Rebellion (Tankborn Series #3)

by Karen Sandler

Overview

In a world where half the population is genetically engineered, what does it mean to be human? The acclaimed TANKBORN trilogy rushes to a thrilling conclusion with Rebellion!

Kayla is a GEN—a genetically engineered nonhuman—in a world torn apart by castes separating GENs from "real" humans. In the wake of a devastating bomb blast, Kayla finds herself at the headquarters of the organization that planted the bomb—and many others like it in GEN food warehouses and homes. Her biological mother tells her that Devak is dead and that Kayla must join their terrorist group, which is ramping up for something big. Now Kayla must pretend to embrace this new role in an underground compound full of paranoia as she plots a way to escape and save her friends.

Meanwhile, Devak has emerged from his healing in a gen-tank, only to be told that Kayla is dead and his family has fallen from grace. Can he overcome his grief enough to notice the clues that point to Kayla?

As Kayla and Devak fight to find each other and stop the bloodshed, the Tankborn trilogy rushes to a thrilling conclusion!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781600609848
Publisher:	Lee & Low Books
Publication date:	06/01/2014
Series:	Tankborn Series , #3
Pages:	400
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.25(h) x 1.50(d)
Lexile:	850L (what's this?)
Age Range:	12 - 17 Years

About the Author

Karen Sandler is the author of the Tankborn trilogy as well as seventeen novels for adults and several short stories and screenplays. Before becoming a full-time writer, she worked as a software engineer, including work on the Space Shuttle program and communications satellites. She lives in northern California with her husband, Gary, and their three cats, and can often be found riding her Andalusian/Morgan mare, Belle. Find out more at karensandler.net.

Editorial Reviews

"Immensely satisfying... An intriguing multicultural cast raises interesting questions about race and status." — Booklist

"With rebellions, ideological questions and a nonwhite, not-entirely-heterosexual cast, this series is a strong addition to the genre." — Kirkus Reviews

"Sandler, a former software engineer, uses her technology experience to craft a richly detailed story where electronic circuitry controls everything—from reproduction and parenting to memories, travel, and even life. Best read sequentially to appreciate the characters' development, this conclusion will delight fans of Kayla and Derek's love story." — School Library Journal

From the Publisher

07/01/2014
Gr 8 Up—Readers who enjoyed Tankborn (2011) and Awakening (2013, both Lee & Low), will relish the final installment of the trilogy. Set on the planet of Loka, a primarily inhabitable place where survivors took refuge after Earth's complete annihilation, the series focuses on the starcrossed romance between Kayla (a genetically engineered nonhuman, or GEN) and Derek, a wealthy, upper class trueborn (human). The pair lives in a technologically advanced, but complicated society that is defined by status. Both become involved with an underground organization that seeks freedom for all GENs, but when the movement splinters and terrorist bombs are dropped on innocent people, the lines between good and bad and human and nonhuman, become blurred. Having been separated by a devastating explosion in the previous volume, they are each told the other is dead. The opening chapters are slow-going, setting up the scene and characters for the uninitiated, and follow Kayla and Derek as they begin their separate journeys to find each other. Midway, the chapters shorten significantly, allowing the storyline to accommodate the increasingly quick and dramatic plot action. A helpful glossary on unique names in the dystopian world is appended. Sandler, a former software engineer, uses her technology experience to craft a richly detailed story where electronic circuitry controls everything—from reproduction and parenting to memories, travel, and even life. Best read sequentially to appreciate the characters' development, this conclusion will delight fans of Kayla and Derek's love story.—Anne Jung-Mathews, Plymouth State University, NH

School Library Journal

2014-04-30
Surprising new obstacles crop up in the Tankborn series finale.As Awakening (2013) ended, an explosion left Kayla's and Devak's fates unknown. Devak awakens to learn that medical expenses for his slow-healing injuries have cost him and his great-grandfather their high social status. Far away, Kayla's a prisoner in an underground compound run by cult leader Ohin. She and Devak each think the other's dead. Ohin claims that his movement—Freedom, Humanity, Equality—will bring liberation from slavery for all Genetically Engineered Non-Humans, but Kayla's a GEN herself and knows that the FHE bombs GEN food warehouses and homes. As Kayla untangles Ohin's lies and plots her escape (bonding with some giant, organic-but-technologically-controlled spiders), Devak tracks down an elusive, FHE-connected boy who has information about Kayla. His friend Junjie helps, insisting that his crush on this FHE boy isn't the only reason to trust him. Gone is the fatal illness that dominated Awakening, but now GENs are intentionally damaging their own electronic circuitry—and neurology—to escape the grid that tracks them. Sandler tackles caste systems, slavery and terrorism (including its muddled logic) head-on. Cumbersome prose renders the piece longer than it should be and clumsy on the sentence-to-sentence level, but the plotting's terrific.With rebellions, ideological questions and a nonwhite, not-entirely-heterosexual cast, this series is a strong addition to the genre. (glossary) (Science fiction. 13-17)

Kirkus Reviews