Pacifica

by Kristen Simmons

Overview

Kristen Simmons, critically acclaimed author of Article 5 and Metaltown, brings her trademark action, romance, and frightening prescience to Pacifica, a science fiction tale of high seas adventure.

Blue skies. Green grass. Clear ocean water. An island paradise like the ones that existed before the Melt.

A lucky five hundred lottery winners will be the first to go, the first to leave their polluted, dilapidated homes behind and start a new life. It sounds perfect. Like a dream.

The only problem? Marin Carey spent her childhood on those seas and knows there’s no island paradise out there. She’s corsario royalty, a pirate like her father and his father before him, and she knows a con when she sees one. So where are the First Five Hundred really going?

"A harrowing world. Pacifica will have you breathlessly fearing our own future."—New York Times bestselling author Sara Raasch

"A bleak, futuristic world that's utterly believable and terrifying, and yet from out of it springs the greatest of hope, carried on the back of its fierce main characters. I was swept away."—Mindee Arnett, author of Avalon

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780765336668
Publisher:	Tor Publishing Group
Publication date:	02/05/2019
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	384
Product dimensions:	5.83(w) x 7.96(h) x 0.85(d)
Age Range:	13 - 18 Years

About the Author

Kristen Simmons is the author of the ARTICLE 5 series, THE GLASS ARROW and METALTOWN. She has worked with survivors of abuse and trauma as a mental health therapist, taught Jazzercise in five states, and is forever in search of the next best cupcake. Currently she lives in Cincinnati, Ohio with her husband, where she spends her days supporting the caffeine industry and chasing her delightfully rambunctious son.

Editorial Reviews

"A harrowing world where overpopulation is rampant and pollution stifling. The characters creep into your heart with raw, familiar issues of love, friendship, and family ties, careening you on a plot fraught with just as many twists as there are pieces of trash in the ocean. Pacifica will have you breathlessly fearing our own future."—New York Times bestselling author Sara Raasch

"Like The Handmaid's Tale, Simmons's book serves as essential commentary on women's rights."—Cosmopolitan.com on The Glass Arrow

“I’m clutching my mangled heart and smiling madly, so it’s that kind of book. Such gorgeous heartbreak! Smart, absorbing, and deeply human.”—New York Times bestselling author Laini Taylor on Metaltown

“A compelling, inspiring read. The characters had me rooting for rebels, fights worth fighting, and girls with gumption. By the time it was over, I had my fist in the air.”—New York Times bestselling author Kendare Blake on Metaltown

“Simmons (Article 5, 2012; Metaltown, 2016) excels at dystopian fiction, and her admirable latest takes to the sea. …A breathtaking story full of high-seas adventure, power struggles, romance, betrayal, and more... Simmons’ great-grandmother was taken to a Japanese internment camp during WWII, and her experiences influence those of Marin and the pirates. ...Non-stop action and surprises will keep readers enthralled through both rough waters and smooth sailing alike.”—Booklist, starred

From the Publisher

03/12/2018
A post-apocalyptic American wasteland is the backdrop for this romantic adventure from Simmons (Metaltown). Seventeen-year-old Marin was raised to be a corsario, a pirate. As an exile from her home, Marin puts her skills to use scrounging and creating a drug called tar in the harsh barter economy as she plans a way to earn her a place back in the seafaring lifestyle. Enter Ross Torres, the president's son. A chance meeting, during a riot protesting the government's relocation of some 500 of Noram's poorest citizens, unites the pair. The world-changing government program, designed to give Noram's citizens a new start in a tropical paradise called Pacifica, leaves Marin and others skeptical: is Pacifica really the advertised haven, or is the government disguising something sinister? Throughout her epic story, Simmons explores themes of political corruption, wealth disparity, and the question of whether socio-economic status and happiness are intertwined. Detailed world-building transforms a fictional world into something much more realistic and terrifyingly possible. Ages 14-up. Agent: Joanna MacKenzie, Nelson Literary Agency. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

02/01/2018
Gr 7–10—In this futuristic adventure, the narrative flips between the privileged Cliffdweller President's son, Ross, and a hardscrabble Shoreling girl, Marin, who eventually kidnaps him. Facing climate crisis and population crowding, the President and his cabinet have contrived an elaborate scheme to select a lucky 500 Shorelings to be the first relocated to Pacifica, a supposed island paradise, although the promotional materials all appear to have been digitally enhanced. When Ross and the less high-born Vice President's son, Adam, are out "slumming" among rioting protestors, they quickly find themselves in harm's way and lured into the hands of actual pirates. A picaresque series of swashbuckling episodes ensues, cementing the romantic bond between Ross and his "captor," Marin. Although readers may be tempted to "ship" the two boys, Adam and Ross, the author creates a very tame romance between Marin and Ross, complicated by the fact that Marin wrestles with her own issues of familial abandonment. What starts as an extremely strong dystopian concept novel dissolves into a pirate action story, complete with a clichéd jailbreak (including shooting the lock off a cell). The conclusion attempts to recapture the political intrigue laid out in the early chapters but falls flat, allowing the President to escape culpability by simplistically claiming naivete. Likewise, the contrast between social classes, a theme that was introduced early on, is never completely explored. VERDICT A solid but not necessary addition for sci-fi action shelves.—Leah Krippner, Harlem High School, Machesney Park, IL

School Library Journal

2018-02-05
In the year 2193, or 81 Post Melt, a president's son and a pirate's daughter reluctantly sail the treacherous seas to rescue a friend. The future is grim: Natural catastrophes have resculpted the continents, and epidemics have wiped out half of humanity. What used to be inland Sacramento is now the coastal Noram City, the Alliance's capital, where the wealthy "kanshu" live at a safe elevation and the struggling Shorelings below. To address resource shortages, the president has announced a Relocation Act, ordering 500 people (nearly all Shorelings) to a man-made island, Pacifica. The resulting riots bring together pirate-turned-smuggler Marin with president's son Ross Torres, both 17, and his friend Adam Baker, son of the vice president. After Adam is abducted, Marin offers Ross her help—for a price. Although it suffers from uneven pacing, the twist-filled story does pick up, exploring a host of political, social, and environmental themes. The cast is ethnically diverse, and the characters' English is peppered with Spanish, French, and Japanese. A thoughtful author's note reveals that the story was inspired by her Japanese-American family's internment during World War II and offers poignant historical context for readers who do not make this connection on their own.Simmons' slow-building post-apocalyptic adventure and opposites-attract love story should satisfy readers who miss dystopian romances. (author's note, suggested reading) (Fiction.12-17)

Kirkus Reviews