Series: Zeroes
(bk. 2)
Genera(s):
Paranormal/Urban Contemporary Sci-fi
Subjects:
superpowers, abilities, criminals
Setting:
Cambria, California
POV/Tense: 3rd
person POV rotating between 6 characters: Scam (Ethan), Flicker (Riley),
Bellwether (Nate), Crash (Chizara), Anonymous (Thibault) and Mob (Kelsie).
Age/Grade
Level: Teen
Length: 448
pgs.
HC/PB:
Hardcover
List Price:
$19.99
Publisher:
Simon & Schuster: Simon Pulse
Summary/
product description:
“They thought they’d already faced their toughest fight. But there’s no
relaxing for the reunited Zeroes.
These
six teens with unique abilities have taken on bank robbers, drug dealers, and
mobsters. Now they’re trying to lay low so they can get their new illegal
nightclub off the ground.
But
the quiet doesn’t last long when two strangers come to town, bringing with them
a whole different kind of crowd-based chaos. And hot on their tails is a
crowd-power even more dangerous and sinister.
Up
against these new enemies, every Zero is under threat. Mob is crippled by the
killing-crowd buzz—is she really evil at her core? Flicker is forced to watch
the worst things a crowd can do. Crash’s conscience—and her heart—get a
workout. Anon and Scam must both put family loyalties on the line for the sake
of survival. And Bellwether’s glorious-leader mojo deserts him.
Who’s
left to lead the Zeroes into battle against a new, murderous army?”
My Review: Swarm is the sequel to Zeroes. If you have
not read these books, this series is about a group of six teens with unique
abilities. The book is written in 3rd person POV rotating between 6 characters
that call themselves Zeroes (like heroes, but not). Scam (Ethan) has another
voice that he uses to get him out of situations or get him what he wants. It
knows things he doesn’t know himself. It’s almost like another entity possesses
him. It’s such a unique and odd ability and works better one-on-one. I really
enjoy Ethan’s character the most.
The other
characters have abilities that work best in crowds. Flicker (Riley) is blind
but can use the eyes of people around he to see, like remote viewing. She has a
twin named Lily who she relies on a lot. Bellwether (Nate), is Latino and has
the ability to lead crowds. To pull attention to him, like charisma. Crash
(Chizara) can sense connected technology around her and crash it. Anonymous
(Thibault) has a mental memory based form of invisibility and can’t turn it
off. He’s easily forgotten when people stop paying attention to him. It’s
difficult to make people remember him. Mob (Kelsie) can turn a crowd into a
single organism that has one mood or goal.
This is a
really unique series because of these unique abilities and how they are
utilized. Their powers get them into crazy situation and they try hard to do
good things, but their power aren’t exactly the kind that could save the day,
like super strength or speed. In this book they meet a few other Zeroes outside
their group who don’t exactly use their powers for good. A girl who can warp
your perception and make you lose yourself and a boy who can temporarily turn
blank paper into money. They’re like a Bonnie and Clyde couple, making big
scenes in crowds and causing problems. They’re running from a worse Zero
through, a guy who can turn a crown into a single-minded swarm with intent to
kill. Things are really getting ugly for the Zeroes and chances of survival
seem slim.
I enjoyed this
books because it was so much fun. It’s very fast pace. It’s best read when you
aren’t busy so you can just blaze through the pages. There’s so much action,
humor and cool stuff going on in the book. There’s even some romance, but I was
kind of disappointed for Ethan’s sake. The ending was truly climatic and
surprising. There will be another book, but at times when reading this a I
though it was a sequel-finale in a duology, but Goodreads says there’s a third
book in the works.
Cover Art
Review: The chain link fence photo is too busy.
