Natalia Gonzalez, a rebellious artist and daughter of Guatemalan immigrants, lives in Heaven’s Hole, an industrial town built inside a meteor crater, where the poverty-stricken population struggles to survive the nightmarish working conditions of the local Thorne Century factory. Natalia takes care of her ailing mother, her grandmother, and her two younger brothers, and while she dreams of escape, she knows she cannot leave her family behind.
When Billy is transferred to Heaven’s Hole, his chance encounter with Natalia sends shockwaves rippling across the blighted landscape. The two outsiders are pitted against the all-powerful monopoly, while Billy experiences visions of an otherworldly figure known as the Shape, which prophesizes an apocalyptic future that could decimate the world they know.
Billy Jakobek is a super powerful psychic who popped up on a super powerful egomaniac’s radar when he was only a child. Now 16, Billy is stuck in Heaven’s Hole, the latest and star guinea pig for Caleb Thorne’s evil enterprise and megacorporation, Thorne Century. Heaven’s Hole is where Billy meets Natalia Gonzalez, a fellow student and gifted herself. But not in a way that interests good ol’ Thorne. Lucky for her at the time. But after she meets Billy she’s suddenly front and center in Thorne’s sights. Trust me. That’s not a good thing. At all. *shudder* All Billy wants is to help people with his powers and to be with Natalia. But that’s not going to happen while Thorne controls everything around him. It’s up to Billy and Natalia to break the back of Caleb Thorne, but are they strong enough to do it?
This isn’t just Sci-Fi, Young Adult, and Dystopian. It’s also Horror. Yikes. The things that Caleb Throne is capable of are shudder-worthy. And then you add the Shape that stalks Billy and if that doesn’t give you nightmares then you are one tough SOB.
This is a future I would prefer not to see become reality. Caleb Thorne is completely unbalanced. And he runs a megacorporation that exploits his workers big time. Sound familiar? There are a lot of parallels to this world, but hopefully we can fix the mess before it gets to this point. Of course, I don’t know of anyone who has super powers, not even rumors of them, so we’d be on our own on that front.
Billy and Natalia’s POVs are the majority of the book, but there are chapters for Caleb and another character named Roseanna to give a well-rounded feel for this world. The plot is a bit murky, but gets clearer as the story flows along. The characters of Billy and Natalia are in-depth, Roseanna not as much, and while Caleb Thorne is also front and center he seems too evil and also a bit pathetic at the same time. I’m leaning towards the feeling that it’s deliberate, but I can’t say for sure.
This book is one hell of a gut-wrencher. If you seek out that type of book then don’t hesitate to pick this one up.
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