Zeroes by Scott Westerfeld, Margo Lanagan, and Deborah Biancotti
Allen & Unwin, 2015. ISBN 9781925266955
(Age: 14+) Highly recommended. 'Every Power Has A Price'. Reading
this book is like reading a graphic novel, with the pictures all
unfolding in your head as the images take the story and literally
run. Impossible to put down, this is a story told seamlessly by
three authors, creating a world that is believable and
extraordinary.
Is there anything special about being born in the year 2000? This
book tells us there might be. We meet ordinary teenagers with
extraordinary powers. Every power has a price, with some more costly
than seem bearable. They refer to themselves as 'Zeroes, not Heroes'
and the book places the reader right in the middle of the action as
the reluctant heroes are coming to terms with their abilities.
Ethan (Scam), Nate (Bellwether), Thibault (Anonymous), Kelsie (Mob),
Riley (Flicker) and Chizara (Crash) each tell the story from their
perspective. This is well crafted and leaves the reader feeling
empathy and compassion for these flawed and thoroughly engaging
characters.
This is a book that explores the themes of acceptance, forgiveness,
friendship and trust. Kelsie and Thibault have complicated and
conflicted relationships with family that invite the reader to
ponder the necessary and difficult act of forgiveness. All
characters have a part to play in expanding on the nature of
consequence. The heroes grapple with the consequences of their
powers and the reader is compelled to think more deeply about the
implications of wielding great power.
An important additional theme in the book is the power of
collaboration. The social super powers of the group are the subject
of ethical and moral consideration by the characters in this book.
From the understanding they are being manipulated by their 'glorious
leader', to the crowds that seize the super power and take it beyond
the control of the teen characters, this book presents food for
thought in our current social media environment.
Linda Guthrie