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The Cage
Author:
Shepherd, Megan
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Series:
Cage series, #1
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Class:
Fiction
Age: 12-19
Language: English
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LC: PZ7.S543
Grade: 7-12
Print Run: 40000
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ISBN-13: 9780062243058
LCCN: 2014030624
Imprint: Balzer + Bray
Publisher: HarperCollins
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Pub Date: 05/26/2015
Availability: Out of Stock Indefinitely
List: $17.99
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Hardcover
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Physical Description:
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385 pages ; 22 cm
H 8.25",
W 5.5",
D 1.25",
1.02 lbs.
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LC Series:
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Brodart Sources:
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Brodart's Insight Catalog: Teen
Brodart's TOP Young Adult Titles
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Bibliographies:
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Awards:
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Horn Book Guide Titles, Rated 1 - 4
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Starred Reviews:
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TIPS Subjects:
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Science Fiction
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BISAC Subjects: |
YOUNG ADULT FICTION / Science Fiction / General
YOUNG ADULT FICTION / Social Themes / Death, Grief, Bereavement
YOUNG ADULT FICTION / Technology
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LC Subjects:
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Alien abduction, Fiction
Alien abduction, Juvenile fiction
Extraterrestrial beings, Juvenile fiction
Human-alien encounters, Fiction
Human-alien encounters, Juvenile fiction
Science fiction
Telepathy, Fiction
Telepathy, Juvenile fiction
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SEARS Subjects: |
Alien abduction, Fiction
Human-alien encounters, Fiction
Science fiction
Telepathy, Fiction
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Reading Programs: |
Accelerated Reader Level:
5.2
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Points: 15.0
Lexile Level:
680
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| Annotations |
| Brodart's TOP Young Adult Titles | 06/01/2015 |
| Waking up in a desert surrounded by a farm, an ocean, and a frosty mountain range, accused murderer Cora Mason, a senator's daughter, has no recollection of the events following her car ride to a ski resort with her family. When Cora and her fellow captives learn they have been 'saved' by a group of aliens and are being kept in a kind of human zoo, Cora grapples with her feelings for her irresistible captor as she seeks a way home. 400pp. |
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| Journal Reviews |
| Booklist | 04/15/2015 |
| Grades 10-12. Six teenagers wake in an ideal environment--except it is a cage, and they are being studied like lab rats by several Kindred, the alien race that abducted them from earth. The teens have been paired for mating purposes and are only required to take care of themselves and procreate, but for some of the teens, even those few rules are too much to ask. They simply want to return to the lives they left behind, no matter how imperfect they were. This science-fiction adventure is a blend of Twilight Zone episodes, William Sleator's best novels, and Lord of the Flies. Exploring a variety of issues in the teens' lives makes this book a good choice for reluctant readers and even those who are not sf fans. Shepherd has created an eerily unsettling yet believable world. The result, which is the first in a series, will make readers squirm, even as it causes them to reflect on what it means to be human. Moore, Melissa. 400. Booklist Online. AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION, c2015. |
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| Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books | 07/01/2015 |
| R. Gr. 9-12. When sixteen-year-old Cora wakes up in a strange place, her assumption that she's being held for ransom quickly gives way to the realization that she, along with other teens, has been kidnapped by aliens for a strange human science experiment. Now, trapped in a seemingly edgeless biosphere and treated like lab rats, Cora and her fellow captives must learn to navigate mazes, solve puzzles, and procreate to ensure their survival. At first, the teens unite over fear and a desire to escape, but soon secrets, suspicions, and hidden agendas cause the group to splinter. Some learn to adapt, happily playing along and starting relationships, and others break under the pressure, while Cora finds herself increasingly isolated and seeking solace in conversations with Cassian, the handsome alien in charge of their care. But Cassian is hiding secrets of his own, and even as Cora begins to fall in love, revelations emerge that might derail her hopes for escape. With its complex and nuanced narrative, this novel offers compelling contemporary science fiction with a classic Star Trek flair. The plot moves at a steady pace, building on a series of reveals and thoughtful character development, and it blends emotional and psychological elements into a cohesive whole with plenty of drama and suspense. While the focus here is squarely on Cora, interspersed chapters on other characters round out perspectives on their captivity (especially in the face of harsh realities back on Earth) and give the novel added depth and intelligence. Intriguing, if underexplained, world-building will draw readers in, while plenty of unanswered questions, unresolved romances, and a last-page reveal will ensure their return for planned sequels. AM. 400p. THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE UNIV. OF ILLINOIS, c2015. |
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| Horn Book Guide | 11/01/2015 |
