Railhead

Gr 5–8—In this vividly realized interstellar adventure, Reeve grabs hold of readers' imaginations early on and takes them on an exciting ride through time and space. The novel is set in a dystopian future in which the far reaches of the solar system have been mined and terraformed; artificial intelligence and vast connected internets called dataseas control most movement, research, and exploration; and power lies in the hands of a few corporate families. The main mode of transportation is a series of sentient trains capable of traveling thousands of light-years in a matter of seconds. Zen Starling is a human boy who is forced by dire circumstances into a life of pilfering bits and scraps from markets along the train lines in order to help support his mentally unstable mother and sister. A self-professed railhead, Zen often blasts through the K-gates to far distant stations to elude authorities and irate merchants. When he is approached by a mysterious man, known only as Raven, and asked to steal a small item from a train in exchange for a promise to help his family, he readily agrees and inadvertently sets a power struggle and possible coup into motion. His partner and best ally throughout the adventure is Nova, who is an android with human features and feelings. With adept and thoughtful hands, Reeve constructs a big, sprawling, and thrilling universe (a handy glossary is included to sort out all of the intricate networks and relationships), and one in which the trains run on time.