High-school freshman Tucker Pierce lives on isolated Pemberwick Island, just off the coast of Maine. He has the requisite wiseacre best friend, Quinn, and is crushing on two unobtainable girls, Tori and Olivia. But when a series of sudden and mysterious deaths, including one of Tucker's classmates, throws everything he knows into turmoil, it leaves him with no idea where to turn or who to trust. Tucker's conversational, first-person point-of-view draws the reader in as SYLO, a military operation endorsed by the president, takes over the island. It quickly becomes apparent that SYLO forces will stop at nothing to see that everyone stays put. But then Tucker witnesses several cold-blooded killings, and he and his friends are determined to escape to the mainland. Once there, they find more questions than answers, and the story ends with a wide-open cliff-hanger and no resolution whatsoever. With this extremely high-octane story that's the equivalent to a summer movie blockbuster (enough explosions and firepower to put Michael Bay to shame), MacHale kicks off an apocalyptic trilogy sure to leave readers demanding the next installment. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: MacHale is the author of the bestsetting Pendragon series so, clearly, there are more than a few middle-grade kiddos who'll be snapping up this one.--Osborne, Charli Copyright 2010 Booklist

Tucker, a football player and average student, skates through life until SYLO, a mysterious branch of the military, quarantines his hometown off the coast of Maine. After suspicion builds surrounding the original premise for the quarantine, Tucker and his friends risk their lives to escape. Though the action can be exhausting and exposition sometimes placed awkwardly, the story is suspenseful and mysterious. (c) Copyright 2014. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

This riveting novel starts with a question: How safe is it to remain uninvolved? At 14, Tucker Pierce is all about fitting in and going with the flow. While his friends talk about going out into the world and doing great things, he prefers to dream small. He likes life on tiny, fictional Pemberwick Island, Maine, and hopes to take over his father's landscaping business eventually. For now, warming the bench at the weekly football games is just fine with him. But when the island is quarantined by the U.S. Navy, things start to fall apart, and Tucker can't stand aside for long. People start dying. The girl he wants to get to know a whole lot better, Tori, is captured along with Tucker and imprisoned behind barbed wire. The country-club golf course has been converted into a military camp run by a division of the military they've never heard of: SYLO. There's no communication from the mainland to the island and no way to get word of what's happening out to the world. Tucker and Tori need to get to the mainland to tell their story. Can they get past the naval blockade? Can they survive the sky-borne attack on the blockade? Whom can they trust? Who--or what--is SYLO? And who is fighting whom? MacHale knows boy readers and delivers, giving them an action-packed plot with a likable, Everykid protagonist and doling out answers with just the right amount of parsimony to keep the pages turning. This first installment in a proposed trilogy is absolutely un-put-down-able, more exciting than an X-Box and roller coaster combined. (Adventure. 10-16)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Maine islander Tucker Pierce is sitting on the bench at a high school football gamewhen the star running back drops dead. Before Tucker knows what's happening, he's been introduced to Ruby, a mysterious substance that changes the user into a superhuman. It also killed his teammate. Shortly after, a mysterious military force, Sylo, invades the island and people are rounded up or killed outright. Tucker and Tory, a lobsterman's daughter, realize something is terribly wrong and they must reach the mainland so the rest of the world can hear what's happening. Mysterious planes engage the U.S. Navy in wild battles, Tory gets shot, and they have a wild ride through a naval blockade. There are minor plot holes, some strong language, and the main characters use the same exclamations a bit too frequently. None of these detract from how gripping the story is, thanks in large part to Andrew S. Bates's excellent narration.-John R. Clark, Hartland Public Library, ME (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

First, freshman Tucker Pierce watches the star of his football team drop dead with no explanation. Then he witnesses an unexplained explosion followed by a stranger trying to promote an "athletic supplement" that gives those who take it superhuman speed and strength. The next thing he knows his home is being invaded by SYLO, a secret branch of the military, and quarantined for a lethal "virus." The longer the quarantine goes on, the more Tucker and his friends start to believe that SYLO might be lying. MacHale, author of the popular "Pendragon" titles, here launches another thrilling series. With constant action, this book will have listeners trying to decipher the good guys from the bad guys to the very end. Andrew Bates does an amazing job of narrating the fear, anguish, and terror that the residents of Pemberwick Island feel. Verdict Recommended for anyone who enjoys a fast-paced thriller. Fans of Robert Ludlum's "Bourne" series might want to try this YA novel with crossover appeal.-Jessi Brown, Huntington City Twp. P.L., IN (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

MacHale (the Pendragon books) shifts into thriller mode as he launches a trilogy with an entertaining and creepy tale of teens forced into a dire situation. Tucker is a high school freshman on Pemberwick Island, Maine, content to be a benchwarmer on the varsity football team. After the star tailback drops dead during a game, Tucker and his best friend Quinn go for a therapeutic bike ride at night and spy a mysterious aircraft. Soon after, more people start dying, and the island is quarantined and placed under protection of the SYLO agency. The introduction of a drug called the Ruby increases the threat, as humans and animals alike become strong and fast under its influence, but risk overdosing. As deaths continue to mount, Quinn, Tucker, and a girl named Tori become suspicious of their own families, as well as the government. MacHale throws a lot of action and a touch of romance into his conspiracy-laden plot, but fans of similar series (Michael Grant's Gone books, for example) should have no problem keeping up. Ages 10-up. Agent: Richard Curtis, Richard Curtis Associates. (July) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.