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Zeroes #1
Zeroes
Don’t call them heroes.
But these six Californian teens have powers that set them apart. They can do stuff ordinary people can’t.
Take Ethan, a.k.a. Scam. He’s got a voice inside him that’ll say whatever you want to hear, whether it’s true or not. Which is handy, except when it isn’t—like when the voice starts gabbing in the middle of a bank robbery. The only people who can help are the other Zeroes, who aren’t exactly best friends these days.
Enter Nate, a.k.a. Bellwether, the group’s “glorious leader.” After Scam’s SOS, he pulls the scattered Zeroes back together. But when the rescue blows up in their faces, the Zeroes find themselves propelled into whirlwind encounters with ever more dangerous criminals. And at the heart of the chaos they find Kelsie, who can take a crowd in the palm of her hand and tame it or let it loose as she pleases.
Filled with high-stakes action and drama, Zeroes unites three powerhouse authors for the opening installment of a thrilling new series.
But these six Californian teens have powers that set them apart. They can do stuff ordinary people can’t.
Take Ethan, a.k.a. Scam. He’s got a voice inside him that’ll say whatever you want to hear, whether it’s true or not. Which is handy, except when it isn’t—like when the voice starts gabbing in the middle of a bank robbery. The only people who can help are the other Zeroes, who aren’t exactly best friends these days.
Enter Nate, a.k.a. Bellwether, the group’s “glorious leader.” After Scam’s SOS, he pulls the scattered Zeroes back together. But when the rescue blows up in their faces, the Zeroes find themselves propelled into whirlwind encounters with ever more dangerous criminals. And at the heart of the chaos they find Kelsie, who can take a crowd in the palm of her hand and tame it or let it loose as she pleases.
Filled with high-stakes action and drama, Zeroes unites three powerhouse authors for the opening installment of a thrilling new series.
546 pages, Hardcover
First published September 23, 2015
About the author
Scott Westerfeld
121 books19.9k followersScott Westerfeld is a New York Times bestselling author of YA. He is best known for the Uglies and Leviathan series. His current series, IMPOSTORS, returns to the world of Uglies.
The next book in that series, MIRROR'S EDGE, comes out April 6, 2021.
The next book in that series, MIRROR'S EDGE, comes out April 6, 2021.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,516 reviews
September 23, 2015
It’s always a great experience when you go into a book with no expectations and it turns out you really enjoy it. That’s what happened to me with Zeroes . I hadn’t read a single review beforehand, hadn’t read anything by Scott Westerfeld (though I think I will remedy that now) and have never even heard of the other two authors.
The reason I picked up this book was the premise. I read the summary on Goodreads and was immediately intrigued. I read the tagline and I was even more convinced. If there was ever an ultimate tagline to get me hooked “Every Power Has A Price” comes pretty close to it.
But we all know the problem with great premises: they easily disappoint. The book sounds better than it actually is. Fortunately, Zeroes doesn’t fall into that category. If you read the summary and are intrigued, if you think it sounds exactly like something you’d love (the way I did), I suggest you pick it up because the story actually delivers on its promise.
The story follows six American teenagers who all have some kind of superpower. The powers are all different from one another and so are the kids that have them but for one common attribute: they were all born in the year 2000. These teens have formed a team and call themselves Zeroes (a sarcastic spin on the word “heroes”) and attempt missions to learn more about their powers. The novel begins with the group having split up after they had a falling out the summer before. I’ll let you discover the rest on your own.
The problem with superhero stories is that they get old. Kids with superpowers? That has been done countless times before. But Zeroes manages to take an old, worn-out concept and make it into something new, something that I feel like I’ve never read before. The characters in Zeroes are in no sense heroes, they don’t even come close. They’re just a bunch of kids that have been given something they don’t understand and have no idea how to use. This isn’t another coming-of-age story about teens learning to control their power to make the world better. Instead, the novel is very realistic and honest in its portrayal of teenage feelings, desires and morals. None of them are evil but that doesn’t mean they always do the right thing. Quite the opposite actually.
What I loved most about this novel is that the authors actually focused on the downsides of having powers instead of the benefits. Here the powers only seem to make the characters’ lives harder, getting them into trouble at every turn, causing fights. All of these powers are incredibly cool and very powerful, yet I realized I wouldn’t really want any of them because the price was just too high. For someone like me who loves magic systems with clear rules and limits this take on the concept was fantastic. I honestly thought authors had already used up all the superpowers there was to draw from but this book proved me wrong. Sure, we’ve all seen the power of persuasion, the power over electronics and the power of invisibility. But trust me, you haven’t seen it done like this. On top of that, the powers were also very consistent and logical which I really appreciated.
