Deviants

Gr 9 Up—When asteroids collide with the Earth, they bring with them a nearly fatal dust, killing much of the population and altering the lives of the survivors. To protect the remaining citizens, a large dome is constructed, keeping the citizens in and the dust out. Glory, 16, has spent her entire life within the confines of Haven. Like most members of society, she trusts the prevailing government, whose purpose is to ration resources, sustain life, and protect the people from Shredders (subhuman creatures that feed off the dust), Deviants (those with genetic mutations resulting in powerful abnormalities), and more. However, as time passes, Glory realizes that both she and her brother possess deviant traits-a realization that causes her to question everything else she has come to believe. Like most dystopian heroines, the teen transitions from semi-trusting citizen to hero of the have-nots. All of the typical YA components are here: the book fits the genre of the moment, it features a female heroine, and there is a love triangle. Despite following the playbook, McGowan misses the mark. While the narrator speaks and thinks at a middle school level, the graphic nature of many scenes makes it a poor choice for that age group. Paired with the dull cover art, this makes Deviants a tough sell for any age. In addition, teens are likely to see too many similarities between Deviants and others of its kind, specifically Veronica Roth's Divergent (HarperCollins, 2011) and Ally Condie's Matched (Dutton, 2010), both of which are better choices.—Jennifer Furuyama, Pendleton Public Library, Pendleton OR