Refraction

One year ago, humanity shot an alien ship out of the sky in an event known as the Fracture. Now, with the ship's debris still dotting the sky, Earth is covered in a mysterious fog, and reflective surfaces have become portals for terrifying alien beings to enter our world. Marty Callahan lives on Florida's Cisco Island, one of the last three surviving human settlements, where he bides his time illegally selling mirrors and planning a way to reunite with his brother, who he must believe is still alive. When the mayor's son's plan to turn Marty in goes awry, they are both exiled into the dangerous beyond, from which no one returns alive. Forced into a deeply tenuous alliance, the two find unexpected answers about the Fracture on the mainland, and the survival of the world depends on their ability to make it back to the island and convince everyone of an astonishing truth. This second novel from Hughes (Afterimage, 2018) is a fast-paced, mind-bending sf mystery with poignant #OwnVoices OCD representation.--Eleanor Roth Copyright 2019 Booklist

Marty will do anything to get to his brother, even sell deadly, black-market mirrors.A year ago an alien ship appeared above Earth, and when humans destroyed it, the ShatterRing stretched around the planet and mirrors everywhere released a fog that hid deadly Beings. Now only Cisco Island (off the coast of Florida), London, and Singapore remain. Ty, Marty's older brother, is in London, and the only way Marty, who suffers from OCD, can think to raise the money to get to him is to sell reflective items like glasses and telescopes, which have been outlawed by repressive Mayor Ackermann. When that gets Marty caught and exiled with Ackermann's hunky son, Elliott, the two have to set aside their mutual distrust to survive on the fog-shrouded mainland; what they discover there changes their perception of reality and sets them on a new course that may save Earthor get them killed. Hughes' (Afterimage, 2018) genre mashup starts with relentless action and then eases up a bit to allow for good character development and some hefty, fun plot twists. Marty's OCD is integral and well explained and explored. Characters hew to the white default.Reads like an Arthur C. Clarke-Stephen King collaboration set in Silent Hillfans of dark sci-fi will enjoy. (Science fiction. 12-18) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

One year ago, humanity shot an alien ship out of the sky in an event known as the Fracture. Now, with the ship's debris still dotting the sky, Earth is covered in a mysterious fog, and reflective surfaces have become portals for terrifying alien beings to enter our world. Marty Callahan lives on Florida's Cisco Island, one of the last three surviving human settlements, where he bides his time illegally selling mirrors and planning a way to reunite with his brother, who he must believe is still alive. When the mayor's son's plan to turn Marty in goes awry, they are both exiled into the dangerous beyond, from which no one returns alive. Forced into a deeply tenuous alliance, the two find unexpected answers about the Fracture on the mainland, and the survival of the world depends on their ability to make it back to the island and convince everyone of an astonishing truth. This second novel from Hughes (Afterimage, 2018) is a fast-paced, mind-bending sf mystery with poignant #OwnVoices OCD representation. Grades 8-12. Copyright 2019 Booklist Reviews.