The Invisible

July 1, 2014

Gr 9 Up-Anthem Fleet is back in this sequel to The Brokenhearted (HarperCollins, 2013). This time, she is battling The Invisible, a mysterious group that is attacking Bedlam City's elite in an attempt to close the gap between the ultrarich and super poor. In addition to leveling buildings and blowing up dams, The Invisible also cook up drugs in labs and, in a twist reminiscent of Batman's The Joker, they have pasted-on smiles and administer Giggle Gas poison to the population. Anthem's love interest from the first book, Ford, is back as well and fighting crime alongside her. Many family secrets come to light here and, though most issues are resolved, the ending is open-ended enough to suggest a third installment. While the superhero premise is intriguing and Anthem is a strong protagonist, the writing leaves something to be desired. Purple prose is standard, such as Anthem describing a kiss as "a tropical storm. Wet, wild, thunderous, unpredictable," and when a "pastel-colored afternoon" is described as "the middle soft and sweet, the edges of things sharper, a little bit sour." Plot contrivances go way beyond the suspension of disbelief: Ford has powers now, speedboats appear just when our heroes need them, Anthem can tie scout knots because-surprise!-she learned them when she was younger. It's a testament to how often this happens when Kahaney uses words like "somehow," "surprisingly," and "miraculously" as frequently as she does. Purchase only where the first book was popular.-Laura Lutz, Convent of the Sacred Heart, New York City

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 15, 2014
Anthem Fleet, the ballerina-turned-superhero, is back in this sequel, performing fewer plies and more kickbox moves. After sustaining a near-fatal accident while fighting the Syndicate in The Brokenhearted (2013), Anthem was bestowed with a mechanical heart that gave her superhero powers. Now she faces a new threat. Invisible is the Robin Hood-like leader of a movement that threatens death and apocalyptic events to the wealthy residents of the North Side of Bedlam if they don't give half their wealth to the poor. They are well-organized, vicious and so tech-savvy that they manage to temporarily cut off all electricity to the wealthy-except for their televisions, which now broadcast the group's threats and propaganda. Meanwhile, Anthem's fallen for Ford, a tough but kindhearted boxer who was nearly killed by Anthem's ex-boyfriend. As the mysteries of Invisible unfold, questions about her own family multiply. This second book offers a much richer, closer-to-the-bone emotional depth than the series opener, along with an interwoven back story that will leave readers gobsmacked. Kahaney's description is so detailed readers will easily slip into this futuristic world with its palpably sordid creepiness. Readers unfamiliar with the series will quickly track down the first volume, while the rest will be hounding Kahaney for the next one. (Science fiction. 13 & up)

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October 1, 2014
Grades 7-10 In this action-packed sequel to The Brokenhearted (2013), superheroine Anthem Fleet takes on The Invisible, a group of Southsiders determined to extract blood, money, and fear from the rich, privileged North. Anthem is not unsympathetic to their cause; after all, her boxer boyfriend Ford is a Southsider. But she is determined to stop the senseless killing of children and young people, as well as the total destruction of her father's perhaps ill-gotten empire. Fans won't be disappointed: Anthem is as daring, naive, and honorable as before. Likewise, the plot twists continue, and few readers will anticipate the conclusion, which makes for a fitting end to a tongue-in-cheek yet violent glimpse into a future of equality, greed, and organized crime.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)