Customer Reviews

Blacklisted

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Blacklisted is an exciting and gritty follow-up to Red Handed (Teen Alien Huntress). Most of the main characters from Red Handed make a peripheral appearance; the focus here is on Erik, who has apparently turned from A.I.R. agent into an illicit dealer in Onadyn, a drug that is used by oxygen-intolerant aliens to live -- and by human drug addicts.

Ms Showalter does an excellent job in several areas:

- in showing how 1 decision can change a person's life in major ways. This applies to both Erik and Camille, albeit they each made separate, unrelated, life-altering decisions at different times that have led them into a somewhat harrowing adventure together.

- in making believable the reasons behind the decisons Erik and Camille made

- in describing the lengths to which female teens might go to in order to pursue those they're infatuated with

- in the pacing and suspense of the story

- in reintroducing some of the main characters we saw in Red Handed

- in showing that "the authorities" can be just as brutal, unsympathetic, and unjust as the criminals they pursue


I did enjoy this book and would recommend it. However, the reason I gave only 4 stars for Blacklisted was due to a combination of things, almost all tied to loose ends:

** POSSIBLE MILD SPOILERS BELOW **

- It's difficult to believe that having known and trained with Erik for so long that no one at A.I.R. -- including his former peers and instructors -- seems to question why or delve deeper into the reasons Erik has done what they think he's done. I don't really count the negligible protest by Cara, Erik's former flame because it was only a brief protest. The fact that she may have second-guessed herself is implied, but even so she's still the only person who appears to have at least thought about whether her assumptions about Erik might have been wrong.

- As a corollary to the above point, A.I.R. comprises several aliens among its staff and students. It's been mentioned in both Red Handed and Blacklisted that there are aliens who are telepathic to the extent that they can mind read humans. Since A.I.R. is willing to resort to violence in their interrogations, why weren't they willing to find a mind-reading alien who could probe their thoughts? (Clearly, it had nothing to do with the rights of Erik or Camille, and of course, this would likely have shortened the story considerably, but at least a reason why this option wasn't explored by A.I.R. should have been explained.)

- Erik mentions to Camille at one point that her actions hadn't made much of a difference to what occurred at the club ("the Ship") because his past had caught up to him. That wasn't really explained, although one might attribute it to the fact that his former peers have shown up at the club and indicated they're watching him.

- Camille and her friend Shanel have lied to their parents about their whereabouts and it's clear later that they have no money, yet they're able to order drinks at the club's bar. The inference seems to be that the drinks are charged somehow... which would likely show up in an invoice/statement somewhere their parents would end up seeing.

- After a whirlwind sequence of events, the ending is very abrupt. After all the things the A.I.R. agents have put Erik and Camille through, the denouement is without fanfare, Camille's parents are suddenly in agreement with Camille's actions, and that's it. The issue of Silver is left hanging as well.

** POSSIBLE MILD SPOILERS ABOVE **

Blacklisted is the second book in Gena Showalter's Teen Alien Hunters series. One of the things I love about both the previous book, Red Handed and this entry is that fans of the author's adult Alien Hunters series get to see some of their favorite characters in these books and will enjoy them just as much. I have to admit that I was a little disappointed when I got this book and realized I wouldn't be reading about the further adventures of Phoenix and Ryan, but that feeling did not last long. Instead we learn about Eric, who was a secondary character in Red Handed, and why he has seemingly turned against AIR and his friends. It was interesting to see things from an entirely different perspective proving once again that there are two sides to every story. The love story is also great with Eric deservedly ending up with a worthy partner. If I had any criticism it would be that I felt the ending was a bit rushed, but not enough so that it detracted from the rest of the story. I can't wait for the next book!

This second book in the TEEN ALIEN HUNTRESS series, following Red Handed (Teen Alien Huntress), is not a direct continuation of that story. Familiar characters make an appearance, but really this is just another book taking place in that same well-created world of the first. That said, it's well worth reading, too!

BLACKLISTED is about Camille, who is a pretty average teenage girl. With her best friend, Shanel, she sneaks into a nightclub, trying to catch the attention of her crush. Camille's persistence, however, leads them into a situation that they were not anticipating when they came to the club.

