Hi BookWorms! Today I’ll be reviewing the fun sci-fi novel by David Liss, Randoms.
Randoms may look like a normal sci-fi read, but it’s really an exhilarating book that will have you on the edge of your seat rooting for the good guys!
Ezekiel Reynolds, or Zeke, is a normal boy who gets picked on at school. His father died when he was younger and his mother is sick with a disease called ALS which will basically render all her bodily functions useless over a long period of time, no cure has been found on earth. This is his main motivation throughout the whole book.
If there’s anything Zeke knows, it’s science-fiction so he is also, by definition, a geek; and he’s proud of it. So he is more than thrilled when the president shows up at his house telling him that he has been chosen for a very special “project” and will have to go away for an undetermined amount of time anywhere from 2 days to 1 year, right? Wrong. Zeke knows that his mother has a limited time to live so he strongly opposes to leaving her alone. Eventually Zeke and his mom agree to let him go although it takes a little longer to get a final confirmation.
Zeke and three other go into space to try to get Earth into the Confederation, a gathering of united worlds that is more advanced than Earth in many ways. This is a big deal because if Earth gets in, the Confederation will provide them with advanced medicine and technology. Mainly, Zeke just wants to heal his mother’s otherwise un-healable sickness. But to do that the four adolescents from Earth will have to gain a total of 80 “experience points”. The other three kids were especially chosen, but not Zeke, he’s the random. When they reach Confederation Central, a giant Confederation space station, he meets and becomes fast friends with Tamret and Steve, the randoms from other “delegations”.
I’d say this book is a 9-10+ not because of any romance or blood or gore, but because I feel that this book is for an older-ish audience, I think that you could understand, appreciate, and enjoy this book (and all the sci-fi references in it) more if you were 9-10 or older.
Now for my postly “how would I describe this book in 3-4 words?”
Captivating, Thrilling, Never Boring.
Keep on keeping on,
Camila
P.S. Today’s my birthday, I am now officially 11!
BookWorm 