(2) YA N.O.A.H. Files series. Fourteen-year-old Noah Prime is late for school and collides with classmate Sahara on his way in, although he can't remember how it happened. But that's not the only strange thing that happens that week. He suddenly freezes up and topples over when confronted by bullies, embarrasses himself on the dance floor with Sahara, and performs a difficult gymnastics routine with ease on the first try. Noah's best friend, Ogden, gradually works out that when Noah is stressed, he exhibits the defense mechanisms of various animals: bird, possum, penguin, chimpanzee, and--when he is accidentally trapped with Sahara in a refrigerated meat locker--walrus. Early in the novel, the reader is given teasing glimpses into further mysteries. A boy named Noah Tercero is captured and killed in Argentina, as is Noah Secundus in England. Do they have similar abilities? And does the same fate await Noah Prime--or can he figure things out with the help of Ogden and Sahara? With brisk pacing, offbeat humor, and endearingly quirky characters, the plot grows more outlandish with each chapter, which is perhaps fitting for a book whose title alludes to a famously nonsensical Beatles song. Shusterman and Elfman (coauthors of the Accelerati trilogy) deliver the goods in this entertaining science fiction romp, leaving readers eager for the next installment.

Reviewer: Jonathan Hunt | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2023

(2) YA When star defensive lineman Ash Bowman makes a bone-crunching tackle during a football game, he sustains a concussion that knocks him into a parallel world. The differences are subtle (stop signs are blue; football team colors have switched), but subsequent tackles yield much more drastic changes. After a concussion in that world, he enters one where he's a spoiled rich kid with a side job as a drug dealer. Then he gets knocked into a world where Brown v. Board of Education never happened, fundamentally altering white Ash's friendship with his best friend, who is Black. Still later, previously straight Ash finds himself in a romantic relationship with his male math tutor and dealing with the fallout when he comes out. And finally, he awakens as a female cheerleader dating the emotionally abusive star quarterback. It's a testament to Shusterman's storytelling powers that he is able to develop a cohesive narrative across these multiple shifts, exploring the subtle nuances of how they affect not only Ash but the entire supporting cast, though the novel falls somewhat short of the emotional heft the subject matter seems to demand. The device that ties it all together--that Ash has become "the center of the universe" and must learn to control these shifts to return to his original reality--is a bit tidy, but serves as a vehicle for provocative explorations of race, class, gender, and sexuality.

Reviewer: Jonathan Hunt | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2021

(2) YA The events of this story are seen in part through the eyes of siblings Ivy and Isaac Ramey, in third-person limited narration, and in part through first-person narration by various drugs, who in this world are personified and have the quality of Greek gods. As the book opens, paramedics fail to revive someone after an opioid overdose; the corpse is tagged with a last name and, somewhat cryptically (and with foreshadowing), a first initial: Ramey, I. The novel then jumps back two months and follows Ivy and Isaac. Ivy, who has been a habitual partier, takes Adderall to help with her ADD, while studious Isaac gradually becomes addicted to OxyContin after his grandmother gives him one of her pills to cope with a sprained ankle. Sometime-narrators Addison (Adderall) and Roxy (OxyContin) openly court the siblings, make friendly wagers with each other, and engage in political gamesmanship with other drugs. If the premise remains nebulous and ambiguous at times, it imbues the plot with elements of mystery and intrigue, coupled with interesting characters and the timely issues of the opioid crisis and other addictions.

Reviewer: Jonathan Hunt | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2022

(2) YA Arc of a Scythe series. In this final volume in Shusterman's dystopian fantasy trilogy (Scythe, rev. 11/16; Thunderhead, rev. 3/18), Scythe Faraday is preparing to sail into the Thunderhead's blind spot to a small archipelago; now that the scythedom has run off the rails, he is looking for the fail-safe he believes the founding scythes have left behind. Greyson Tolliver, the only person not marked "unsavory" and therefore the only one who can communicate with the Thunderhead (the virtually omnipotent, artificially intelligent, cloud-based guardian of humankind), transforms himself into a mythical figure known as the Toll. Meanwhile, the Thunderhead manages to have Citra and Rowan retrieved from the depths of the Endura wreck and revived from their dead-ish state. They are quickly separated, becoming additional pieces that Shusterman moves around the chessboard as he works through the tangled machinations of the plot, shifting subtly from an emphasis on individual characters to a broader focus on humankind; ethics, politics, race, religion, gender, and sustainability are all contemporary issues woven into the story's fabric. The conclusion is surprising and bittersweet, but there is a note of optimism that lingers beyond the last page.

Reviewer: Jonathan Hunt | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2020

(2) YA Arc of a Scythe series. In this sequel to Scythe, Citra (revived as Scythe Anastasia) and her mentor, Scythe Curie, are the target of assassination attempts. Rowan has gone rogue, fleeing underground and taking the moniker Scythe Lucifer to glean unethical and unworthy scythes. Through excellent storytelling, Shusterman deepens the world-building and raises ethical questions about this society's foundations. He expertly weaves narrative strands together, culminating with the requisite cliffhanger.

Reviewer: Jonathan Hunt | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2018

(2) YA A major drought in Southern California culminates in taps running dry. As people become increasingly desperate and institutions break down, Alyssa, her brother Garrett, and their doomsday-prepper neighbor Kelton wind up on a road trip to survive, picking up strangers along the way who may or may not be allies. This compulsively readable, unnerving dystopia raises important questions about how our current world would handle the similar crises we've created.

Reviewer: Christina L. Dobbs | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2018

(2) YA Arc of a Scythe series. With new technology, mortality is a thing of the past, except "scythes" are responsible for "gleaning" to restrict population growth. Citra and Rowan are selected as scythe apprentices; neither wants the role. Then a radical scythe, who does enjoy killing, insists that the winner of a contest glean the losing apprentice. A philosophical exploration of life and death packaged as a high-action adventure.

