Rebel Heart

Gr 7 Up—Rebel Heart starts where Blood Red Road (S & S, 2011) left off. While Saba, her siblings, and friends travel west to start a new life, they learn that there's a new man looking for her, known as the Pathfinder. He has offered a bounty for Saba because she rescued her brother, Lugh, and killed the Vicar. The vicious Tonton soldiers have regrouped and are grabbing land from Waste settlers to create New Eden-a thriving world the way it was before Wreckers destroyed it. Resistance groups have formed to fight back. Saba's life has become more complicated: there is tension between her and Lugh, she is haunted by strange dreams, and it appears that her love, Jack, has betrayed her. She is further confused because she is also drawn to DeMalo (the Pathfinder). Some readers might find Saba's narrative challenging because of the phonetic spelling, poor grammar, and lack of quotation marks to distinguish who is speaking. Teens will also have to get past the numerous coincidences-which Saba attributes to "Destiny"-such as how the characters manage to find one another so easily without any means of communication. Despite these shortcomings, the book will appeal to fans of the first novel, who will want to learn more about survival in this futuristic wasteland and Saba's bonds with others-particularly the romantic ones.—Sherry J. Mills, Hazelwood East High School, St. Louis, MO