The Blending Time

November 1, 2010
Grades 8-12 Set in a dystopian future in which young heroes and heroines are pursued and harassed by corrupt government officials, Kinchs first novel calls to mind Suzanne Collins and Cory Doctorow. Its 2054, and plagues, devastating pollution, and predetermined (and deadly) jobs are the norm. Seventeen-year-olds Reya, DShay, and Jaym meet during a sea voyage to Africa, where they are to become blenders, creating offspring with native Africans (who can no longer reproduce with each other). Each blender encounters horrific experiences, including rape and attempted murder, but all find sympathetic allies and make their way to the underground resistance movement. While this debut title lacks the tight construction of Collins Hunger Games series, Kinchs depiction of the many different landscapes is a nice distinction. Determinedly multi-ethnic, fast-paced, and with plentiful gore and violence, the book will draw reluctant readers who enjoy action and adventure. Sequels are definitely in order, as the protagonists are left hanging on several cliffs.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)

February 1, 2011

Gr 9 Up-It is the year 2054, and the world has been decimated by environmental changes, plagues, and war. Opportunities for decent jobs and living conditions are limited, particularly for those with little schooling or influential connections. When Jaym, D'Shay, and Reya each turn 17, the mandatory age at which all children of the NorthAm Sector receive their work assignments, the choices are the military, Canal work, street patrol, or blender. Knowing the short life-expectancy statistics of workers in the first three choices, each "s'teener" opts for the unknown fourth choice. Together they travel to Africa along with thousands of other blenders whose mission is to intermarry and live with the African people and help to repopulate the continent after a solar pulse left the population unable to produce viable children. All is not well on this continent, and the three find themselves in a fight for their lives against powers both large and small who want the blender project to fail. Myriad postapocalyptic novels are on the market this year, and at first glance, this seems to be just another one of many. However, Kinch's novel is a frighteningly clear vision of a very possible future where government is in the hands of the few and powerful, and everyone else can expect little from life but deprivation and violence. Graphic scenes of warfare and rape help to build the unrelenting pace of the novel. Readers who enjoyed Suzanne Collins's The Hunger Games (Scholastic, 2008) and Joelle Anthony's Restoring Harmony (Putnam, 2010) may also appreciate this debut novel.-Jane Henriksen Baird, Anchorage Public Library, AK

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