Sunday 2 February 2014

The Last Thirteen Book 2: 12

The Last Thirteen Book 2: 12 by James Phelan (Scholastic Australia)
PB RRP $14.99
ISBN 978-1-74283-185-9
Reviewed by Jenny Heslop

13 books. 13 nightmares. 1 destiny.

This is the second instalment of an exciting new series for young teenagers.

After the cliff-hanger ending in 13, 12 continues by jumping straight back into the action. With his friends scattered, Sam must trust his instincts and dreams to lead him on in the quest. He now knows that as the last of the thirteen, it is up to him to find the other twelve. To do this he needs help, and knowing who to trust is not easy. This time, his search takes him from New York to Cairo and Rome.

12 does not back down from the dramatic pace of the previous book. The nightmares get scarier and a little more shadowy, while at the same time the evil Solaris becomes very real. As the characters become more fleshed out, more is invested in seeing Sam and his friends win.

In this book the issue of parents looms larger as Alex is ‘captured’ by Enterprise – in the same way that the Academy took the kids in the first place. His mother works for Enterprise and Alex battles with the notion that maybe Enterprise is not evil; it just has a different approach to the Academy. There is an even bigger evil out there and maybe Enterprise’s approach is valid too. This introduces the idea that not all is black and white; the lines can often become blurred.

This series has a serialised single storyline which will continue at the rate of one book a month until the conclusion is reached in the thirteenth book. Also check out www.thelast13.com, an on-line companion page with VIP Access. There are 13 prizes to win with each book release, e-newsletters, access code breakers and many more features.

James Phelan is an Australian author who has written adult thrillers as well as the Lachlan Fox series and the Alone trilogy for older teenagers.

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