Coda

Original author: Emma Trevayne

THE LOWDOWN:

Deep in an abandoned basement, eighteen-year-old Anthem sings of truth and freedom with his illegal underground band. Yet on the surface and under watchful eyes, Anthem is unable to resist the call of the Corporation’s addictive, mind-altering music tracks, even as he knows they are used to control him and his fellow citizens.

When tragedy strikes close to home, Anthem realizes that defying the Corp comes at a deadly price. The key to the revolution might be with the girl Anthem loves, but will he trust her enough to let her join the fight?

FIRST IMPRESSION:

I’m drawn toward the door. I can’t hear it yet, but I can feel it. A pulse, a heartbeat. The floor shakes.

Inside, the cavernous, soundproof room is already packed, black and neon and flashing lights and stifling heat from the crush of bodies. It will dry my hair back into some semblance of the platinum-and-blue spikes I’d arranged so meticulously at home, hiding the wire for the fiber-optic cerulean tubes in my own real hair before snaking it down to plug into the socket at the back of my neck. My own energy will make them glow, just as by day it helps power the Grid. They’re an indulgence since I should conserve myself for work, but I love them too much to care.

—ARC paperback edition

SNAPSHOT:

Anthem, the narrator in this unique, raw dystopian where everyone is addicted to the high of the Corp’s encoded music tracks, is an unconventional and compassionate protagonist. He is that rare character—male or female—who messes up, admits his failings, and works hard to fix them. Readers may find themselves addicted as Anthem and his band mates stir dissonance first among each other and then to their growing underground movement, raising the chant for freedom.

While the largest plot pieces navigate our gentle hero through a classic ‘rebellion against corrupt government’ storyline, the smaller details are the forte of this book. The large ensemble cast of friends and family are deftly drawn and each given their own personalities and realistic life choices. The world building progresses naturally, layering information in sizeable but manageable bites, making for more than just another dystopian.

LGBTQ readers especially will appreciate the fact that Anthem’s bisexuality is a non-issue, never used to make him feel less than—his sexuality is a major part of who he is but never his defining trait.

Through staccato measures of horror and paranoia, the author steadily leads the tempo of Anthem’s fight to its rich crescendo: a thrilling finale that will resonate long into future of his world.

Appropriate for ages 14+. Strong vulgar language, music as drugs, sexual situations, intense situations and violence.

Includes motifs of death, drug addiction, rebellion, friendship, identity, loyalty to family, class divides, love in all its forms, and the real consequences of individuals’ and society’s actions.

GET IT ON YOUR SHELF:

If you…

– Enjoyed Pretties or Extras by Scott Westerfeld

– Are an underground musician, late night rave kid, or cyberpunk rebel

– Know there is more to life than following blindly

– Want to spend time with a perfectly imperfect hero

– Have the drive to stand up for what you believe in

THE ESSENTIALS:

YA cyberpunk

Trade paperback & Ebook, 320 pages

Published May 2013 by Running Press Teens (ISBN978-0-7624-4728-2)

http://runningpress.com/perseus/book_detail.jsp?isbn=0762447281