Awakening

Gr 8 Up—Kayla, the central character from Tankborn (Lee & Low, 2011), returns in this thought-provoking sequel. She is still a GEN, a Genetically Engineered Non-Human, even though she has had several opportunities to receive the treatment that would dissolve her circuitry and let her pass for a lowborn. She has a new assignment: to assist lowborn Risa in delivering goods while they work undercover for the Kinship. Kayla's star-crossed love interest, trueborn Devak, and his grandfather, Zul, are barely hanging onto their high status after Devak's father was imprisoned. Helping the Kinship conquer the social inequalities among the classes takes a backseat in this story to two new problems: a virus that affects only GENs and the identity of the group behind the bombings in several GEN sectors. As the food supply for GENs lessens, and more of them are infected, the appearance of GENs who can heal others by touch only confuses things more. Kayla grows stronger as an individual, and there is plenty of attention paid to her relationship with Devak. Some minor characters, like Devak's friend Junjie, are rounded out while others stay one-dimensional. A few scenes seem to drag on, but overall pacing is good. There is a helpful glossary of unfamiliar terms, but this book is best read as a sequel and not as a stand-alone. It's a solid second act with a cliff-hanger that will have readers restless for the third installment.—Kelly Jo Lasher, Middle Township High School, Cape May Court House, NJ