Following in the footsteps of Vonnegut and Orwell (sometimes very closely), Charbonneau (Time Bomb, 2018) explores a future America in which paper is illegal, crime is nearly eradicated, and the government-run news is never questioned. Meri Beckley is grateful for peace on the streets of Chicago, but that doesn't change the facts that her mother went missing (supposedly killed in a car crash) and her father has started drinking excessively. As Meri tries to untangle the work her mother was doing before she died, she discovers there is more going on in d below e city than meets the eye. As tensions rise and Meri discovers strength she never thought herself capable of, she finds herself at the center of a war between the government and those trying to reveal the truth buried beneath the government's carefully curated news cycles. This (book one in a series) is a thriller about the power of words for teens living in a society full of "fake news" and attempts to mislead the public at large.HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: The topical relevance of this series starter will likely spawn another best-seller for Charbonneau.

An alluring young man gives teenage Meri a slip of paper that changes everything she knows about the world and sets her on a quest for the truth.The paper says only "VERIFY," a word Meri has never seen before. As it turns out, there is a lot about the world that Meri does not know. Following clues left by her late mother, Meri begins to learn the truth behind the clean, eco-friendly, safe society in which they live. Charbonneau (Eden Conquered, 2018, etc.) imagines an America where years of banned word lists, travel restrictions, and censorship through digitization have made truth meaningless. The fast-paced story hits all the expected beats as the author sets up Meri's dystopian world, one that is interesting but will feel familiar to readers experienced with the genre. Meri is hurriedly inducted into a secret resistance group, all while dealing with friendship, romance, her father's alcoholism, and pursuit by the secret police. A strong thread of anxiety about technological advancement runs through the book, from the untrustworthiness of e-books to the dangers of recycling paper books. Many threads are left dangling in obvious preparation for a series, but the abrupt ending will leave dystopia-loving young adult readers eager to find out what happens next. Meri is white, and two important secondary characters have brown skin.Hard to put down but easy to forget. (Dystopian. 13-18)