Outpost

August 15, 2012
When this follow-up to Enclave (2011) begins, trained Huntress Deuce and fellow travelers Fade, Stalker and Tegan have lived two months amid the town of Salvation's affluence, strict gender roles and relative freedom from the putrid, slavering, mindless Freaks who plague their world. The customs in Salvation are strange and confining to Deuce, a fact continually impressed upon readers by Deuce's accessible but sometimes repetitive narration. Deuce is frustrated by mandatory schooling and by the fact that some townsfolk find armed women a dangerous abomination. After an attack by a group of Freaks whose actions are suspiciously organized and deliberate, Deuce and a group of villagers form an outpost that is Salvation's first defense. War is brutal, and readers see Deuce kill enemies and lose friends as well as defend herself from "forced breeding" at the hands of a brutish fellow soldier. There is, of course, a love triangle, the conventionality of which is almost jarring given Deuce's ignorance of and resistance to romance and traditional roles. One boy insists on "exclusive kissing rights"; the other vows he will keep trying to win her over; Deuce seems to tolerate both sets of attentions. Overall, an engaging world and forward-moving plot with a resolution that promises new settings and challenges in Book 3. (Science fiction. 12 & up)

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October 1, 2012

Gr 8 Up-In this sequel to Enclave (Feiwel & Friends, 2011), Aguirre uses dreams and conversations to supply information for readers unfamiliar with that volume and to add background about the major characters. Having reached the fortress community of Salvation after a terrifying trek through a postapocalyptic world populated by voracious Freaks (mutants), Deuce, Fade, Stalker, and Tegan try to adapt. Trained as a Huntress, Deuce chafes at expectations about how to dress and act because she is female. She also cannot understand why Fade avoids her after she practices fighting skills with Stalker. Salvation's citizens lead simple, prosperous lives, and Deuce's unconventional behavior troubles some who fear violating rules will lead to everyone's doom. In the forest, Freaks gather in colonies, and some have evolved enough to develop strategies beyond mindless feeding; summer patrols must be stationed outside Salvation's walls. Deuce volunteers and is joined by Fade, Stalker, and 17 others. By season's end, many have died. Salvation's only chance for survival lies in summoning allies. Armed with trade maps and survival gear, Deuce, Fade, Stalker, and Tegan set out for an uncertain destination. Deuce's growing awareness of her capacity to love, including her romance with Fade, has a prominent place in the story. However, there are plenty of bloody encounters with Freaks to satisfy readers more interested in combat. The Stalker-Deuce-Fade triangle remains unresolved while Tegan develops more complexity. Aguirre's success lies in generating page-turning action more than in developing characters. It is enough to recommend the book, especially where Enclave is popular, and readers will demand the final volume.-Kathy Piehl, Minnesota State University, Mankato

Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 1, 2012
Grades 9-12 In this sequel to Enclave (2011), months have passed since Deuce and her band of survivors joined Salvation, a fortified settlement in the middle of Freak-infested land. While Tegan, Fade, and Stalker find helpful community roles, Deuce struggles to adjust to life where, as a female, she is forbidden from fighting. When the Freaks evolve into more cunning foes, however, Deuce's superior combat skills are instrumental in establishing an outpost to protect the town. Despite its heavy focus on Deuce's emotional development, including the love triangle of which she is unwittingly the center, this postapocalyptic thriller also delivers gripping suspense and bloody violence. A must-read for fans.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2013
Deuce ([cf2]Enclave[cf1]), raised in a primitive and violent society underground, struggles to fit into the gentler but more constraining Salvation. She must now defy this settlement's gender roles to fight against the mutant Freaks. Minimally educated Deuce's narration is unrealistically articulate, but readers will fully enjoy the well-paced action made compelling by complex relationships and characters' ever-present fear.

(Copyright 2013 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)