The Aftermath

Gr 8 Up—It is the year 2036, and violent crimes and wars between states are too much for the U.S. government to handle. Enter the Reconstruction Initiative, a team of scientists that develop a cure to vent people's violence into a game. Real-life avatars are played remotely, viewed on a screen, their actions and behaviors controlled like marionettes by microchip brain implants. The game is prescription play for rich kids to eradicate their evil gene. Olivia is a psychotic video gamer testing out this ultimate game on her real-life character, Claudia Virtue. While Olivia is racking up points, Claudia is playing to survive in this live-action game. Claudia is the main pawn in this game of violence. A glitch in her chip implant causes the teen to use her quick wit and independent reasoning skills to puzzle out the staged life she is living. Turning the tables around, she learns to read Olivia's mind. When a rogue character is introduced, he promises Claudia the freedom she craves. Drawn to her handsome new accomplice, she is also filled with mistrust. The Aftermath colony in which they live (formerly Nashville) is a wreckage of deserted buildings and a simulation of ravaged groups pitted against one another for survival. All-too-familiar themes are flawed by a circuitous plot that is confusing and difficult to follow. The story unfolds like Russian nesting dolls, one character hidden within another character, who is having a relationship with a character who is yet another character. Only those committed to this genre will survive to the end.—Alison Follos, formerly at North Country School, Lake Placid, NY