New Review! Waypoint by Deborah Adams and Kimberley Perkins 4 Cranky Stars

Waypoint by Deborah Adams
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

4 Cranky Stars


West and Simon Harper are two ordinary teen aged boys who happen to be twins. But that is where the similarity ends. While West is a hunky jock with plenty of girlfriends, Simon is a geeky gamer whose only friends are online. As long as he is playing "Arcadia", he's fine. In that world, he is known as SI-FIGHTER, the baddest of the bad.


The electrical grid has gone dark and things are rapidly changing. Everyone blames the President, but who is really at fault? West and Simon head to town to get insulin for their diabetic father. Instead, they find a man dying in an alley, holding a nano-drive and saying that he is looking for SI-FIGHTER to save the world and turn the power back on.


The twins are separated when someone starts chasing them. West takes to the woods, where he knows he can find his way, while Simon follows a highway. Simon knows that they need to get to Washington DC and find Waypoint in order to get the grid up and running. The nano-drive is their only hope.


Along the way, both boys find young women to accompany them on their trek. West rescues the beautiful Alexandria from a gang of thugs, while Simon encounters the tough Riya. Simon is able to keep in contact with his friends from Arcadia and journeys to see each of them along the way: Malachi, Troy and Collins. Each of them adds some information to Simon's quest to find Waypoint. "Malachi - he has trust issues when it comes to the government. We've always thought he was being paranoid, but hey, maybe he's been the smart one all along."


Both girls have secrets, but are they friend or foe? Will they aid the twins in their quest or instead bring destruction down on them?

This book is entertaining and well-written, part dystopian/post-apocalyptic and part spy novel. Who can you trust? Or, can you trust anybody? All of the characters are well-written and their personalities develop as the book progresses.


To sum up Simon's character, here is my favorite quote: "I can't live in a world like this. I can't talk to people in real life without feeling like I'm going to suffocate. I can't carry on a conversation without having to decompress afterward. It's too hard. The only time I've ever felt like I really connected with someone was through a stupid computer."

There are some humorous scenes in the book, especially involving Alex/Cricket and her horrible jokes. More than a few tense moments abound as the pairs travel toward DC, dodging villains along the way. And, who are the true villains? Add in a little romance (or almost romance), references to cheesy TV shows and games, and you have a good mix.

And, any book that mentions Mr. Spock automatically gets an extra star from me. And, when they quote one of my all time favorite movie quotes, that just makes it better: "The needs of the many outweigh the needs the needs of the few."


The book does end on something of a cliffhanger and there is sure to be a sequel. I look forward to continuing the adventure with this group of enterprising teens!


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