Rush

Gr 8–10—Rush is difficult to explain and at times difficult to understand, yet it is a compelling read. As Miki Jones, a junior at Glenbrook High, is "pulled from real life," thinking she is dead, she struggles to understand a Mad Hatter universe. She encounters Luka Vijic, a former friend who has returned to Rochester, New York, from Seattle. He tells her that he, too, was "pulled" and that they are both alive, except when they are on a mission. As long as they are successful in this game that is not a game, they get to return to their lives, a process that will repeat itself. Their goal is to kill Drau, alien beings seeking to conquer Earth. Plenty of aliens and conspiracies are juxtaposed with the ordinary world of a teen struggling to balance everything in her life. Some of the characters are stereotypical and two-dimensional, and aspects of the universe that Silver has built challenge the suspension of disbelief. However, most readers won't notice and will simply zip along, hoping to figure out what's really going on.—Saleena L. Davidson, South Brunswick Public Library, Monmouth Junction, NJ