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Reviewed by:
  • Tom Seven Second Delay by Tom Easton
  • Alaine Martaus
Easton, Tom Seven Second Delay. Holiday House, 2015 220p
ISBN 978-0-8234-3209-7 $16.95 R Gr. 9-12

In a future where the world’s wealth is controlled by a few nations, teenage Mila tries to sneak into the British Isles but is quickly captured and imprisoned in the government facility, where she is implanted with a phone that sends a constant but seven-seconds-delayed stream of everything she sees and hears to her handler. The process also reveals a bomb-like device in her brain, and Mila is immediately declared a terrorist. In a desperate bid to save herself and using her seven-second lead to her advantage, Mila makes a daring escape. Now, tracked by drones, deadly government assassins, and her handler Adam, Mila struggles to stay one step ahead of her pursuers while tracking down answers about the mysterious device in her brain. Fast-paced and action-packed, this taut, intense sci-fi adventure is pure cinema from cover to cover. There is zero character development, but readers caught up in Mila’s nail-biting series of narrow escapes likely won’t expect any. Mila herself is a hardcore action heroine, reminiscent of Marvel’s Black Widow, and she’s memorable for her wits, strength, skills, and never-say-die attitude. Her tracker and eventual ally Adam, meanwhile, plays the able backup in a nice gender switch for the genre. The future-building is explained well enough to get interested readers thinking about the broader implications of global capitalism, yet it’s easy to ignore for those just in it for the action. Fans of summer blockbusters will definitely want to pick this up in between movie releases.

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