The Accident Season by Moira Fowley-Doyle

The premise of Fowley-Doyle’s debut novel is intriguing. Each October, Cara’s family becomes accident-prone: “Bones break, skin tears, bruises bloom.” A couple of her relatives have died during previous accident seasons, and it’s become a natural part of their lives to be wary around that time. But no matter how many precautions they take – covering up the hardwood floors with rugs, for example – the accidents always happen. Cara’s first-person narration takes us through this accident season and delves into her family’s past, bringing at least two explosive secrets to light, one of which might explain why the accidents happen each year – or if they’re accidents at all. Magical realism is really hit and miss with me, and this book was a bit of both. The writing is lovely, literary without sacrificing Cara’s teen voice. But the plot meandered and the pace was overly slow. Not perfect, but a good pick for fans of magical realism and literary YA.

 

Burning Nation by Trent Reedy

This is the sequel to a book I read for the Cybils last year, Divided We Fall. The audio production on that one was so good, I opted for the audio for its sequel as well, and I was not disappointed. Burning Nation picks up where its predecessor left off, with the United States growing more and more fractured and Danny caught in the middle of it all. Initially Danny is very pro-Idaho, burning for revenge for his mother’s murder by “the Fed.” As more states follow Idaho’s example, officially seceding from the rest of the country due to the mandatory federal ID law, Danny becomes their emblem – somewhat willingly, somewhat not. This one is more violent than the first, with a prolonged scene of torture by an agent of “the Fed” that may be hard to take for some readers, but is essential to the story.

Reedy does an excellent job painting both sides of the conflict in shades of grey: he brings up the likelihood of racist and other extremist groups supporting the secession (something missing from the first book) and ends the novel with a disturbing scene that demonstrates no one may be truly in the right. The effect of violence – both as victim and perpetrator – on one of Danny’s friends is particularly well-done. Reedy also does a good job portraying more conservative Americans (including teens like Danny and his friends) as not all being raging racists, a stereotype I sometimes find in YA fiction. The focus is on current events (invasion of privacy by the federal government is cited as the reason for the conflict) and the book feels unsettlingly prescient as a result. Like the first book, this audio version includes fully-voiced snippets of radio broadcasts, social media, and blog posts with lifelike sound effects that make the story come alive. Listen to it in your car for a really authentic experience

 

Illusionarium by Heather Dixon

The concept of Dixon’s second YA novel (after the acclaimed Entwined) is fascinating. It’s set in an alternate 19th century England where London has been renamed Arthurise and airships dot the skies, giving it a bit of a steampunk feel. The venen, a terrible disease, has just infected the queen, and the king comes calling on Jonathan’s father, a great scientist, to cure it. As his apprentice, Jonathan feels he can help, especially with a new substance called fantillium that Lady Florel, another scientist working on the cure, has just introduced to him. Fantillium causes group hallucinations that allows Jonathan and his father to try out various cures and speed up time without actually harming anyone. But Jonathan’s father feels that something isn’t right about it, or about Lady Florel, and refuses to use it, even to save his own wife and daughter who have come down with the illness. Jonathan decides otherwise, and it takes him on an adventure to another alternate world where fantillium is a way of life.

Dixon’s novel is heavy-handed with the message – the consequences of fantillium use are horrific and Jonathan’s father’s metaphor of a compass as a way to tell him what is morally correct is woven throughout. It feels a tad preachy as a result, but the ideas are interesting, particularly how fantillium works and what these two alternate worlds look like (and how they got that way). Ideas aren’t good enough for a great story, though, and Illusionarium never completely comes together writing-wise. It’s choppy and feels a little juvenile for its intended age range, with exaggerated dialogue and unsubtle characterizations. Still, fans of parallel worlds and fast-paced adventure stories should find a lot to like here.