Teen Fiction

Firestorm (Caretaker Trilogy #1)

Name: Firestorm (Caretaker Trilogy #1)
Author: David Klass
ISBN: 9780312380182

by David Klass

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Overview

His mother is not his mother. His father is not his father. And if Jack he hadn’t broken the high school rushing record that night, nothing would have changed. He’d just be going out for pizza, playing football, trying yet again to score with his girlfriend, P.J.
But he did break the record. He appeared on the news. And now they have found him.
Ripped from the only world he has ever known, Jack plunges into a space-time–bending game of survival with no way out. The rules are shrouded in secrets they say he can’t handle. But some things he learns fast: Trust no one. Never forget that your friends could reveal themselves as your enemies at any second. Every turn leads to betrayal. And if you don’t go along with it, you die.
After centuries of abuse, the earth is dying, and it’s up to Jack to reverse the decline before the Turning Point, when nothing will ever be the same again. Beaten into shape by a ninja babe and a huge telepathic man’s best friend, Jack hurtles across the ocean to save the future from the present and to solve the mystery of his purpose. Exactly who, or what, is Firestorm, and what does it have to do with Jack? And what comes next when everything you have ever known turns out to be wrong?

Synopsis

Jack Danielson is in a race against time to save the oceans and the future.

Publishers Weekly

This gripping first novel in the Caretaker Trilogy introduces high school senior Jack Danielson: "You want pace? I'll give you pace. You want weird? Stick around, my friend." Klass (Dark Angel), through his hyperintelligent, otherworldly narrator, delivers both. A star running back on the football team, Jack barely has time to savor a victory before his father whisks him away, warning him that everything the teen believes is a lie. Jack's high profile on the evening sportscast has brought him to the attention of sinister forces. His father, who calls Jack "our beacon of hope," sends off his son in a flurry of laser blasts and mysterious warnings, to a boat to cross the Hudson. In New York City, a beautiful girl (really a shapeshifting wolf) captures him, calling him "the Prince himself" and asking him where to find "Firestorm." Gisco, a telekinetic dog, ends up Jack's only friend on his sudden, surreal journey. A visionary from the far future has sent Jack back in time to stem the tides brought by global warming, but trailing him is the Dark Army, which thrives in the deteriorated Earth of the future. Klass's fragmented first-person narrative both suggests Jack's extraordinarily quick thinking and also keeps the pace going at lightning speed. The plot bears a strong similarity to the Terminator films, but its muscular tone and drip-by-drip reveal of secrets make it a total thrill ride, and one with a profound message. Ages 10-up. (Sept.) Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

About the Author, David Klass

David Klass is a screenwriter and the author of many other young adult novels, including Dark Angel, an ALA Quick Pick for Young Adults, and You Don’t Know Me, an ALA Best Book for Young Adults. He lives in New York City.

Reviews

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Editorials

From the Publisher

“Firestorm is a gripping tale of the relentless and unnecessary harm we humans have done to our earth, and a reminder that there is still hope for our planet if each person stands up and acts in its defense before it is too late. This is a book every environmentally conscious school science program should make required reading.”—Gerd Leipold, Executive Director, Greenpeace International “Klass has scored a hat trick with Firestorm—incredibly original, vitally important, and one hell of a ride.”—David Baldacci, author of The Camel Club “Klass enters exciting and provocative new territory with this sci-fi thriller. The cliff-hanger ending will make readers hope that Klass’s work on book two of the trilogy is well under way.”—School Library Journal, Starred Review

“Gripping. A total thrill ride, one with a profound message.”—Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

“Tremendous fun to read, and in its own Al Gore Meets Grand Theft Auto way, delivers a heartfelt and intelligent ecological warning.”—The New York Times Book Review

“Downright chilling . . . packed with high-intensity thrills. Jack’s surprising fate will leave readers waiting eagerly for the second installment in the Caretaker Trilogy.”—Booklist

“Firestorm is a potent mixture of high-octane YA novel and sensitive, intelligent study of the current environmental crises facing the planet.”—Kirkus Reviews Big Book Preview

“Readers will relish hurtling through the adventure alongside Jack.”—The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

Publishers Weekly

VOYA - Matthew Weaver

So many sentence fragments. Dilutes the power of the storytelling. Gets annoying after a while. Seriously when the central character calls attention to this particular trait right in the first paragraph, it is a little difficult to ignore. And a lot of things are supposed to happen to Jack Danielson if this book is first in a trilogy, so it is a bad sign if sentence structure is the first thing he chooses to talk about. Rather he might want to address the fact that the people he thought were his parents are not-and that they are dead now, their lives sacrificed to save his life-and how he went from being a typical libidinous teenager to last hope for a long line of planetary caregivers. These things probably should take priority over defending use of sentence fragments. Jack has to race to find out the answers of who he is, with training by the sultry Eco and psychic shaggy dog Gisco, in a convoluted plot that jumps from SF thriller to deep-sea adventure, but never does the book actually reach out and grip its reader. Jack is on the run, and he must battle a nefarious cousin and track down a mysterious orb weapon called Firestorm, but it is difficult to actually care. Those with nothing better to do might finish this book, but chances are slim that they are going to eagerly anticipate the next two.

