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A review by chwaters
SYLO by D.J. MacHale
3.0
Strange things are happening on Pemberwick Island. First, the star quarterback suddenly dies during a game. Several more unexplained deaths occur shortly after. An unknown man turns up offering a red crystal called "Ruby" that supposedly gives the individual ingesting it immediate superhuman strength. Then, local kid Tucker and his friend Quinn witness an extraordinary spectacle: a mysterious black ship flying towards the island over the ocean, emitting a strange musical tone. Finally, the military moves onto the island, informing the locals that they are now under a quarantine due to the series of unexplained deaths. Tucker and his friend Quinn know these odd occurrences must all be connected somehow and begin to investigate. It's only a matter of time before they witness someone trying to leave the island, only to be killed by soldiers. Finding answers is going to be a potentially deadly quest, but Tucker, Quinn and Tucker's crush Tori are determined to find out what is happening to their formerly idyllic island home.
SYLO is a fast-paced action story. There are several stock characters - Tori, the smart and pretty love object with a knack for boating; Quinn, the highly intelligent, sarcastic comic relief; a host of seemingly oblivious or outright evil adult characters. Subtleties are not this book's strong suit. It's not a bad a book, by any means. It's certainly unpredictable and the very last chapter is clearly designed to make readers run out to buy the rest of trilogy. So very little is explained by the end of the book that some readers may find it frustrating. Those who love action sequences, military secrets and don't mind unmemorable characters will find a lot to enjoy in this series. It wasn't really ideal for me, but my middle school kids absolutely loved it.
SYLO is a fast-paced action story. There are several stock characters - Tori, the smart and pretty love object with a knack for boating; Quinn, the highly intelligent, sarcastic comic relief; a host of seemingly oblivious or outright evil adult characters. Subtleties are not this book's strong suit. It's not a bad a book, by any means. It's certainly unpredictable and the very last chapter is clearly designed to make readers run out to buy the rest of trilogy. So very little is explained by the end of the book that some readers may find it frustrating. Those who love action sequences, military secrets and don't mind unmemorable characters will find a lot to enjoy in this series. It wasn't really ideal for me, but my middle school kids absolutely loved it.