Middle Ground

Gr 9 Up—In this sequel to Awaken (Houghton Harcourt, 2011), Maddie again finds herself railing against the omnipresent digital world. From Digital School (DS) to virtual night clubs, teens have access to anything their hearts desire, but only via a computer screen. Real-life interactions are a thing of the past in this brave new world, a fact that Maddie cannot accept. To make matters worse, her father is the creator of DS, and many of her decisions deepen the growing rift between them. At the top of this list of bad decisions is Maddie's choice of boyfriend. Justin is the leader of the DS resistance, a group bent on exposing the dangers of the digital-only life and eliminating the detention centers that are used to forcibly propagate this lifestyle. Justin's fervor for this cause explodes when Maddie's attempts to buck the system land her inside one of these dreaded centers. She is forced to endure a treatment her captors refer to as "The Cure" for six months as Justin and her compatriots gather evidence and make a plan for her escape, a plan that must succeed or real life will forever be a part of the past. In Middle Ground, Kacvinsky presents a compelling argument for the lost art of conversation, set against a dark version of our possible collective future. Maddie is a pleasingly reluctant heroine, resulting in a story that is as fresh as it is timely.—Colleen S. Banick, Westport Public Schools, CT