The novel features a large cast of characters and I found myself really caring about all of them. They were all flawed, had multiple layers to them and complex relationships with one another. I loved that this book had such a heavy emphasis on friendship; I often feel like romantic relationships seem to take over all others in YA. Though the characters weren’t all as fully fleshed out as I would have liked, I can completely understand this since it’s difficult to establish six different characters in one book while still maintaining an engaging plot.
I really enjoyed the other elements of the story as well. The novel was very fast-paced and well-written, action-packed as well as humorous. After finishing the book I went on Goodreads and was shocked to find that this novel was 560 pages long. It felt like a much shorter book and didn’t ever drag.
There were a few things that could have been better, but nothing that truly lessened my enjoyment of the book. Sometimes the plot felt a little over the top, a little too badass, too dramatic, so that I had some trouble suspending my disbelief. The main problem here is that for some readers this book will feel too juvenile. The insta-love between two certain characters was kind of unnecessary as well and should have been left out, but it took so little page-time that it really didn’t bother me all that much.
Overall, I thought this book was excellent. It isn’t my favourite superhero novel (that honour still goes to Vicious) but it is certainly up there. If the premise sounds like something you’d enjoy I highly recommend you pick this one up when it comes out on September 29th.
Also, dear bookgods, is there any way that this could be made into a TV show? That would make me very, very happy.
*thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this book*
The reason I picked up this book was the premise. I read the summary on Goodreads and was immediately intrigued. I read the tagline and I was even more convinced. If there was ever an ultimate tagline to get me hooked “Every Power Has A Price” comes pretty close to it.
But we all know the problem with great premises: they easily disappoint. The book sounds better than it actually is. Fortunately, Zeroes doesn’t fall into that category. If you read the summary and are intrigued, if you think it sounds exactly like something you’d love (the way I did), I suggest you pick it up because the story actually delivers on its promise.
The story follows six American teenagers who all have some kind of superpower. The powers are all different from one another and so are the kids that have them but for one common attribute: they were all born in the year 2000. These teens have formed a team and call themselves Zeroes (a sarcastic spin on the word “heroes”) and attempt missions to learn more about their powers. The novel begins with the group having split up after they had a falling out the summer before. I’ll let you discover the rest on your own.
The problem with superhero stories is that they get old. Kids with superpowers? That has been done countless times before. But Zeroes manages to take an old, worn-out concept and make it into something new, something that I feel like I’ve never read before. The characters in Zeroes are in no sense heroes, they don’t even come close. They’re just a bunch of kids that have been given something they don’t understand and have no idea how to use. This isn’t another coming-of-age story about teens learning to control their power to make the world better. Instead, the novel is very realistic and honest in its portrayal of teenage feelings, desires and morals. None of them are evil but that doesn’t mean they always do the right thing. Quite the opposite actually.
What I loved most about this novel is that the authors actually focused on the downsides of having powers instead of the benefits. Here the powers only seem to make the characters’ lives harder, getting them into trouble at every turn, causing fights. All of these powers are incredibly cool and very powerful, yet I realized I wouldn’t really want any of them because the price was just too high. For someone like me who loves magic systems with clear rules and limits this take on the concept was fantastic. I honestly thought authors had already used up all the superpowers there was to draw from but this book proved me wrong. Sure, we’ve all seen the power of persuasion, the power over electronics and the power of invisibility. But trust me, you haven’t seen it done like this. On top of that, the powers were also very consistent and logical which I really appreciated.
The novel features a large cast of characters and I found myself really caring about all of them. They were all flawed, had multiple layers to them and complex relationships with one another. I loved that this book had such a heavy emphasis on friendship; I often feel like romantic relationships seem to take over all others in YA. Though the characters weren’t all as fully fleshed out as I would have liked, I can completely understand this since it’s difficult to establish six different characters in one book while still maintaining an engaging plot.
I really enjoyed the other elements of the story as well. The novel was very fast-paced and well-written, action-packed as well as humorous. After finishing the book I went on Goodreads and was shocked to find that this novel was 560 pages long. It felt like a much shorter book and didn’t ever drag.
There were a few things that could have been better, but nothing that truly lessened my enjoyment of the book. Sometimes the plot felt a little over the top, a little too badass, too dramatic, so that I had some trouble suspending my disbelief. The main problem here is that for some readers this book will feel too juvenile. The insta-love between two certain characters was kind of unnecessary as well and should have been left out, but it took so little page-time that it really didn’t bother me all that much.
Overall, I thought this book was excellent. It isn’t my favourite superhero novel (that honour still goes to Vicious) but it is certainly up there. If the premise sounds like something you’d enjoy I highly recommend you pick this one up when it comes out on September 29th.
