"Horizon" was a good quick read from Scott Westerfeld. It left me on a cliff, just hanging there. I hope I can get ahold of the next book. ( )

Horizon is the debut middle grade novel for Scott Westerfeld, author of several young adult series including The Uglies. Horizon begins with a mysterious electrical force ripping the top off a plane causing it to crash in a jungle that seems to be located someplace in the arctic. The only survivors are a group of young people, many of whom were on their way to a robotics competition. The adults on the plane are missing, and are presumed to be dead, but with no bodies, it is hard for the kids to be sure. Other strange things begin to happen almost immediately after the crash. The young people discover a device that suspends or increases gravity, and unique wildlife that includes birds that can shred human skin and a vine that purposely tries to kill its victims.

Westerfeld has created an interesting world that seems to be a cross between the television series Lost and The Hunger Games. This first book in a purposed series of seven books to be published between 2017 and 2020, lays the foundation for the rest of what is to come. My only minor complaint is that there are so many characters that it is hard to get to know or care about any of them, especially since the perspective in the book jumps back and forth between characters. Otherwise this is a great beginning to a unique series that already makes it difficult to be patient for future installments to be published.

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This is the first book in a planned 7 book series. Author Scott Westerfeld came up with the idea and wrote the outline. He also wrote the first book. The main characters include Molly, Javier, Anna, Oliver, Caleb, Yoshi, Kira and Akiko and we meet them as they are flying to Japan. Some of the characters are part of Team Killbot and they are headed to a robotics competition. They are on Aero Horizon Flight 16 and when the plane goes down, they are somewhere over the Arctic Circle. When the survivors gather, they notice they are in a jungle as opposed to the Arctic and their surroundings do not resemble plants and animals typically found on earth. They focus on pulling together and surviving. They also have to keep their emotions in check because they plane had 500 people on it and they cannot let grief consume them.

I have to admit that I have had this book in my TBR pile for a while now. As a reader, I just did not feel ready to delve into a series. While I love the author, I did not want to be disappointed by a formulaic series. Well….I can tell you that this is NOT a formulaic series. It is SO good that I have not been able to stop thinking about it. The world building is outstanding and Westerfeld lives up to the amazing world building in his other books. The characters are deep as well as diverse. Kira and Akiko speak only Japanese and French. They cannot communicate with the others in English, so Yoshi who is half Japanese and half caucasian American has to be the translator. A job he does not relish. They all have interesting back stories. The characters who are on the robotics team have a lot of engineering skills. Anna is a good example of a character who is being developed to not being very good with people and emotions. However, her science knowledge and analytical skills are very useful to the group and to survival. There is definitely mystery, adventure, suspense, danger and death. Nothing is too graphic, so most younger readers will be ok. With this first book, readers will be trying to figure out if they are on earth or somehow got transported to a different planet. This is a multiplatform series, so each book has a clue for the online game that can be accessed through Scholastic’s website or with a downloadable app. The covers are appealing to all kinds of readers. The planned variety of authors has me excited to continue the series. I think this series is a good addition to a middle grade school library. ( )

This is a quick reading page turner that has an interesting plot. The characters are not quite as well developed as I would like but I am not really the target demographic - it was written for young adults, and deeper character development would have made a longer book. But I would have liked to have more. Now, having said that, it is the first book in a series (seven total I believe) so we may get more as the series progresses. Interestingly book 2 has a different author. I am wondering if each book will have a different author or how this moves forward. The plot was interesting enough, with enough action, to keep you reading. It is a serialized ending and I will likely read at least one more installment to see where this is all going. The book features several young people who survive a plane crash in the Arctic. The only problem is the plane comes down in the jungle. And what brought the plane down? Was it a freak accident or an alien entity? Who carved this jungle out of the Arctic tundra and who maintains it? Or are they even still on earth - have they been transported somewhere else and is that what caused the crash? Some of these questions will find answers in book one, but... Stay tuned for more in volume 2. Definitely worth the time to read. ( )

This is a middle-grade Lost. I enjoyed it, but I did not realize it was one of Scholastic's multi-author megaseries until I finished it. ( )