Zenith [Hardcover]

Julie Bertagna (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 17, 2009

The thrilling sequel to internationally acclaimed Exodus.

In this compelling continuation of Julie Bertagna’s timely trilogy, the search for a future remains a terrifying fight for survival. Sixteen-year-old Mara and her ship of refugees are tracking the North Star in search of land in the mountains of Greenland to call home. A Gypsea boy named Tuck, orphaned when Mara’s ship plows through his floating city, becomes inextricably linked to their fate. Meanwhile, back in the drowned ruins at the feet of the towering sky city, Fox begins his battle with the cruel, corrupt rulers of the New World. Forced to make their own new beginnings in a savage world, three teens must struggle to make sense of the past, overcome the harsh dangers of the present, and build a future worth living.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 9 Up–A well-written and well-paced sequel to Exodus (Walker, 2008). Mara has sailed away with a group of people to find a land that may or may not exist at the top of the world. Fox, her true love and co-revolutionary, has chosen to stay behind to fight the corrupt government. Mara communicates with him using their stolen cyberwizz technology. Tuck is a sticky-fingered, misunderstood boy from a floating atoll of scavengers whose existence is said to have brought bad luck to his family and his town. After the ship that Mara is on destroys part of his town, he sees his chance of escape and stows away on it. Their quest to build a future while trying to survive will keep teens involved from the first chapter. While familiarity with the first book is not a necessity, it is recommended. Fans of postapocalyptic fiction will snap this novel up.–June H. Keuhn, Corning East High School, NY
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From Booklist

*Starred Review* In this sequel to Exodus (2008), 16-year-old Mara guides a ship of refugees north from New Mungo, hoping to find safe haven in Greenland now that their globally warmed world is almost completely submerged. Upon arrival their ship is sunk and they are enslaved by the barbaric inhabitants of Ilira, who live in apartment-style caves shuttered by automobile doors scavenged from the sea. Eventually Mara and a few others escape, hiking to an interior valley with a glacial lake where they settle permanently. Although told alternately by Mara, Fox, and Tuck, this is mostly Mara’s story—a plucky, imperfect heroine leading the way to an uncertain future in a hostile world filled with inhabitants who do whatever it takes to survive. Still, signs of hope emerge: Mara’s (and Fox’s) baby is born just as the group discovers their promised land; Fox finds encouragement in his campaign against world corruption; and Tuck rehabilitates himself from pirate and thief to builder of fantastic bridges. Sadly, Mara and Fox can no longer communicate (Tuck has stolen part of her cyberwizz, a tool for surfing the Weave), but with a forthcoming final volume in the works, fans can still hope for a reunion. Grades 6-10. --Kay Weisman

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 12 and up
  
• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Walker Childrens (March 17, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802798039
• ISBN-13: 978-0802798039
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,353,526 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Definitely Intriguting and with Fascinating Settings, August 10, 2009

By 

Tez Miller (Victoria, Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Zenith (Hardcover)

Mara Bell is leading a boat of Treenesters, urchins, and freed slaves in search of Greenland. But as they head toward what they think is land, their boat crashes into a floating city of barges and bridges.

Whilst definitely intriguing and with fascinating settings, ZENITH is not quite as grabbing as its predecessor, EXODUS. Maybe it's due to the lack of technology, or that I just didn't connect with the characters. Mara was awesome in Book 1, but here...she's less fabulous. However, the imagery is simply splendid, making me wish I could see aurora borealis (I don't think it's visible here in the Southern Hemisphere). The writing is lush, almost poetic at times, and I can't wait to read what'll happen in Book 3, AURORA. However, its publication is at least a year away, I'm guessing, but it leaves newcomers with plenty of time to acquire and devour Books 1 and 2. Futuristic YA is all the richer with Julie Bertagna's innovative contributions.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not as great as I hoped, but..., June 5, 2009

By 

EssieGee (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Zenith (Hardcover)

This picks up right where the book Exodus leaves off. Mara is on a ship headed toward the top of the world after escaping New Mungo, the futuristic city in the sky. Mara isn't completely happy with this escape because she had to leave behind her beloved boyfriend (Fox). Fox decides to stay behind and cyber-fight the new city while Mara chooses to stay with her people and travel north--one of the only areas left in the world that has not been flooded by the oceans. When Mara and her people hit land, they are overjoyed...until they realize that people already living there plan to capture them and sell them as slaves.

Meanwhile, Tuck is on board a ship that is chasing Mara's ship north because he and his people want revenge for an accident Mara's ship caused. When they see Mara's ship being attacked, Tuck and his people use their weapons to fight the land-dwellers. When the battle is over, they head away but Tuck decides to stay on the land. Eventually, he joins Mara's group as they all search for a livable space on this strange new land at the top of the world.

This is a good story describing what Mara and the others go through as they fight for survival in a world that is nearly completely covered in water. Although they endure many hardships and lives are lost, they don't give up. We'll see what becomes of them in the upcoming final book in this series.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Courtesy of Teens Read Too, May 27, 2009

By 

TeensReadToo "Eat. Drink. Read. Be Merrier." (All Over the US & Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Zenith (Hardcover)

Once again, Mara is setting sail, fleeing from one unstable place to the promise of others. Again she is headed north and again she is bringing bedraggled and hopeful survivors with her. Everyone is searching for the same thing. A safe place. A home. Land.

In a world where global warming has melted all of the polar ice caps and the world has been flooded, there doesn't seem to be much to hope for anymore. Mara led her family and friends north only to find that the New World city of New Mungo wasn't the salvation they had hoped for. Mara's cyberworld friend, Fox, has stayed behind to battle the corruption, while she sails north with Rowan, the Treenesters, the Urchins, and other escapees from New Mungo in search of the land Mara is sure exists.

Along the way, Mara will meet Tuck, a boy who has only ever lived on the sea. He lives on a floating "city" of connected boats, barges, and bridges, among people with a history of piracy. The navigational course that Fox programmed for Mara's ship didn't include such a civilization - and the ship causes damage to Tuck's people. He joins his people in pursuing the great ship with vengeance in his mind.

But, Tuck's people aren't the biggest threat facing Mara and the refugees of New Mungo. The safety of a distant land may also offer more danger than they ever imagined. And the very act of living is a hard-earned accomplishment as lives are won and lost in this inhospitable new world.

ZENITH is an exciting sequel to EXODUS; I found it to be even more intense and thrilling than the first novel. Julie Bertagna continues to describe a world that could be all too real if threats of global warming aren't taken to heart.

Reviewed by: JodiG.