False Memory (False Series #1)

by Dan Krokos

Overview

Winner of the 2013 International Thriller Award for Best Young Adult Novel!

Miranda wakes up alone on a park bench with no memory. In her panic, she releases a mysterious energy that incites pure terror in everyone around her-except Peter, a boy who isn't at all surprised by Miranda's shocking ability.

Left with no choice but to trust this stranger, Miranda discovers she was trained to be a weapon and is part of an elite force of genetically-altered teens who possess flawless combat skills and powers strong enough to destroy a city. But adjusting to her old life isn't easy-especially with Noah, the boyfriend she can't remember loving.

Then Miranda uncovers a dark truth that sets her team on the run. Suddenly her past doesn't seem to matter...when there may not be a future.

Dan Krokos' debut, hailed as a "memorable thriller," (Booklist) is a tour-de-force of non-stop action that will leave readers begging for the next book in this bold and powerful new series.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781423149842
Publisher:	Disney-Hyperion
Publication date:	07/16/2013
Series:	False Series , #1
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	352
Product dimensions:	5.76(w) x 8.10(h) x 0.78(d)
Age Range:	12 - 17 Years

About the Author

After pumping gas for nine years to put himself through college, Dan Krokos, now twenty-six, became a full-time writer. He enjoys watching TV, playing MMORPGs, and drinking coffee. Currently, he's hard at work on the next book in Miranda's journey. Follow his antics on twitter (@DanKrokos) or visit his Web site, www.dankrokos.com.

Editorial Reviews

Miranda North wakes up on a bench in a shopping mall with no memory of who she really is. In an attempt to get help from a mall security officer, Miranda unintentionally sets off a psychic energy force that she possesses to dire effect. A chain of events swiftly plays out that help Miranda to realize that she is not alone in having psychic weaponry that can terrify and even kill other people. Over time, Miranda encounters other teens with which she shares both this psychic power and a clouded understanding of its purpose. In flight from the adults who have raised them from their earliest memory, Miranda and her comrades discover that the power they have is not designed for the uniform benefit of others. Along the way, Miranda and her friends meet other teens with not only the same powers but also identical genetic makeups. Some of these fellow travelers are friends while others are potentially deadly adversaries serving purposes beyond even their own comprehension. While these powers, their ultimate purpose, and the genetic engineering that created Miranda and her counterparts are initially unclear to her, all is revealed by the end of this science fiction thriller. Written in a fast paced manner, False Memory will appeal to adolescents with an interest in the potentially dire aspects of technology's advancement. Although there is a deus ex machina aspect to this book, its pace, romance, and subject matter should capture the fancy of a niche audience. Reviewer: Greg M. Romaneck

Children's Literature - Greg M. Romaneck

Seventeen-year-old Miranda North comes to her senses in the middle of a shopping mall. She knows her name and age, and that she is in Cleveland, but beyond those basic facts her memory is gone. When she approaches a security guard for help, his suspicion of her causes her to emit brain waves of fear, driving the mall customers into a frenzy and causing a terrifying scene of death and destruction. In the midst of the calamity, Peter, a boy who claims to know Miranda, helps her escape and takes her to an underground compound, where she learns that she belongs to a group of four teenagers known as "Roses," who possess superhuman powers and have been raised to be sold as deadly weapons. The mystery deepens when they encounter Rhys, a rogue Rose with whom they join forces. As Miranda and her teammates Peter, Noah, and Olive, fight to help Rhys derail this terrible plot, they gradually discover that they are clones, and disturbing questions about their identities arise. Though the plot becomes extremely convoluted toward the end and the fight scenes are overabundant, Krokos's book has plenty of spirit. Readers will empathize with Miranda as she and her friends suffer shock after shock. Krokos writes in first-person through Miranda, which lends a sense of immediacy to this fast-paced tale. Fans of science fiction and intense action will enjoy this novel, which nicely sets the stage for a series. Reviewer: Dotsy Harland

VOYA - Dotsy Harland

Gr 9 Up—"I don't know who I am, but I might be a badass." So says Miranda North when she wakes up on a park bench with no memory of who she is or where she came from. When she visits a mall, people react to her with stark fear, and in their haste to get away, they end up killing themselves. Peter explains that she is a Rose, a genetically enhanced human with super-soldier abilities and the power to inflict psychic fear on people. The purpose behind the Roses is to wield a new weapon in war, one that attains peace through chaos. Meanwhile, the creators of the Roses have a nefarious plan in mind; they want to release the Roses on Cleveland to see how much havoc can be wreaked. Peter is abducted by members of the Beta team-all clones of Miranda and her friends-and a rogue Rose named Rhys has plenty of unpleasant secrets up his sleeve. A love triangle adds to Miranda's confusion in this fast-paced sci-fi adventure. After a clunky beginning, the story picks up, and the stakes are heightened with the appearance of the cloned Beta team. A plot twist two-thirds of the way in, however, throws readers off and makes for a bit of confusion. Miranda is somewhat of an ambivalent character who handles her memory loss with remarkable acceptance. For fans of surface-level fast-paced stories.—Jamie Kallio, Orland Park Public Library, IL

School Library Journal

Teens with mysterious abilities and the possibly sinister people who seek to control them are the ingredients for this end-of-summer thriller. For 17-year-old Miranda North, waking up in Cleveland with the memory of nothing beyond her name and age is a bit disconcerting. But when she makes a crowded mall panic with nothing more than the power of her mind, she's left wondering exactly what she is. Peter, immune to her psychic ability, offers his help, both in understanding who she is and what she can do. Back at a secret bunker, Miranda learns that there are others with special abilities, but an attack on the base forces Miranda to confront the Beta team, a city in chaos and the unknown people who created her. Miranda and her fellow Roses are a rather generic mash-up of common superheroes: not space aliens, but orphans with strange powers and questions about their origins. The action is non-stop, and Miranda is a refreshingly kick-ass heroine, with a focus on accomplishing her mission instead of snagging a man. Fans of Joss Whedon's Dollhouse series will find many elements quite familiar, but Krokos adds twists to make it his own. Nothing new here, but readers more interested in plot than depth will find it an appealing segue from summer into school. (Action. 10-14)

Kirkus Reviews