Reviewer: Anita L. Burkam | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2016

(1) YA Illustrated by Brendan Shusterman. The surreal fantasies of fifteen-year-old Caden Bosch commingle with more comprehensible accounts of family and school, until his parents have him admitted to a psychiatric ward. The disorientation Shusterman evokes through the first-person narration is an apt, effective way to bring readers into nightmarish anxiety and despair--and out of it. The novel is moving, but it's also funny, with dry, insightful humor.

Reviewer: Deirdre F. Baker | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2015

(4) YA Set in the Unwind universe, in which errant youth are legally harvested for body parts, this short story collection explores the lives of peripheral characters, often providing backstories or codas to their appearance in the novels. While the villain chapters can wear thin, the well-drawn dystopia is a powerful narrative engine and the closer look at unwinding in particular is both chilling and rewarding.

Reviewer: Claire E. Gross

(2) 4-6 Accelerati Trilogy series. Nick Slate (Tesla's Attic) believes he can keep an ominous asteroid at bay with Tesla's Far Range Energy Emitter--but to build it he must track down many odd gizmos he mistakenly sold at his garage sale. The quirky gadgetry from the first book returns in full force, and secondary characters feel more fleshed out. Humor and a strong narrative voice carry the day.

Reviewer: Sam Bloom | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2015

(2) YA Unwind Dystology series. Shusterman's dystopian epic concludes with a multi-front showdown among the forces arrayed for and against "unwinding." Shusterman draws the series' tangled threads into line while deepening his portrayal of a society grown economically, medically, and politically dependent on unwinding. This impressive juggling act is grounded by emotional beats that recall the characters' formative moments. Ambitious, insightful, and devastating--a fitting conclusion to a provocative series.

Reviewer: Claire E. Gross | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2014

(2) 4-6 Accelerati Trilogy series. After his mother dies, fourteen-year-old Nick, his younger brother, and their father move into Great-aunt Greta's old house. The junk-filled attic includes items that were made by Nicola Tesla himself--and that have mysterious powers. A baseball glove with its own magnetic pull attracts the attention of shady scientists called the Accelerati. Likable Nick's strong narrative voice propels the well-paced story.

Reviewer: Sam Bloom | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2014

(2) YA Antsy Bonano's third adventure (The Schwa Was Here; Antsy Does Time) is set aboard a luxury cruise ship, an ideal place for a crime and a caper. The crime involves smuggling illegal immigrants from Mexico into the United States; the caper includes disguises, pseudonyms, and shipboard parkour. Just as in the previous books, the scattergun jokes are both relentless and snort-worthy.

Reviewer: Sarah Ellis | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2013

(2) YA Revolution is brewing. Risa, Conner, Cam, and Lev (Unwind; UnWholly) can't stay passive while the world so desperately needs changing. It's all heady stuff, and Shusterman effectively balances the big-picture ethical musings with scenes of the teens simply being teens. New readers would likely find this complex world bewildering, though the series easily warrants backtracking to figure out what they are missing.

Reviewer: April Spisak | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2014

(4) YA Star Shards Chronicles series. These final two volumes in a trilogy offer an epic tale of fated romances, a world that needs saving (and a ragtag yet ultra-powerful group of supernatural teens who can do it), and an array of good vs. evil battles. It's good stuff, though the slightly dated feeling and occasional heady philosophical debates do detract from the narratives a bit. Review covers these Star Shards Chronicles titles: Shattered Sky and Thief of Souls.

Reviewer: April Spisak

(4) YA Star Shards Chronicles series. These final two volumes in a trilogy offer an epic tale of fated romances, a world that needs saving (and a ragtag yet ultra-powerful group of supernatural teens who can do it), and an array of good vs. evil battles. It's good stuff, though the slightly dated feeling and occasional heady philosophical debates do detract from the narratives a bit. Review covers these Star Shards Chronicles titles: Shattered Sky and Thief of Souls.

Reviewer: April Spisak

(2) YA Clued in by the mysterious death of a classmate, Jason begins to suspect that all is not what it seems in his boring small-town existence and ever-pleasant family life. It turns out that his family and many of the other folks in town are aliens, the advance guard of a conquering race. The plot's an eye-roller--think William Sleator without the math--but Shusterman is a good writer who knows how to keep things moving.

Reviewer: Roger Sutton | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 1997

(2) YA In this Unwind sequel, unwinding (harvesting body parts of unwanted teens for transplanting) continues, and Connor, Lev, and Risa are still caught up in the fray. The particularly targeted storked kids (left on doorsteps as infants) are given a sharper focus in this volume, adding depth to the picture of this dystopic society; Shusterman elegantly balances the different perspectives of the protagonists.

Reviewer: April Spisak | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2012

(2) YA Skinjacker Trilogy series. As book three (Everlost; Everwild) opens, Allie the Outcast is tied to a train containing the sleeping body of evil Mary Hightower. Nick, meanwhile, has lost his memory, having reverted almost completely to a chocolate golem. This isn't a book to read on its own, but Shusterman's richly complex world building will intrigue initiates just as the main characters' fates will satisfy fans.

Reviewer: Susan Dove Lempke | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2011

(3) YA When Brontë Sternberger begins dating Brewster ("Bruiser") Rawlins, her twin brother, Tennyson, quickly asserts his opinion about the relationship. But soon a unique triumvirate forms as Brontë and Tennyson learn more about Bruiser and his mystical ability to absorb others' pain. Narrative perspective alternates among the three characters (Bruiser's is in verse), and Shusterman's knack for authentic teen voices carries the novel.

Reviewer: Hannah Rodgers Barnaby