Penguin/G.P. Putnam’s Sons
May 1, 2014
Tate and his father don’t exactly get along. As Tate sees it, his father has unreasonably high expectations for Tate to be the best—at everything. Tate finally learns what he’s being prepared for when he steals one of his dad’s odd tech inventions and mercenaries ambush the school, killing his father in the process and sending Tate on the run from aliens who look just like humans.
All Tate knows--like how to make weapons out of oranges and lighter fluid--may not be enough to save him as he’s plunged into a secret inter-species conflict that’s been going on for centuries. Aided only by his girlfriend and his estranged mother, with powerful enemies closing in on all sides, Tate races to puzzle out the secret behind his father’s invention and why so many are willing to kill for it. A riveting, fast-paced adventure, Scan is a clever alien thriller with muscle and heart
I love the relationship between Tate and Christina because of two solid it is. From the beginning they are in things together. They have some bumps in the road but they work things out. I love that they are able to admit when they are wrong.
I really liked the plot of the novel. Aliens have invaded Earth but not suddenly. It’s actually been a while since they have been on the planet have integrated themselves with humans. In fact humans have become the minority because almost everyone has at least some alien blood in them. The humans that are pure have formed families. Kind of like their own little human mafia and therefore marry each other in order to keep the human race pure. Most people don’t even know that they are H2 (which is what they call the aliens) besides the families there is a ruling set of aliens that have taken over the government, police and so forth and what the integration to continue without a hitch.
Tate’s father has invented something important. A scanner that can tell what your genetic makeup is. Both sides want the device in order to use it to their own advantage. Which can be good or bad depending on what you believe in. Tate has to protect it and navigate whom he should trust.
I liked all the characters in Scan. Tate is trained from birth by his father in order to be survivor and fighter. He definitely has issues with his parents and his relationships with them because they kept him in the dark. Waiting for the right time to fill him in. Tate is smart and clever and uses Science as a weapon. I love how he can make things out of ordinary products. Using chemicals and how they react when mixed with one another. Christina is a pretty kick butt girl. She’s loyal and protective of Tate. She doesn’t have to go on this adventure with him but she does. She’s also really clever as well. Tate’s mom turns out to be pretty awesome and I even like the villains. All the characters are well developed and flushed out. Even ones we know for a short period of time.
I really like Scan and if you are looking for a good YA Sci-fi this is a great book to pick up. I’m looking forward to the second book to find out what happens next. We were left with a bit of cliffhanger at the end.
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Walter Jury was born in London, has a background in the
film industry, is a big fan of the New York Giants, and
enthusiast of Jamba Juice’s Protein Berry Workout
smoothie only with soy, never whey. “Scan” is his first
book for teens. Oh, and under his real name, he’s a
producer of one of 2014’s biggest blockbusters. Let’s just
say he “diverges” in his career from film to literature quite
well.
and is now firmly entrenched on the East Coast, where she
lives with her husband and two children. She is the author (as
Sarah Fine) of several young adult books, and when she's not
writing, she’s working as a child psychologist. No, she is not
psychoanalyzing you right now.