Soon, after getting in the middle of a fight in a high security area that isn't really part of the club they came to see, Camille and Erik are on the run from AIR (Alien Investigation and Removal) agents, while Shanel and Silver manage to elude them. Erik's finally noticing Camille, so she's inclined to help him out, but the AIR agents are accusing him of something that she definitely doesn't want to be a part of.

What's a girl to do?

BLACKLISTED is just as action-packed and fast-paced as the first book in the series, and I think the characters might even be a little better! I love the way Gena Showalter is able to deal with aliens without being cliched or cheesy; her books are very original, not exactly Star Trek. This is a fun, interesting series that is sure to appeal to readers!!

Reviewed by: Jocelyn Pearce

this book was good and fun to read until i got to the end, it took like 3 pages to end the book and that was definetly not enough. it felt rushed and had too simple of a conclusion, all of a sudden, even though everyone was after them they just gave up and said no problem we dont mind. the end

I'm not going to lie, initially I was disappointed when I first started reading BLACKLISTED (YA Alien Huntress #2) and realized that the main characters Pheonix and the other hunters from the first book barely made a showing. But it wasn't long before I became completely immersed in Erik and Camille's story. For me really, this second installment felt more like a companion book then a sequel.. although obviously connected to the first book, RED HANDED, the focus completely shifted from training and hunting dangerous predatory aliens to hunting one of their own. There are aliens in this book, but the storyline revolves around the alien drug Onadyn, that we were first introduced to in book one; after A.I.R. Agent Erik Trinity is accused of being a dealer of the illegal and dangerous substance.

Although there is a lot less alien hunting and fighting, there is still no shortage of action and romance as Erik is on the run and fighting for a cause he believes in. But all of Erik secrets put the life of innocent girl in danger. Is Erik really a bad guy?.. Should Camille trust her instincts about the boy she's been crushing on for months?.. or is her obsession with this beautiful guy she barley knows going to get her killed?

Even with the considerable change in feel and direction this second book took, I really enjoyed it on it's own merit. Showatler did a fantastic job showing a completely different point of view without losing the readers interest and although I'd recommend reading RED HANDED before picking up BLACKLISTED, it isn't 100% necessary to following the story.

"Blacklisted" is a YA novel set in the Alien Huntress world. Our hero is Erik, who was a secondary character in the previous book, Red Handed (Teen Alien Huntress). When we saw him last, he was on the run, branded a drug dealer. His heroine is 18 year-old Camille, a regular girl with a crush on the wrong boy. She tries to get close to Erik, and gets thrown inside a world she didn't know existed.

Camille has an uber-crush on Erik, who she has seen in the halls of high school. She and a friend follow him to a club one night and she gets caught up in a bust designed to bring him down. She ends up on the run with Erik, learning he's not a bad guy after all. In fact, he has sacrificed his good name to help aliens who need the drug he's selling to survive.

WHAT WORKS:
I liked seeing Phoenix and the other girls featured in "Red Handed." Even Ryan and Mia showed up -and I'm a sucker for reoccurring characters in a series. The love scene was sweet and slightly racier than I thought I would get in a YA... but VERY tame compared to most Showalter books.

WHAT DIDN'T:
My only gripe with this book was that it flew by and seemed short. I can't be sure without a word count... maybe it just went so fast because it was a good and an easy read.

OVERALL:
I liked it. I give it 5 stars, even though I would have loved to see Camille and Erik take that next step.

This was the second book in the Teen Alien Huntress series by Gena Showalter. As far as I could find there are not anymore young adult books planned in the Alien Huntress series at this time. I didn't like this book nearly as much as the first one, Redhanded, but it was okay.

Camille Robins and her girlfriend go to a nightclub chasing after some boys from high school. Camille is interested in Erik (who was in Redhanded) and is ecstatic when he passes her a note in the club. When she finds out the note is only a blank napkin it pisses her off, so she follows him into a back section of the club. There she is attacked and drawn into Erik's illegal activities. Erik and Camille end up fleeing for their lives trying to outrun AIR agents.