| 3. Six teenagers wake up in an alien world of impossibly mixed environments--and discover they now live in a human zoo. Cora breaks their captors' rules, trying to get home to Earth. Opposing viewpoints on how to live cause the teens to battle for leadership, and many secrets are revealed. Shepherd's beautiful writing will hook readers (who aren't bothered by a discomfiting premise). jm. 389pg. THE HORN BOOK, c2015. |
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| Kirkus Reviews | 03/01/2015 |
| Six teenagers face a life of captivity in an alien-designed human zoo. Cora awakens in a most unusual land, one divided into disparate environments stitched closely together: a desert, a beach, a farm, a city, and more. She certainly isn't in Virginia anymore. Terrified, she runs, quickly encountering Lucky, a cute stranger who knows far more about her than he lets on. Cora reluctantly teams up with him, and together, they find three others inside a strange city filled with candy shops and toy stores. All around them are murky, black windows with shifting shadows behind them. Soon enough, an ET appears, looking much like an alluring figure from Cora's dreams. He calls himself their Caretaker. He's one of the Kindred, and it's their mission to protect humans--an endangered species. The cost of their protection is compliance with their rules. However, Cora isn't the type to be caged in. The narrative perspective shifts between her and far more thinly characterized cohorts; Cora's pulses with her fiery resilience, outshining the others. A love triangle that frustrates at first delivers both a swoon-worthy and thrilling cliffhanger that will compel readers to the sequel. A riff on a Twilight Zone plot unfolds into a richly drawn alien dystopian replete with romance and horror. (Science fiction. 13 & up). 400pg. KIRKUS MEDIA LLC, c2015. |
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| Publishers Weekly | 06/22/2015 |
| Ages 13-up. Shepherd (The Madman's Daughter) gives a hoary premise--alien abduction--new life in this twisty tale. Sixteen-year-old Cora Mason, daughter of a powerful Senator, has just gotten out of juvenile detention following a fatal car accident when she is kidnapped by psychic extraterrestrials and dumped in an Earthlike habitat with four other teens. Expected to mate within 21 days to "ensure the continuation of species" or face a dire fate, the captives--including a Norwegian genius, a Thai model, a Maori black marketeer, and a Colombian-American with a mysterious connection to Cora--differ in their responses. Cora is determined to escape, but is going home possible or even desirable? While the characters and their cultural backgrounds remain lightly sketched, their complicated relationships with each other ring true. Multiple points of view provide a complex picture of Cora's actions and their impact on the people around her. Shepherd is a master of pacing, and each chapter brings new revelations. First in a series, the novel ends with a satisfying conclusion to the central mystery, while maintaining suspense about Cora's fate. Agent: Josh Adams, Adams Literary. (May). 400p. Web-Exclusive Review. PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, c2015. |
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| School Library Journal | 02/01/2015 |
| Gr 9 Up. When Cora wakes up in the middle of a desert, the last thing she can remember is driving to a ski resort with her brother. She comes across five other teenagers in this unfamiliar world, and they learn that they have been selected by highly intelligent aliens as study subjects; they are watched and controlled at all times. Each captive has been paired with another--with the charge to procreate within 21 days or face a fate worse than captivity. Cora can't forget home, and her constant search for an escape puts her at odds with the rest of the group, who begin to see her as a threat to their survival. The originality of the setting and its diverse cast of characters make the story compelling at the beginning, but as the book continues, the characters stagnate and become predictable. The romantic interest Cora has for Cassian, a 7-foot-tall, metallic-skinned alien, seems unlikely, but drives the plot and leads to the twist at the end. VERDICT Readers who want more alien YA fiction may like this one, but Rick Yancey's The 5th Wave (Putnam, 2013) and Pittacus Lore's "Lorien Legacies" series (HarperCollins) are a better place to start newly interested teens. Marian McLeod, Convent of the Sacred Heart, Greenwich, CT. 400p. SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL, c2015. |
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| ~VOYA (Voice of Youth Advocates Magazine - Retired Journal) | 04/01/2015 |
| 4Q 4P J S. Cora Mason is on her way to a long anticipated family get-together when she wakes up somewhere otherworldly. The other teens around her provide little comfort as no one knows any more than she does. Eventually they discover they are being held captive by aliens who want to study them and help save the endangered human race. All the six teenagers must do is sleep, eat, and procreate with their pre-determined match. Some of the teens see this as a positive arrangement and immediately start following the rules, but Cora refuses to believe what she has been told. She knows there is something wrong. None of the teens had a great life on Earth, especially Cora, but that does not stop her from trying to get back to her terrestrial difficulties. She builds a relationship with the alien caretaker of her group, and works to get information from him to find a way home for her and the others. As the story continues, Cora wonders whether she has gotten much too close to the alien, who may not be so different from humans after all. This novel has the human/non-human sexual tension that has been exciting teen readers of many popular series for the last few years. For this reason, it will probably gain attention as a read-alike, but ultimately this novel does not bring anything new or interesting to the genre.--Elisabeth W. Rauch. 400p. VOICE OF YOUTH ADVOCATES, c2015. |
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9780062243058,dl.it[0].title
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