Spray

Gr 7 Up—During a time of worldwide water shortage, a role-playing action game, Spray, begins. Appealing to teen and young adult players, the gamekeeper assigns each player someone to assassinate by soaking them with water pistols or balloons. Players who are soaked must give up their laminated card to the assassin. Participants create alliances, and, as the action proceeds, readers learn a bit more about the characters but never enough to really care about any of them or understand what would motivate them to play the game. What might have been a story line as exciting as Cory Doctorow's Little Brother (Tor, 2008) ends up being superficial and plodding. The book may appeal to gaming fans, but readers expecting more depth of plot and action will either give up early on the book or be disappointed at the end.—Suanne Roush, Osceola High School, Seminole, FL