriller, “The assault”. I liked each characters’ personality but my favorite was Kevin. Being a 13 year old and surviving what he went through seems impossible. The time period is a bit unexplained (as far as you can tell it’s some time after 2049) but everything else is vividly described. The book’s ending is a bit predictable so that makes it less enjoyable. In the very middle is where it’s at its best, action mixed in with surprise and suspense makes for an amazing climax!

The most memorable thing in the book is that it seems like the author actually thought about things like if the revolution was so many years before the protagonist was born then why do the characters know exactly what it was like when it happened?  Those Little flaws are what bother me about some books, but here the author actually took the time to go back and fix all the plot holes. It is an overall great book and you should probably read it in your spare time. It is just missing something that certain other books like “Vietnam” and “The Assault” have.

  Review by Sampat, Grade 6, Tuckahoe Area Library

When We Wake is about Tegan, a girl that wakes up a century later. You may be wondering how this is possible, right? Well, cryonics is the process of freezing someone’s body after they die so in the future, if there is a way of bringing them back to life, they can be brought back. Tegan must learn how to eat, talk, walk, and live the way that people from the next century can. This dystopian novel captures Tegan’s adventures and finding in her new life and the dangers there are to come.

If I could summarize this book in a few words, it would be suspenseful. There are many moments throughout the book that keep you at the edge of your seat and make you hunger for more. The twists, the sciences, the new life that Tegan has makes you try to predict what may happen to Tegan, but when you think everything is okay and Tegan is normal and her new life is okay, there is another surprise waiting. This book is especially great for people that like dystopian novels.

There are many points in the book where you feel like it is the best part but it does keep changing. I believe that the one moment that sticks with you is the moment that Tegan awakes. She did not know much about where she was or what had happened to her. It gives you a sense of how imagery the author was very skilled and knew how to use that tool the right way to create a picture with her words.

Review by Amalendu, Grade 7, Tuckahoe Area Library