KLIATT

Who is Jack? The 18-year-old abruptly learns he isn't who he always thought he was: his whole life so far has been a masquerade, designed to keep him hidden so that he can accomplish a heroic, world-saving act. When he breaks the football rushing record at his school, Jack makes the news and attracts the attention of powerful, mysterious enemies he never knew he had, the Dark Army. He's forced to go on the run, aided by a telepathic dog and a female warrior who teaches him how to defend himself. His mission is to find a weapon called Firestorm that will prevent the ecological devastation that has turned the world of the future into a barren desert. But will the brutal Dark Army succeed in stopping him? This tense SF/fantasy tale features nonstop action as Jack runs off to the coast of North Carolina, ends up in a small boat in a hurricane, is rescued by a fishing trawler that destroys ocean reefs, and bravely battles his superhuman enemies. Will he be able to save himself and his new friends, not to mention the world? The ecological message is laid on thickly, but Jack's thrilling adventures and the creepy villainy of the bad guys will keep readers turning the pages. Some talk of sex, but nothing explicit. (The Caretaker Trilogy, book 1.). KLIATT Codes: JS--Recommended for junior and senior high school students. 2006, Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 290p., $17.00.. Ages 12 to 18.
—Paula Rohrlick

Children's Literature - Greg M. Romaneck

On the night that he broke the all-time rushing record at his high school, seventeen-year-old Jack Danielson sees his life torn to shreds. After receiving publicity for his football prowess, Jack is informed by his father that his parents are not his biological parents and that his life is a sham. Jack is the possessor of great powers that are vital for the salvation of the planet Earth. Ravaged by human exploitation, pollution, and misuse, Earth stands on the verge of destruction. Nevertheless, Jack's calling to save the Earth is bitterly opposed by dark forces bent upon his destruction. Without his parents to support him, Jack enters into a world where he can trust no one. Further, Jack really has very little idea what powers he has and how they are to be used. How can this young man live up to his task and help set the stage for the salvation of life on Earth? This is the basic plot line to David Klass' Firestorm, the first volume of the "Caretaker Trilogy." Sadly, as a first dish in a three-course literary meal, Firestorm leaves a bad taste in its reader's mouth. Throughout this rambling novel, Klass uses choppy, micro-sentences that really do not demonstrate any literary gifts. Characters are generally unbelievable and react in ways that seem to run counter to common sense. In several places sexually inappropriate references are made that beggar any purpose save titillation. By the end of the book, readers may well be ready to forget any further installments in a series that has some interesting concepts but very little solid craftsmanship or writing prowess to hang a hat on.

KLIATT - Paula Rohrlick

To quote the review of the hardcover in KLIATT, September 2006: Who is Jack? The 18-year-old abruptly learns he isn't who he always thought he was: his whole life so far has been a masquerade, designed to keep him hidden so that he can accomplish a heroic, world-saving act. When he breaks the football rushing record at his school, Jack makes the news and attracts the attention of powerful, mysterious enemies he never knew he had, the Dark Army. He's forced to go on the run, aided by a telepathic dog and a female warrior who teaches him how to defend himself. His mission is to find a weapon called Firestorm that will prevent the ecological devastation that has turned the world of the future into a barren desert. But will the brutal Dark Army succeed in stopping him? This tense SF/fantasy tale features nonstop action as Jack runs off to the coast of North Carolina, ends up in a small boat in a hurricane, is rescued by a fishing trawler that destroys ocean reefs, and bravely battles his superhuman enemies. Will he be able to save himself and his new friends, not to mention the world? The ecological message is laid on thickly, but Jack's thrilling adventures and the creepy villainy of the bad guys will keep readers turning the pages. Some talk of sex, but nothing explicit. (An ALA Best Book for YAs.) Reviewer: Paula Rohrlick

School Library Journal

Gr 8 Up-Klass enters exciting and provocative new territory with this sci-fi thriller. Seventeen-year-old Jack Danielson's life has always been normal-except that his parents have encouraged him to blend in and not try too hard. But then he learns that he is different, that he has special powers and abilities, and that he is from the future and has been sent back to save the planet. Strangers kill his adoptive parents and come after him, and the teen's only hope to survive is to trust in Gisco, a huge dog who speaks to him telepathically, and Eko, a ninja babe whose loyalties are ambiguous. The writing is fluid and graceful in places. The sobering events and tone are leavened with engaging humor, and the characters are multidimensional. The relentless pace, coupled with issues of ecology, time travel, self-identity, and sexual awakening, makes for a thrilling and memorable read. The cliff-hanger ending will make readers hope that Klass's work on book two of the trilogy is well under way.-Melissa Moore, Union University Library, Jackson, TN Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.