The Secret Runners

ISBN: 0593125800

Author: Reilly, Matthew

Condition: New

Product DescriptionGossip Girl meets Mad Max in this breakneck thriller where the line between rich and poor is the line between life and death.You can't buy your way out of the end of the world in this edge-of-your-seat adventure from an internationally bestselling author.Rich vs. Poor. Life vs. Death.When Skye Rogers and her twin brother, Red, move to Manhattan, rumors of a coming global apocalypse are building. But the ultra-wealthy young elites at their prestigious school keep partying like there's no tomorrow--while the city around them starts to fall apart.Then Skye and Red are invited to join the Secret Runners, an exclusive group that has access to horrifying truths about the future. Can that insider information save them? Or is this the only time even one-percenters can't buy their way to safety?From School Library JournalGr 9 Up-Newly relocated from Memphis to Manhattan, Skye and her twin brother Redford are about to start at The Monmouth School, where new girls have been going missing. Red quickly falls into the popular group who share a big secret; they have access to a mysterious underground portal. After Skye gets invited to join the group, they discover it is a portal to a future that is soon upon them. As the apocalypse is approaching, Skye discovers she has more to face than the end of the world. Quick to bring readers in with its mysterious prologue, the book drastically switches to a slow pace when the real story begins. The novel is divided into seven parts, and it does pick up again in part three, holding readers' attention. Each section starts with a map providing a small visual of where that part of the story is taking place. Though the significant characters are intriguingly flawed, the minor ones are easily confused with one another, including one who will be discovered as a more critical antagonist than initially led to believe. Loose ends leave space for a sequel. The primary arc of the story wraps up, leaving readers with a satisfying ending. VERDICT Hardcore science fiction and dystopian fans may be disappointed by how much of the story is rooted in the pre-apocalyptic world and the mean girl storyline. An additional purchase.-Amanda Borgia, Uniondale P.L., NYa(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.About the AuthorMatthew Reilly is the New York Times and #1 internationally bestselling author of adult thrillers, including The Great Zoo of China and the Scarecrow and Jack West series. His books have been published in over twenty languages and have sold more than 7.5 million copies worldwide. This is his first novel for young adults. Matthew lives in Los Angeles.matthewreilly.comExcerpt. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.New School, New LifeIt was my first day at school in a new city, but I dont think youd find many people feeling sorry for me.On paper, my life was the ultimate fantasy of the average American sixteen-year-old girl.I was living in New York City on the Upper West Side, in the historic San Remo building, in an enormous apartment that overlooked Central Park. The San Remo is one of those imperious twin-towered art deco co-ops that were built in the 1930s and are now occupied by movie stars, Wall Street masters of the universe, Saudi princes, and anybody else who can afford to pay $20 million in cash for an apartment.But as far as I saw it, my life sucked.Wrenched from my childhood home in Memphis, I had been transplanted at the age of sixteen into the most fearsome milieu of teenage bitchiness imaginable: that of ultra-wealthy New York.Enrolled at a new school in a new city, away from the father I loved, living with a mother I despised and a stepfather who tolerated me, I hated it. The only plus was that my twin brother, Red--ever calm and easygoing--was in it with me.The first day of school didnt start well.I dressed in my uniform: an utterly sexless white button-do