Zeroes

Book Title: Zeroes

Author: Scott Westerfeld, Margo Lanagan & Deborah Biancotti
Series: Zeroes #1

Date Started: February 13th 2016

Date Completed: February 15th 2016

Genres: Sci-Fi, Thriller, Contemporary
Quality Rating: Four Stars
Enjoyment Rating: Four Star

Final Rating: Four stars

Review:

◆ Thank you NetGalley for this eBook copy for review ◆

I enjoyed Zeroes a lot more than I was expecting, and I can't help thinking back to Uglies where I think Westerfeld was at the top of his game. Of course, there are two more authors in the process this time, and I can see where that comes through in the representations and I guess separation of the story into three simultaneous stories. It's good fun, and something actually a little different in the genre.

I'm impressed at how consistent the writing styles ended up being in this book - I know from personal experience that writing with another person can make it really hard to keep up the same style throughout, and I can't imagine what it would be like with three authors. But at the same time I think each individual personality came through in the way the characters' powers are described: while the book is third person, each 'perspective' has a reasonably distinguishable style depending whatever power they have, and I think this was a way each writer could leave their own mark on the story. Again, I'm sure it was very hard to take those and still keep up a consistent flow in the writing, so credit where credit's due.

Having said that, I do feel like there were some times when things got a bit lazy. There was inclusion of darker subjects, and diverse representation, but it did get kind of skimmed over. I appreciate that wasn't really the story that was being told, but I think they could have made the book better by just exploring these things really gently before moving to the main story. I'm also really tired of reading slang used in teenager's dialogue to tell the reader that they're teenagers - it just sticks out as sounding strange a lot of the time, and it's always the most stereotypical words that sneak their way in. I just think it's unnecessary and a lazy way to characterise age.

While Zeroes has a main storyline, I think it's fair to say we get pairs of characters approaching the plot in different ways. Essentially: we've got Ethan and Kelsie in the center of it all; Thibault and Riley coming to the rescue most of the time; and Nate and Chizara managing things from the outside. While I would have liked the characters to mix a little bit more (and I'm not a huge fan of pairing them all off in little couples), I still think the authors were able to develop each character and their shared story nicely and fairly. We get to see a lot of all of them, but we get the diversity of plot form each pair - I guess this is where the three authors almost split the job?

Personally, I would've liked to see the story turn a little darker considering we're dealing with gangs and drug sellers and the police, but I completely understand why it wasn't for the target audience - and it's nice to see some of this most serious topics explored even a little bit. Having said that, something I really liked was how the characters' 'powers' were actually more problems for them - and the problems presented are a lot more relatable than 'oh no I accidentally killed this person while I was being an idiot.' Kelsie, for example, can enhance and twist emotions of crowds, but they can mess up her own mentality, and when she's alone she feels almost drained; Ethan's 'voice' knows things even he doesn't to get him out of situations, but his rambling often gets him into trouble too; Chizara can manipulate electricity but it can be overwhelming when it's absolutely everywhere. I think these are things that actually readers can really relate to in slightly less exaggerated ways (who hasn't felt exhilarated in a crowd, but then overwhelmed? You might be able to make wise cracks that help you in life, but sometimes they'll make things worse as well; and we all have huge amounts of control of things with social media, but it can be too much sometimes). For YA (and maybe slightly younger readers too) I think this is a really good way to use the superhero genre, because it makes it less 'desirable' entertainment, and instead more understanding and helpful.

The book ties itself up pretty neatly, but there's still so much more to come. And I'm actually quite excited to see where it goes.

Zeroes has a good diversity in representation and a clear refusal of a lot of tropes (mostly). It is quite obvious that the writers deliberately chose opposites to stereotypes, but I do appreciate good intentions. I think the fact that each character has their own personality helps balance this out too.

It feels like Ethan and Kelsie (Scam and Mob) are the 'main' protagonists at the start of this book, but I felt things becoming more and more about the others as I read. I'm not complaining - I really like the fact that it's about all of them - but there was a little confusion for me when we start off following them for a good while and suddenly all these other people have just as heavy (if not more) involvement in what happens. Besides that, however, I really like these two; they're the closest to the typical protagonists you'll find, but there's still quite obvious little twists on their characters that give them just enough mystery to make things interesting.

Thibault and Riley (Anon and Flicker) were a strange pair for me, and I'm not sure how happy I was that it was quite clear from the beginning that they were going to gravitate into the same story, but it didn't feel as natural as the others to me. Admittedly, I liked where they ended up, and it's so nice to see a disabled character that isn't there just to show vulnerability, and an isolated figure who maybe doesn't choose to push others away - like I said, subtle twists on things we've seen before.

Now Nate and Chizara (Bellwether and Crash) really interest me as individuals, though in the story it felt like they were just the two left over and so had to go into a shared side story. I don't trust Nate whatsoever, and I wish they'd made him just a little but more dangerous this time around - though I'm sure it'll come to that in the future. And Chizara wasn't my favourite character, but I like the fact that she kept getting pulled in again by Nate, no matter how hard she tried (and wanted) to avoid being a part of their group.

I absolutely flew through this book (had it not been the BAFTAs I would've finished it in a day), and I think this comes down to the structuring of the story. The writing has a really nice flow to it, but really I had to keep reading because the plot was always building really fast throughout the whole thing (apart from Chizara's chapters - for some reason nothing much happened in her story, and her chapters were always in chunks, unlike everyone else's). I think the fact that Westerfeld, Managuan and Biancotti [that's a mouthful] managed to build up engagement with the characters in a really short space of time also really helped keep my motivation up.

I think Zeroes is marketed slightly wrong: it's very heavy on the whole 'superpowers/superhero' thing, but I think a little push towards crime or thriller could raise some more interest in readers. The two genres are close anyway, but I feel like so many people turn off when they hear 'another YA superhero book' - I definitely did, that's why it took me so long to pick this up. And while I understand the benefits of marketing it to an already popular genre, I feel like it's overlooking the fact that a lot of people are starting to look for something a little different in Young Adult books - which I would argue this book provides.

Image Source - https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26232290-zeroes