Also, dear bookgods, is there any way that this could be made into a TV show? That would make me very, very happy.
*thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an eARC of this book*
October 8, 2015
“These things we have, they aren’t mental issues; they’re powers. Like superheroes have.”
“You think?”
“Sure. We just suck at them right now.”
It is not everyday that you come across a great book without its usual YA tropes plaguing every pages.
Follow by the textbook, Zeroes did not. Instead what these three authors do is turn the tables around, thrash all the methodical/formulaic shit there is out there and laugh in the face of clichés and tropes. The end product? It’s this. A story so original, fresh and entertaining as hell. Zeroes is everything that I can ever ask for in a Young Adult book.
Shove aside the usual superhero powers like invisibility, telepathy or hell, even superhuman strength! What this book has to offer is something else entirely.
There are 6 teenagers – each with their own uniqueness who know all too well that…
Every Power Comes With A Price.
These teens know they’re not normal and what they do can be risky and dangerous to normal civillans. One reckless move and they could jeopardize an entire society. But the thing is… They don’t have big plans to conquer the world or make people bow down to their whims just because they are oh-so-special. They are all about gathering together to learn and to discover what they’re capable of.
“Zeroes, not Heroes.”
They don’t have a big agenda set in stones – all they want to do is watch out for each other’s backs and avoid getting in troubles.
The problem is . . . What they are capable of doing is a magnet for troubles.
I had so much fun being inside 6 characters’s heads, exploring what they are capable of doing and prying apart their inner thoughts and feelings. You’d be shattered, surprised and awed to learn that their powers almost unmade them in the past. Being different and special is not as glorious as you may think. This may be a story about the impossible, fictional elements but it has a ring of something realistic added to it. I also have so, so much respect for a certain someone who do not misuse/abuse his power just because he can.
When I learned that the book will be told in six different point of views, I was way beyond ecstatic. It was great fun hopping from one different head to the other! Imagine how happy I was when I found out that there is a wide diverse cast here. I was internally squealing FOREVER.
I cannot even gush enough over the writing that is so readable, so easy to process and still so detailed even on the minor things. God, the descriptions are well beyond amazing. The authors even made sure to mention what’s happening in a character’s backgrounds. It made the story read a lot like a movie playing in your head. Though I was expecting the writing to be disjointed since there are 3 authors working on different POVs but to my delight, that balance never shattered nor did the writing ever dragged.
This is just the first book in a trilogy and already I have felt that spark of connection to the many characters here. I feel for them, I root for them, I relate to their teenage thoughts & conflicts, and oh, what the hell? I even swooned for a particular, promising ‘ship’!
To end this review, I can only say a big profound THANK YOU to Westerfeld, Biancotti and Canagan who helped bring Ethan, Nathan, Thibault, Kelsie, Riley and Chizara to life.
Seriously, people. Stop reading this review, stop doing whatever it is you are doing – get this book and READ IT.
As a side note, if you enjoyed Victoria Schwab's adult psychological superhero book, Vicious. Zeroes is definitely meant for you!
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September 30, 2015
(Source: I received a digital copy of this book for free on a read-to-review basis. Thanks to Simon and Schuster UK Children's and NetGalley.)
“The Zeroes, they’d called themselves as a joke. Like heroes, but not.”
This was a bit of an unconventional story, about some kids with superpowers.
There were several characters in this, although the story was told in third person. I didn’t really like Ethan, he really was a bit of a con-artist and I didn’t like that, but I did like Kelsey, especially the way she still cared for her father, even after he had let her down.
The storyline in this followed Ethan as his mistake at not having a lift home spiralled into a major mess, complete with drug money, ban k robbers, and even a policeman in a coma! He really should have saved himself the trouble and just walked home! This book did feel long though, and it seemed to take forever to get through it.
There was a little bit of romance, but not a lot at all.
The ending to this was okay, and it looked like Ethan might finally get that lift home.
6.25 out of 10
“The Zeroes, they’d called themselves as a joke. Like heroes, but not.”
This was a bit of an unconventional story, about some kids with superpowers.
There were several characters in this, although the story was told in third person. I didn’t really like Ethan, he really was a bit of a con-artist and I didn’t like that, but I did like Kelsey, especially the way she still cared for her father, even after he had let her down.
The storyline in this followed Ethan as his mistake at not having a lift home spiralled into a major mess, complete with drug money, ban k robbers, and even a policeman in a coma! He really should have saved himself the trouble and just walked home! This book did feel long though, and it seemed to take forever to get through it.
There was a little bit of romance, but not a lot at all.
The ending to this was okay, and it looked like Ethan might finally get that lift home.
