Publishers Weekly
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Clara Rivera Pratt, 17, lives in Dallas with her abusive father and codependent mother, so when the opportunity to join Grayson St. John’s vigilante monster-killing squad arises, Clara forges her father’s signature and hops a bus to try out. St. John’s recruits are trained to battle scrabs; the humanlike creatures with nearly impenetrable skin and long, sharp claws—fairly contained in America—are wreaking havoc in Asia and Europe. Under the leadership of Grayson’s friend Julian, Clara and a handful of others are dubbed “Team Loser” due to their inexperience, but they’re cleared to head to Paris for training. The team miraculously survives the first scrab attack, and after enduring several hard-fought battles, its members become minor social media celebrities. But not everything Clara has been led to believe about the scrabs is necessarily true. Tintera (the Ruined trilogy) has created a fully fleshed alternative world in which monsters, both literal and figurative, lurk around every corner. Peppered with explosive fight scenes, this action-packed novel moves at a swift pace, featuring robust, emotionally resonant characters. Ages 14–up. Agent: Emmanuelle Morgen, Stonesong. (July)

School Library Journal
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Gr 8 Up—Clara has decided to drop out of high school, leave her dysfunctional, abusive family, and join a privately run monster defense firm poised to take on the "scrab" insurgency in Europe. The recruiting agency will pay for a one-way ticket, but those who wash out are on their own when it comes to getting home. For Clara, however, there is no turning back. She's lived in fear of her father for years, and this opportunity is her golden ticket even if it ends up a death sentence. Scrabs appear in different forms across the globe but have certain commonalities: They are ruthless, impenetrable, snarly monsters. Following a harrowing escape from her father, Clara is accepted onto American Team 7—comprised of all teens. They are green around the gills, but internet darlings with a strong social media presence. The book is all action: Every time the team is on its way to training, it is interrupted by a rogue scrab attack. Meanwhile, Clara finds herself in the romantic clutches of her controlling, older team leader who will remind readers of Clara's father. The character development is powerful and action sequences are well conceived, but the story barely wraps up at the end, leaving questions about leadership motives and the possibility that the scrabs are not the enemy. VERDICT A sci-fi action dynamo with romantic overtones that screams for a sequel. Recommended.—Leah Krippner, Harlem H.S., Machesney Park, IL

Book list
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.

When the son of a billionaire CEO forms an international monster-fighting squad, Clara impulsively hops on a recruitment bus to Atlanta for tryouts, desperate to escape her failing grades and abusive father. Tintera’s (Reboot, 2013) latest sf thriller, the first in a duology, is set in a world similar to ours, but one facing an epidemic of scrabs, monsters with armor-like skin who use sharp claws to kill everyone in their path. Europe is particularly hard-hit, so Clara’s team is sent to Paris. Her strikingly handsome team leader, Julian, takes Clara under his wing from the first day of training and sparks fly. The actual monster fighting doesn't materialize for awhile; rather, character and relationship development within the team takes center stage. This gives Julian time to become overly controlling and readers time to form attachments before the death toll mounts. Unfortunately, when the team is betrayed by an ugly conspiracy, the human villains prove exaggerated and unlikely. However, Clara is a strong character, and many readers will follow her into the concluding volume.

Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

The world is being ravaged by scrabs, ferocious monsters who target highly populated areas in order to kill humans. The U.S. has closed its borders and turned a blind eye toward Asia and Europe, where the scrabs are most rampant. Meanwhile, Clara Rivera Pratt has been fighting her whole life against another terrifying monster: her abusive father. Feeling hopeless about graduating high school, she’s failed two classes but excels at combat. When Grayson St. John, wealthy heir of a weapons company, puts out an international call for a fight squad to help defeat scrabs abroad, Clara responds to the call and escapes her home for the first time, joining an ethnically diverse team of American teenagers from different socio-economic backgrounds. It may be a death sentence, but staying put will surely lead only to an even worse outcome. She is a steely, sarcastic survivor readers will cheer for as she battles scrabs and also faces the deep wounds left by her father’s abuse. What appears to be a dystopian science-fiction adventure turns out fundamentally to be about a young woman’s emotional path to transcendence over the cycle of abuse. Tintera gracefully balances heart-pounding action with compelling connections between Clara and her teammates, all told through snappy dialogue and prose. Clara is biracial, with a Mexican immigrant mother and white American father. A thrilling and worthy #MeToo story with frightening monsters of all kinds. (Science fiction. 14-18) Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.