Talker 25

April 28, 2014
McCune's debut, first in a planned trilogy, takes place in a near-future America turned into a police state in response to the sudden appearance of intelligent, fire-breathing dragons. Although some of the creatures live peacefully on reservations, others are actively hostile, and the American military would just as soon exterminate all of them. After Melissa Callahan is implicated in a high school prank gone wrongâsneaking onto a reservation to kiss one of the less dangerous dragonsâlike the protagonist of Cory Doctorow's Little Brother, she is quickly trapped in a military bureaucracy gone toxic when it's discovered that she has the rare ability to talk to dragons. She and other children with this talent are imprisoned in Antarctica, without trial or recourse, and tortured until they agree to use their ability to lure dragons to their deaths. McCune's tale can be gritty and painfulâmany people and dragons, some of whom readers will grow to care about, die in bloody detail; his military villains, though, are one-dimensional and cartoonish. Still, the story packs a significant punch. Ages 14âup. Agent: Ammi-Joan Paquette, Erin Murphy Literary Agency.

March 1, 2014
Americans face a terrifying threat. Teen Melissa Anne Callahan lives in a not-too-distant America where dragons mysteriously arrived one day and started destroying towns (sometimes even eating humans). Her mother died in a dragon attack, so she doesn't question the danger. After a late night of "dragon hunting" with thrill-seeking classmates, Melissa is accused of insurgency--just before her town is attacked, and she finds herself living among the insurgents and dragons she has been raised to hate. She soon realizes that the humans-vs.-dragons situation is not as clear-cut as the government and the media had led her to believe. She also discovers that she is one of the rare humans gifted with the ability to communicate telepathically with dragons. McCune's debut starts off with great promise, as readers get to know narrator Melissa and this terrifying world (an allegory for America's treatment of "terrorists," perhaps?). The story starts to unravel as the book moves from "Part I: Kissing Dragons" into "Part II: Reconditioning." Ultimately, its early potential devolves into a chaotic mess, derailed by ambition (a trilogy's worth of plot in just over 400 pages) and gratuitous dragon torture. Left with a score of largely unlikable, unengaging human characters, readers may reach the abrupt ending hoping that the dragons are the only survivors. Intense but unsatisfying. (Science fiction. 14 & up)

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March 1, 2014

Gr 8 Up-In this debut novel, McCune creates a dystopian fantasy world in which humans are pitted against dragons. The United States military declares the winged creatures their number one enemy, and protagonist Mel finds herself kidnapped by the pro-dragon insurgency group to whichher deceased mother (who was killed by a dragon) once belonged. After spending time bonding with dragons, the military recaptures her, and Mel is kept with other teens to be "reconditioned": they must communicate telepathically with dragons in order to lure them to their deaths. At this point in the story, the tone shifts from middle school-appropriate to teen. Alcohol and sex are awkwardly interjected and seem unnecessary to the plot or character development. An amusing website based upon a dragon reality show portrayed in the book shows promise, yet it ultimately falls short of its potential. This is a fast-paced adventure, but the abrupt ending feels rushed. The book's weakness lies in the heavy borrowing from popular trilogies. The emphasis on "insurgents" is reminiscent of Veronica Roth's books, as is the mind control and monitoring of thoughts and dreams. Like Suzanne Collins's Katniss, Mel undergoes makeup and costume changes for the cameras (she portrays herself in televised reenactments of dragon battles). Although lacking in originality, Talker 25 may have the familiarity and action-oriented storytelling that ravenous fans of the genre will enjoy.-Laura Falli, McNeil High School, Austin, TX

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 15, 2014
Grades 9-12 Melissa Callahan is Talker 25, a name given her when she is imprisoned for being an Insurgent, a person who has joined the dragons fighting against the U.S. military. Hidden in a frozen Antarctica outpost, Melissa is forced to communicate with the dragons, trying to lure them into dangerous traps. Once captured, Melissa and the other Talkers must torture the gigantic animals while they themselves are enduring equally perverse tortures that force them into submission. Debut author McCune has created a unique world that readers will find both horrifying and compelling: good and evil are relative, and right and wrong are compromised. Are the dragons evil for killing humans to protect their children? Are Melissa and her fellow Talkers evil for participating in the torture of these animals to protect their families and themselves from similar tortures? Has the military manipulated dragons to frighten and control the citizenry? Be preparedTalker 25 will stretch your ability to absorb and endure Melissa's disturbingly graphic existence as she defies the soldiers' determination to break her will and force her to turn against the dragons that trust her.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2014
Mel (who can communicate telepathically with dragons) is conscripted by the Bureau of Dragon Affairs for a grisly duty. She's forced to mentally contact dragons and trick them into betraying their locations, as well as interrogate captured dragons as they are tortured to death. Absolutely gripping and absolutely horrifying, this is an account of the stripping down of humanity under extreme duress.

(Copyright 2014 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

July 1, 2014
Kidnapped by insurgents during a dragon attack on a military outpost, Mel Callahan learns that dragons are not all vicious, mindless beasts and that she's one of the few who can communicate telepathically with them. Dragon eggs are hatching for the first time since dragons appeared on Earth and the Dragon War began, and Mel bonds with a Silver dragon she names Baby. But when the military attacks the insurgents' compound, Mel and Baby are captured and Mel is hauled off to a secret Arctic work camp where the Bureau of Dragon Affairs conscripts her for a grisly duty. Now known as Talker 25, Mel is forced to mentally contact dragons and trick them into betraying their locations, as well as interrogate captured dragons as they are tortured to death. Kept in line by threats against her family, psychological torque on her bunkmates, and the danger of "reconditioning," Mel is drawn deeper into a morass of compromised morals and loyalties with each abhorrent assignment. Though readers will naturally sympathize with the dragon victims, sentimentality becomes a liability as McCune mercilessly destroys all hope of betterment or escape. Absolutely gripping and absolutely horrifying, Talker 25 is a sort of fantasy Gulag Archipelago, an account of the stripping down of humanity under extreme duress. That McCune manages an upbeat ending is a surprising feat, but readers will be left shaken by what came before. anita l. burkam

(Copyright 2014 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)