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The waning age / by S.E. Grove.

By: Material type: TextTextPublisher: New York, New York : Viking, [2019]Description: 333 pages ; 22 cmISBN:
  • 9780451479853 :
  • 0451479858
Subject(s): Summary: Determined to rescue her brother from the world's biggest company after they kidnapped him, Natalia finds her mission complicated by a serial predator, a boy who needs help, and the bounty on her head.
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Holdings
Item type Current library Collection Shelving location Call number Status Date due Barcode Item holds
Adult Book Phillipsburg Free Public Library YA Fiction YA Fiction YA GRO Available 36748002464230
Total holds: 0

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Glass Sentence , a lightly speculative, relevant puzzle box with undertones of Never Let Me Go .

The time is now. The place is San Francisco. The world is filled with adults devoid of emotion and children on the cusp of losing their feelings--of "waning"--when they reach their teens.

Natalia Pena has already waned. So why does she love her little brother with such ferocity that, when he's kidnapped by a Big Brother-esque corporation, she'll do anything to get him back?

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Glass Sentence comes this haunting story of one determined girl who will use her razor-sharp wits, her martial arts skills, and, ultimately, her heart to fight killers, predators, and the world's biggest company to rescue her brother--and to uncover the shocking truth about waning.

Determined to rescue her brother from the world's biggest company after they kidnapped him, Natalia finds her mission complicated by a serial predator, a boy who needs help, and the bounty on her head.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Publishers Weekly Review

Emotions have dried up in this stripped-down sci-fi noir novel by Grove (the Mapmakers trilogy), in which people "wane"-lose their ability to experience feelings-around age 10, a benchmark that keeps getting younger. Natalia Peña, 17, has been taking care of her younger brother, Cal, almost 11, since their mother died. Nat works as a maid at San Francisco's Landmark Hotel, where she occasionally rubs elbows with the very rich, who can buy calibrated emotions, or "synaffs," from manufacturing conglomerate RealCorp. Without feelings to guide them, the populace must follow strict rules to maintain law and order ("Know what harm is. And cause no harm. Know what need is. And help those in need") to keep from becoming violence-seeking "Fish." But Cal still responds to the world empathically and emotionally. When he is identified as a late waner and taken to RealCorp for testing, Nat determines to help her little brother, even without the ability to feel traditional love. Logic and reason are king in Grove's rich near-future world, where a Raymond Chandler-style narrative meets questions of ethics and technology. This fast-paced novel provides readers with a deep range of emotions while highlighting the importance of empathy, attachment, and emotional intelligence. Ages 14-up. Agent: Dorian Karchmar, William Morris Endeavor. (Feb.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

School Library Journal Review

Gr 5--8--Imagine a world with no love. No hate. No emotions. Between ages 10 and 11, children begin the waning process. They wane from their emotions and take society-approved drugs (or "synaffs") or they risk being overwhelmed by their violent emotions, becoming "Fish." Seventeen-year-old Natalia has already waned and is counting down the days until her highly emotional ten-year-old brother, Calvino, will, too. Natalia is Cal's only family, since their mother died by suicide and their father is unknown. One day, Cal does not come home from school. Natalia is told that her brother is being tested by RealCorp to figure out why he hasn't waned. Doctors assure Natalia that her brother is in good hands but something tells her otherwise. Kyla Garcia, Julio Sanchez, and Arthur Morey effectively narrate. The action becomes a bit labored midway through, but overall this is a solid listen. Mild drinking and drug use makes this title more appropriate for slightly older teens. VERDICT Give to fans of Lauren Oliver's Delirium and other dystopian novels.--Amanda Schiavulli, Liverpool Public Library, NY

Booklist Review

In a world without emotions, Natalia will do anything to get her little brother back. As children go through the waning, their emotions begin to fade; when they reach adulthood, they are completely emotionless. Natalia is old enough to be deprived of all emotion, but when her brother, Cal, is taken from her by a corporation, she begins to feel. Grove (The Glass Sentence , 2014) ventures into science fiction with this psychological story, which explores concepts of childhood wonder and innocence, the harsher world of adults, and the love that lies at the center. Natalia must overcome a series of obstacles to get Cal back, each dangerous and suspenseful: searching for Cal's father, staying a step ahead of a bounty on her head, and going against a corporation for custody. Natalia's journey is interwoven with texts and letters from Cal, which offers a commentary on where emotions come from and what their purpose is. A dazzling, emotional journey about a sister's love and the fight against an emotionless society.--Elizabeth Konkel Copyright 2019 Booklist

Horn Book Review

Natalia (Nat)'s little brother Calvino is ten, the age when people lose their ability to feel emotion. But Cal isn't "fading"--and now synthetic-emotion company RealCorp wants to test him cruelly. Nat will fight for her brother as hard as if she still loved him. While the world-building is not fully fleshed out, this intriguing dystopian premise makes for a fast-paced, thought-provoking read. (c) Copyright 2019. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Kirkus Book Review

Set in an alternate San Francisco, Grove's (The Crimson Skew, 2016, etc.) latest posits a world where humans lose all emotions beginning at the age of 10. Understandably, Natalia Pea expects her 10-year-old brother, Cal, to undergo the waning process just like she did, but instead, his emotional capacity intensifies day after day. Cal's resistance to the fade eventually attracts the attention of RealCorp, a shadowy, mighty pharmaceutical corporation that manufactures synaffsexpensive drugs that incite feelings in users. When RealCorp kidnaps Cal for testing, Nat sets off on a single-minded pursuit to get her brother back. But what exactly is fueling her determination? Grove expertly builds a memorable, if eerily unflappable, heroine via a first-person narratorial voice that will keep readers engrossed until the bittersweet end. Chapters from Cal's limited point of view serve to fill in contextual and worldbuilding gaps left behind by Nat's adult-oriented narrative, revealing a world ruled by apathy and nostalgia for bygone eras. On her journey, Nat must contend with absent parents (deceased or otherwise) as well as the Fish, a drooglike group who've cast aside society's rules in favor of bleak violence. What's behind humanity's lack of emotions? Some potential answers (a decline in empathy coupled with unmonitored technological progress) seem terrifyingly plausible even in today's social climate. With few physical descriptions, diversity is indicated mostly through names, and Nat is cued as Latinx.A provoking, striking call to self-reflection. (Dystopian fiction. 14-adult) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
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