Shadowborn

Teylin Walker, fresh from an audition in LA, rides her bicycle smack into an invisible obstacle. A silver-haired, blue-eyed boy suddenly materializes-only to vanish again. Tey manages to track him to a warehouse, where she sees a group of imprisoned children with the same eye and hair colors. Their captors grab Tey as well and take them all to Los Sueños, an archipelago somewhere in the Pacific. Luckily, bounty hunters rescue the would-be actor from the Coterie, the criminal organization holding her captive. But getting back to the U.S. isn't easy. Los Sueños is a country whose king has intentionally isolated it from the rest of the world. Her only option, it seems, is paying thousands of dollars to take a sailor's spot on a ship. The bounty hunters' leader, Rob Stryker, who prefers the nomenclature "fugitive recovery agents," lets Tey help in chasing down Coterie members. It's precarious work, but splitting this bounty-and future ones-will fund her trip home. What the Coterie truly wants are all of the silver-haired children, aka the shadowborn. But the more Tey encounters shadowborn, the more she sympathizes with them, especially since the king wants them "eradicated." Lending support to these unusual kids will put her in conflict with Rob and the other agents, making the prospect of escaping Los Sueños even less likely. Alder sublimely casts this story's archipelago as a place entirely separate from the contemporary world. Its limited modern conveniences are sporadic, like running water and electricity. Cellphones don't work, and Tey sees a kitchen that "recalled a Victorian mansion from a school field trip." The titular characters have few appearances, unfortunately, though readers do get to see their powers, from telepathy to healing. Alder's concise prose works well to heighten the drama: "Heart hammering, I stopped in my tracks and squinted at the darkness that seemed unusually dense. The shadows rose off the ground, shielding the girl with a black vapor. I took a couple of steps back, my skin cold." The shadowborn are also steeped in mystery. How they become that way is unknown, and the children have no memories of their pasts. The action comes primarily from Tey and the agents' battling the Coterie. On A Rain-drenched City Street, Seventeen-year-old Teylin Walker Smashes Into A Boy Who Materializes Out Of Thin Air. Unable To Believe Her Eyes, She Follows Him And Is Apprehended By A Deadly Duo That Want Not Only The Boy, But To Protect His Secret At All Costs. The Price: Tey's Life. Tey Manages To Evade Death, But At The Sacrifice Of Her Freedom. She Is Smuggled To A Mystical Chain Of Islands Where Dreams And Reality Walk A Thin Line Across A Jungle-covered Landscape. Amongst The Radioactive Silver Pools And Rotting Mansions Of The Archipelago's Past, She Encounters More Children With Inexplicable Abilities Both Mysterious And Lethal. Wanted For What They Can Do And Forced Into Slavery, These Shadowborn Lack All Memory Of Where They Came From; A Dangerous Secret Tey Becomes Determined To Uncover. Desperate To Survive, She Joins The Charismatic Rob Stryker And His Offbeat Team Of Bounty Hunters. Rob Needs The Information Tey Possesses About Her Captors To Lead Him To His Next Target. In Exchange, He Promises To Help Her Get Home. Swept Into Rob's Dangerous Underworld, Tey Continues To Search For Clues That Bring Her Closer To The Truth Of Her Mysterious Island Prison. When She Rescues An Injured Shadowborn From The Abuse Of A Cruel Master, She Is Forced To Choose Between Her Own Freedom And The Lives Of Those She Has Come To Love. In This Thrilling Debut, Maren Alder Sweeps Her Readers Into The Utterly Gripping World Of The Shadowborn And Takes Them On An Exhilarating Ride That Will Leave Them Gasping For More. On a rain-drenched city street, Teylin Walker runs into a silver-haired boy who appears out of thin air. Unable to believe her eyes, she follows after him and is apprehended by a deadly duo that want not only the boy, but to protect his at all costs