Savannah Grey - Softcover

McNish, Cliff

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1467709131 ISBN 13: 9781467709132

Publisher: Carolrhoda Lab ®, 2013

Synopsis

Savannah Grey needs to keep moving. She doesn't know why, but she can't let herself get tied down by too many people. It's almost like she's being chased by something. And now something strange is happening with her neck―with her throat.

Savannah Grey never thought she'd meet someone like Reece―a guy who seems to understand her. He even knows about her neck. The same thing is happening to him. It's as if their voices are becoming weapons, warming up for some kind of attack.

Savannah Grey has no idea what might be chasing her or why her voice suddenly feels like the most powerful weapon on the planet, but she's about to find out.

Nature is preparing for battle with the universe's ultimate monster. The time to fight is almost here. The weapon is Savannah Grey.

About this title

About the Author:

Written when he was almost forty, Cliff McNish's Doomspell Trilogy won him an instant and avid readership and has been published in 19 languages around the world. Since then, he has continued to write fiction, including The Silver Sequence, Breathe, and Angel, and has been hailed as a "great new voice in writing for children" (The Bookseller). Mr. McNish was born in northeastern England. He enjoys playing golf, walking up mountains, and eating as much hot and spicy food as possible. He is married and has a teenage daughter, whose demand for a scary story led to the idea for his first book.

Review:

"Fifteen-year-old Savannah has bounced around among foster parents all her life and is plagued by constant uneasiness (and, lately, a sore throat). When Savannah meets the mysterious Reece, she soon discovers that there's more to her―and to her throat―than she realized. Savannah has superhuman strength, speed, and healing abilities, but even more powerful is the bansheelike stream of sounds that project from strange growths in her throat, which click and 'billow' of their own accord and lash out destructively when threatened. Savannah's first-person narration alternates with a third-person history of the monsters she has been designed to destroy. McNish (Angel) has his horror movie–ready details and twists down pat, but he's most interested in his monsters―the story's most complex and intriguing characters―from the Horror, gruesome yet childlike, to the Ocrassa, which has used the animal kingdom like a smorgasbord, picking useful traits to become the planet's most dominant creature. Savannah, Reece, and the other humans feel like exactly what they are: pawns in an eons-old battle, as nature itself attempts to root out the ultimate invasive species." --Publishers Weekly

(Journal)

"Savannah, a restless British foster teen, has a persistent and troubling soreness in her throat. She feels oddly compelled to protect the growth there, unleashing profound strength and violence upon the doctor seeking to examine her and nearly killing him. She meets an intriguing new boy in town who also has a lump in his throat and similar (but oddly weaker) powers. Both are pursued by the Orcassa, a monster that arrived on Earth at the dawn of time. The Orcassa is drawn to Savannah's throat, which it knows is a sonic weapon of great power. Aided by its hideous minions, the Nyktomorph and the Horror, the Orcassa seeks to gain control of Savannah Grey and the awesome power that is growing within her. This is a dark blend of science fiction and horror, with a plot that moves at a fast pace. The most thorough character development is reserved for the Orcassa, an alien being of pure evil. His segments of the book are presented in an interesting format, with white text on a black background offering a visual reminder of the darkness of his character. The human teens are not fully fleshed out, and at times their actions appear baseless and inconsistent. Offer this book to fans of Darren Shan's The Demonata series (Little, Brown, 2006-2010), to which it bears many similarities in tone and content. This book is recommended for school and public libraries with active populations of enthusiastic horror readers." --VOYA

(Journal)

"McNish has a gift for portraying characters undergoing disturbing transformations to battle ancient evils. Savannah Grey's throat is perpetually sore, and her sudden protective urges mean she can't get close to anyone. Worse, her throat makes weird noises sometimes: clicks and music. Then Savannah meets Reece, who's experiencing the same things. They discover strange growths in their throats; while Reece’s aren’t functional, Savannah’s are capable of producing powerful, unearthly sounds, a sonic weapon nature designed to fight the invading Ocrassa. Narration alternates between Savannah and the Lovecraftian monsters hunting her, building the tension between them and giving the monsters an unexpectedly intriguing story. Savannah's transformation is fascinating, though like any truly surreal idea, readers who can't immediately suspend disbelief might find it silly. The love story between Savannah and Reece provides a nice foil to the tension and gives weight to a surprising plot twist. A shockingly abrupt ending will leave readers reeling, but lovers of weird horror should enjoy it regardless." --Booklist

(Journal)

About this edition

• Publisher: Carolrhoda Lab ®
• Publication date: 2013
• ISBN 10: 1467709131
• ISBN 13: 9781467709132
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 272