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May 15, 2017
A nightmarish future is imagined in this science-fiction offering from a debut author. A stratified quagmire has evolved since the ideals of free speech began to be subsumed by a legal stranglehold requiring that each person be fitted with an electronic arm cuff that literally charges them for each word they speak. As the novel opens, impoverished Speth Jime is in preparation for her 15th birthday celebration, when she must sign the Terms of Service and give a speech that marks her induction into this heavily litigated system. Then the unexpected actions of a friend spur her to impulsively decide to cease speaking, setting off a course of events marked by both hope and tragedy. Of Latino descent (Jimenez was shortened to Jime in a previous generation), Speth is a reluctant and vulnerable hero. Readers will easily identify with her underdog struggle against the powers that be, even as they may become bogged down at times with the dizzying complexities of the repressive society in which she lives. Fast-paced action sequences provide a welcome balance to her anxious, often self-doubting inner monologues, and the flashes of a freer history that she glimpses throughout are effectively chilling. A fresh and detailed dystopian tale that will capture and make demands upon the attention of its readers, as the genre should, with a conclusion that sets readers up for the sequel. (Science fiction. 13-18)

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July 1, 2017

Gr 8 Up-In this inventive dystopian sci-fi debut, when people turn 15, they must begin paying for the words they speak or write and for the gestures they use to communicate. Every word is trademarked, restricted, or copyrighted, and some words cost more than others, leading many to go into debt. Those 15 or older must wear an irremovable Cuff that records everything they say and do and pays the Rights Holders. Speth is about to give her 15th birthday speech as a rite of passage when her boyfriend commits suicide in front of her rather than pay off his family's huge debt. This compels the teen to rebel against society's rules by becoming silent, which means no money for the corporation that's making billions from people's speech. Her seditious act incites a media frenzy and sparks a movement called the Silents. It threatens to disrupt the system, but the cost for Speth and her siblings Saretha and Sam is very high. Speth is a sympathetic character for whom readers will root, but her experiences are often unrelentingly grim. Since she narrates the book and doesn't speak aloud to others, readers may feel distanced from the other characters. The ending is a bit anticlimactic given the exciting events that preceded it. VERDICT Between the clever premise and the protagonist's stand against a repressive society, Katsoulis's work is timely and will appeal to fans of Dan Wells's Bluescreen, M.T. Anderson's Feed, Cecelia Ahern's Flawed, or Scott Westerfeld's "Uglies." Purchase where sci-fi and dystopian tales are popular.-Sharon Rawlins, New Jersey State Library, Trenton

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 4, 2017
In this intense if somewhat formulaic dystopian debut novel, a young woman uses silence to protest a culture in which free speech has been eradicated and every word, gesture, and method of communication has been patented, copyrighted, or trademarked. Upon turning 15, Speth Jime is supposed to read a speech that will bind her to a corporate sponsor, after which she’ll be financially liable for anything she says or does. (Just saying “It’s beautiful” costs Speth’s older sister more than $10.) Instead, she refuses to speak, accidentally setting off a cultural firestorm and a low-level rebellion among her peers. Now excluded from almost everything society has to offer, she takes a secret job as a nocturnal product Placer, which provides her with access to the city’s most secure and exclusive locations and gives her a chance to strike back at the lawyers who maintain a stranglehold on communication. Although Katsoulis pushes his premise to the breaking point with its focus on how everything from common words to a simple shrug or kiss can be controlled and monetized, it’s still a provocative setup. Ages 12–up. Agent: Lisa Rodgers, JABberwocky Literary.

August 1, 2017
Grades 7-10 Speth is about to deliver her Last Day speech, signifying her becoming a paying adult, who's charged for every word she speaks and for most of her gestures and sounds. But when a friend commits suicide in front of her to escape his family's debt, Speth fights back by saying nothing at all. Even she is surprised, however, when her rebellion begins to inspire others . . . and to disturb the government. In his debut novel, Katsoulis finds intriguing new ideas to explore in the dystopian genre. Speth is a reluctant heroine and very worried when her defiance begins to adversely affect those around her. The world in which she lives is convincingly built and even the legalese elements of the story don't bog it down too much. Speth's induction into a strange career field does throw off the pace, but the unique characters with whom she interacts make up for that slowdown. By the end of this first book, readers will be thinking about every word they speak, knowing, as Speth does, that words matter. (Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2018
The dystopic world Speth grew up in requires people to pay Rights Holders for every spoken word or gesture after they turn fifteen. Speth's refusal to ever speak again unexpectedly positions her as the silent force behind a rebellion. Despite its two-dimensional antagonists, dire threats and the increasingly painful consequences of Speth's complex moral dilemma propel readers through the narrative.

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