Uncaged

Reviewed by: Mariah Machado - Davis Memorial Library, Limington, ME, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: November 11, 2014

Review

Uncaged, the first book in John Sandford's new YA series The Singular Menace, is an action-thriller movie waiting to happen. Sixteen-year-old Shay Remby's older brother Odin gets himself mixed up with an animal rights group and disappears after things go wrong during a break in at a lab doing animal testing. Trying to find her brother will take Shay from her foster home in Oregon to the streets of L.A. where the enigmatic Twist takes her in. Soon the two of them, along with a few other new allies, find themselves in the fight of their lives. The Singular corporation is into far more than animal experimentation, and saving Odin may mean exposing it all. The fast-paced, action-based plot along with strong female characters should give the book appeal to male and female readers. The tone of the writing is a bit grittier than the average YA and may be more appealing to older teens and adults. This first installment ends with just enough plot points wrapped up to keep the reader from pulling their hair out, but leaves you hanging for book two, and wondering how long it will take for this series to get a movie deal.

Overall Book Score: excellent