Nexus

In the Zeroes trilogy conclusion, the consequences of the teenagers' superpowers greatly expand their reach.When the Zeroes--minus Thibault, a white boy who is MIA after surrendering to his anonymizing powers at the end of Swarm (2016)--combine their powers to break their leader, Latino Nate, out of prison, they encounter a superpowered teen working for the FBI. Verity, a white girl, pulls truths out of people and is dangerous both because of the secrets she can extract for the authorities as well as for revealing the damaging secrets they keep from themselves. In the face of dangerous revelations and shifts in their dynamics (especially between Nate, changed by incarceration, and Riley, the white girl who led the team in his absence), they must pull together to avoid the feds and get to New Orleans, where others like them are gathering for a last shot at being heroes. Along with the six protagonists, characters from previous novels come up, and even more join the cast; between characters' names and nicknames and the names and nicknames for various powers, it can be a lot for readers to juggle. The diversity is enhanced by a strong love story between two girls, Nigerian Chizara and white Kelsie, and by directly calling out the blind-with-superpowers trope in the case of Riley.The clever evasions, desperate soul-searching, and surprise finale will please fans of the series. (Science fiction. 12-18)

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July 1, 2018
In this hefty conclusion to the trilogy, the Zeroes, a diverse team of supernaturally gifted teens, heads to New Orleans to attempt to defeat the Nexus, a machine that channels crowds' power and energy with the aim of dismantling societal norms and causing chaos and anarchy. An epic face-off during Mardi Gras results. The action is high-amp and nonstop; characterization suffers, necessarily, in comparison.

(Copyright 2018 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)