Unplugged

by Donna Freitas

Overview

In the tradition of M. T. Anderson’s Feed and Scott Westerfeld’s Uglies, Unplugged is the first in a thrilling and provocative new series that Kass Morgan, New York Times bestselling author of The 100, called “chilling and addictive.”

Skylar Cruz still remembers the day she plugged in and joined the App World for the promise of a better life—the day she left her family behind in the Real World. Skylar is now a virtual teenager and even though she’s surrounded by everything she ever dreamed about, she’s never felt like she fits in and all she wants is to see her mother and sister again.

Skye is desperate and ready to risk everything to unplug from the App World. But she soon learns that the only person she can trust—in either world, including friends and family—is herself.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062118608
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	06/21/2016
Series:	Unplugged Series , #1
Pages:	448
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.40(h) x 1.70(d)
Age Range:	13 Years

Editorial Reviews

04/18/2016
In the not-so-distant future of Freitas’s fast-paced series opener, the world is divided. Those with resources live virtually, plugged into an App World whose inhabitants look vaguely similar (even sharing the same skin color, “Caucasian 4.0”) and use Apps to differentiate themselves; those without live in the corporeal Real World, left to deal with disease, poverty, and physicality. Skylar Cruz, 16, is one of the rare “Singles,” children chosen to live virtually in exchange for their families’ service as Keepers—caregivers to the bodies left behind by the virtual citizens. When the borders between the worlds are suddenly closed and the prime minister’s son, Rain, is left on the wrong side, Skye is recruited to bring him back. But the Real World is in the midst of revolution, and Skye has become an important symbol for both sides. Freitas (The Tenderness of Thieves), a PW contributor, invokes several recognizable dystopian tropes—including an expectations-defying heroine, a world facing drastic change, and an impossible love triangle—as she explores interconnections among race, commerce, and technology. Ages 13–up. Agent: Miriam Altschuler, DeFiore and Company. (June)

Publishers Weekly

In Freitas’s series opener, the world is divided into two factions. Those with resources live virtually, plugged into an App World where they can purchase Apps to appease their every desire, while their physical bodies are tended to by caregivers, or Keepers. Those less fortunate live in the corporeal Real World, left to deal with disease, poverty, and physicality. Skylar Cruz is a "Single," a child chosen to live virtually in exchange for her family’s service as Keepers. When the borders between the worlds are suddenly closed and the prime minister's son, Rain, is left on the wrong side, Skye is recruited to bring him back. Unknowingly, Skye enters the Real World in the midst of a revolution and becomes an important symbol for both sides. Unplugged is a fast-paced, plot-driven dystopian story that explores the interconnectivity between beauty, commercialism, race, and technology. These concepts are thought-provoking, relevant, and promising; however, they are not fully developed due to the book’s very weak worldbuilding, and they fail to add depth. A diverse cast of characters is appreciated, but none of the characters stand out. Though the book’s pacing is excellent with lots of action, twists, and turns in quick, short chapters, readers may become frustrated by the lack of answers to Skye’s questions and her inability to probe other characters who are clearly withholding pertinent information from her. Despite its flaws, fans of the genre and readers who enjoyed Dan Wells's Bluescreen or M.T. Anderson's Feed (Candlewick, 2002/Voya December 2002) might enjoy this book. Reviewer: Rummanah Aasi; Ages 11 to 18.

VOYA, August 2016 (Vol. 39, No. 3) - Rummanah Aasi

05/01/2016
Gr 8 Up—In this first book of an exciting dystopian sci-fi series, Skylar, almost 17, a Single, has been plugged into the virtual App World nonstop since she was five. In the Real World, epidemics have killed much of the population, resulting in an economic divide between the unplugged poor, who can't afford expensive apps, and the wealthy plugged in, who can. Skye can't wait for her Service, the time when a 17-year-old can unplug from the App World and return to the Real World. She's desperate to find her real mother and sister, who stayed in the Real World as Keepers to allow her a better life in the App World with a surrogate family. When the prime minister announces that the border between the real and virtual world is closed and future Service is canceled, Skye is devastated. Then she discovers there's a way she might get what she wants if she can sneak across and bring back Rain, the prime minister's cute son, who's stuck in the Real World. If she fails, she'll virtually die. Skye's drawn into a web of conspiracies, betrayals, lies, and shifting alliances and must rely on her own strength to survive in this intriguing tale with diverse characters. VERDICT This work will appeal to gamers, who will appreciate Skye's ability to apply her gaming and heightened physical skills gained from the App World in the Real World, and to those who enjoyed Dan Wells's Bluescreen or M.T. Anderson's Feed.—Sharon Rawlins, New Jersey State Library, Trenton

School Library Journal

2016-03-30
The selfie-tastical virtual world decides to unplug from the physical one, stranding one girl from her family—and from the truth.At a young age, Skye's family plugged her into the App World, a fully digital existence for the consciousnesses of the fortunate while their physical bodies are tended to by the less-privileged Keepers. Skye's been looking forward to her Service, the required time digital citizens spend in the Real World, when she'll finally see her mother and sister again. But a mysterious situation involving disgruntled Keepers results in the cancellation of Service, the closure of the border between the worlds, and even more extreme actions to separate the digital from the physical. Skye, whose distress is apparent, is recruited by a sketchy figure for a mission to the Real World—giving her the opportunity to illegally unplug into the physical world. Skye finds that things are far more complicated than she could have imagined, and twist after twist leave her unsure whom to trust. Readers may become frustrated by her reluctance to probe characters who are clearly keeping information from her. Additionally, there is looseness to the worldbuilding, involving race—in App World, everybody is Caucasian 4.0—and economics, which may be addressed in the sequel. At heart, this is an action novel about capitalism taken too far.Despite imperfections, one of the more ambitious and thought-provoking entries in a crowded genre. (Science fiction/dystopia. 12 & up)

Kirkus Reviews

Chilling and addictive, UNPLUGGED will change the way you look at the world . . .and how you look at yourself.

Kass Morgan

Praise for THE SURVIVAL KIT: “As fragile and lovely as a rose.

Jenny Han

Praise for THE POSSIBILITIES OF SAINTHOOD: “Behold: A rare bloom of a book . . . THE POSSIBILITIES OF SAINTHOOD, while never gloomy or dogmatic, is a literary work of mercy. Let us rejoice and be glad.

Gregory Maguire

Praise for THIS GORGEOUS GAME: “A remarkable book that will speak not just to teens, but to women of all ages.

Sara Zarr