I didn't like this book nearly as much as "Redhanded". My biggest problem was Camille. She is cowardly (which she admits to herself), somewhat whiny, and I found her to be annoying. Erik is, in general, kind of a jerk. Like with many other of Showalter's books Erik ends up being better in the end, but I still didn't like him much. The relationship between him and Camille felt forced and unrealistic.

I also didn't like that the main premise of this book was that Camille wanted Erik. At least in "Redhanded" Pheonix was trying to beat her addiction and make it through A.I.R. training; in "Redhanded" her relationship with Ryan was part of the story not the whole story. Don't get me wrong there is some plot outside of Camille and Erik, but it is pretty thin.

Additionally I thought the book was wrapped up really quick and a little too conveniently. It was unreal how all these strange coincidences happened all at once so that the story could be end quickly, almost as if Showalter had to hurry and get this book done. In general it made for an unsatisfying story.

The positive points were that Showalter has created an interesting world here, the actions scenes were well done (although much fewer than in "Redhanded"), and the book was a quick, easy read. In the end it was an okay read, definitely nothing to write home about, but a quick diversion. I would definitely read "Redhanded" first since that is, by far, the better of the two books.

When I was in High School I was a big fan of MTV Books. They started with "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" and moved forward with one hit and then another. I wouldn't be much of a reader today had I not gotten hooked these books in High School.

As I moved on to college I kind of forgot about the Simon Says Pocket books I used to adore. While I was in the dark, over a hundred new ones came out. Some sound far too young adult for me to enjoy, but others sound downright exciting!

I found Gina Showalter's Blacklisted in the bargain bin at Borders for $3.99. I was super excited to pick it up and ended up reading it almost right away. The book only took a few hours to read, and there was never a dull moment, that is for sure.

While I don't normally jump for supernatural thrillers, I decided to give it a try. I actually really really enjoyed it!

The book opens in a time long after a war between "Outers" aka-Aliens, and humans have had a war. The humans win, but allow outers to stay put as long as they behave. There is an organization similar to the FBI or Secret Service, called A.I.R. or Alien Investigation and Removal Agency. Their primary job is to find Aliens who aren't abiding by the law and to remove them from the planet. Once they have done that they have to go inform the families of that alien that they too are no longer permitted to stay.

A lot of those aliens have to stay though, their planets have been destroyed and so they have nowhere else to go. Their big problem now is that the government will no longer supply them with Onadyn, a life saving drug that keep non-oxygen tolerant species alive. There is an underground drug ring to supply them with the drug, unfortunately humans have found a way to abuse it, so the government is "removing" anyone who is caught with the drug.

Camille, a sprightly little school girl follows her crush to a club and ends up in a major misunderstanding. She is being hunted by A.I.R. for suspected dealing of Onadyn. Her crush Erik is finally noticing her, but he has a lot of secrets, and she isn't sure if she can handle them all. Can she find true love on the Lam?

I have read a lot of Showalter books, this was the first one I could not get real instested in. I don't know why. But that happens with some books. It was good. But most of her books I have rread all night on.

Onadyn may be the addiction that ruins human lives, but for some species of alien it is vital. Their bodies can't handle this planet's oxygen, so Onadyn is a medication that saves them from death. Former Alien Investigation and Removal agent Erik Trinity knows this, and he doesn't understand why an entire family should be robbed of their government-issued Onadyn just because they had one bad egg in their family.

This book has heart, issues and something to say. Social commentary really appeals to me in fiction, and the parallels you can draw to contemporary society are worth pondering. While the novel's predecessor, RED HANDED, had a designated big baddie without a clear motive, BLACKLISTED is more about fighting the law for excellent reasons, and forcing AIR to rethink their stance.

Camille Robins is the innocent caught up in it all when she follows Erik at an elite nightclub, and doing so makes her a target for AIR, too. The more she learns of how Outers are suffering without their Onadyn, she's determined to change the law. It seems kind of odd that she gets finger-banged while aliens are suffocating to death, though.

For fabulous world-building, how power corrupts, and thoughtful issues, look no further than BLACKLISTED for a novel with surprising depth.