Soul Machine. ­

Gr 7 Up–Sisters Chloe and Lacey struggle to continue the family business of weaving souls from a material called breth, but the shipments have stopped. When Chloe goes in search of a new source, she discovers the ubiquitous presence of MCorp through their advertising and merchandise, led by the avaricious Maya. Although Chloe’s purpose is to find more breth, and possibly uncover clues about their father’s whereabouts, she instead unearths the synthetic souls MCorp sells and discovers secrets from her family’s past. Chloe will have to choose between consumer-driven city life or loyalty to her sister and their values. Debut author Globerman has created a multilayered story of sisterhood, the search for family, and the dangers of uncontrolled consumerism. The pages are illustrated in a limited palette of black and white, both sisters have pale skin, and a different accent color is used in each setting; teal blue for the country house, bubblegum pink pervades the glittering commercialism of the city, and somber blue-gray captures the underground gloom of their father’s lab.