uncaged

uncaged
the singular menace #1
john sandford & michelle cook
thriller/ya/mystery
knoff
published 2014

Shay Remby arrives in Hollywood with $58 and a handmade knife.  She's got to find her brother before Singular does....

There is a definite John Sandford presence and style here, but you can see Michelle Cook's writing more so.  It's like a watered down John Sandford.  Which is actually perfect for this YA novel.

Shay is alternately naive and jaded.  She's not a hardened kid-of-the-system, but she's not sunshine and rainbows either.  What I liked most about this book was the portrayal of the street kids.  It wasn't your usual trouble makers and they weren't innocent,  but they looked out for each other and tried their best.

There were lots of plot holes though.  Things Singular, as this big, bad company did that didn't make sense and times when these street smart kids just kind of dropped the ball.  There were predictable moments.  I knew who was doomed just a few chapters after they were introduced, if even that.  But it was a good quick read that gave us a bit of closure, but still kept us hanging for the next book (Outrage, out Fall 2015).  I like that unlike other YA books there was basically no romance.  There wasn't a love triangle for you to choose sides over (though that eventually might come given Cade's admiration) and the story focused on what was important: Finding Shay's brother.

I'm looking forward to Outrage.  While it's not necessarily something the regular John Sandford fan would love, it's a pretty good YA book.