6.25 out of 10
Shelved as 'dnf'
May 6, 2021DNF 75%
I know right! I was on the home stretch. But it felt like I was looking down a long long long desert road with only the tumbleweed to keep me company. This must seriously be a case of 'this book is definitely not for me', because I have read so many positive reviews. The thing is, I felt like nothing much happened. I loved the super powers and I didn't mind the characters, it's just that the story is so deathly boring. Some of me thought about starting again because I seriously don't know where all this action is that other people seemed to have enjoyed. Oh well, that's the beauty of Goodreads right? Varied opinions.
I know right! I was on the home stretch. But it felt like I was looking down a long long long desert road with only the tumbleweed to keep me company. This must seriously be a case of 'this book is definitely not for me', because I have read so many positive reviews. The thing is, I felt like nothing much happened. I loved the super powers and I didn't mind the characters, it's just that the story is so deathly boring. Some of me thought about starting again because I seriously don't know where all this action is that other people seemed to have enjoyed. Oh well, that's the beauty of Goodreads right? Varied opinions.
September 14, 2015
[See the full review at thoughts and afterthoughts.]
I am jello.
Thank you, Bilanafeld...? Westerlanacotti…? (this sounds like manicotti or biscotti--WHATEVER, IT'S NOT THE POINT)--for curing my half a year reading slump. This is my attempt at a ship name for this wonderful trio much like how you gave my favourite ship a name in this book. I also require the sequel. Now would be nice.
Rating: 4/5
Should this book be picked up? the tl;dr spoiler-less review:
— The superpowers in this story aren’t all otherworldly. There’s a human quality to many of their abilities that exudes a magical realism vibe
— Cultural diversity seen through a multi-POV narrative that seamlessly jumps from one voice to another in building perspective
— Limited world-building is not problematic as readers are on the same knowledge playing field as the characters themselves
— Writing is wonderfully paced; 560-pages feels easy breezy
— The romance subplot isn’t too heavy although there’s a cautionary love-v/triangle happening; there are ships you can jump aboard on
Initial Thoughts:
This book is incredibly fun. I will now proceed to hype this book up.
Full disclosure: I received an advanced reader copy of Zeroes from the Book Blog Ontario Meet-Up. I extend thanks to Simon Pulse for providing me with the opportunity to review this book.
I am jello.
Thank you, Bilanafeld...? Westerlanacotti…? (this sounds like manicotti or biscotti--WHATEVER, IT'S NOT THE POINT)--for curing my half a year reading slump. This is my attempt at a ship name for this wonderful trio much like how you gave my favourite ship a name in this book. I also require the sequel. Now would be nice.
Rating: 4/5
Should this book be picked up? the tl;dr spoiler-less review:
— The superpowers in this story aren’t all otherworldly. There’s a human quality to many of their abilities that exudes a magical realism vibe
— Cultural diversity seen through a multi-POV narrative that seamlessly jumps from one voice to another in building perspective
— Limited world-building is not problematic as readers are on the same knowledge playing field as the characters themselves
— Writing is wonderfully paced; 560-pages feels easy breezy
— The romance subplot isn’t too heavy although there’s a cautionary love-v/triangle happening; there are ships you can jump aboard on
Initial Thoughts:
This book is incredibly fun. I will now proceed to hype this book up.
Full disclosure: I received an advanced reader copy of Zeroes from the Book Blog Ontario Meet-Up. I extend thanks to Simon Pulse for providing me with the opportunity to review this book.
December 27, 2015
I wasn't sure what to expect with this book but when I read the publisher's description, I got really pumped. "Filled with high-stakes action and drama" really caught my attention. I shouldn't have got my hopes high but I did. And I was left disappointed.
I really like the concept of this book and the writing was pretty good but what really got me was all the different perspectives and how long it took to set up each character. It jumped from character to character and nothing really set them apart so at times I forgot who's perspective I was reading from. I felt like at least 200 pages of this book was introducing the characters. I personally think that the character's perspectives should have been introduced like The Lunar Chronicles, a new perspective each book.
I was really overwhelmed with the info dumping for the first 200-ish pages as well. And because of that, I got a little bored.
Overall, this was a fun book and I did like it but it wasn't one of my favorites. If you're looking for a book with superheroes, I think this would a good one.
I really like the concept of this book and the writing was pretty good but what really got me was all the different perspectives and how long it took to set up each character. It jumped from character to character and nothing really set them apart so at times I forgot who's perspective I was reading from. I felt like at least 200 pages of this book was introducing the characters. I personally think that the character's perspectives should have been introduced like The Lunar Chronicles, a new perspective each book.
I was really overwhelmed with the info dumping for the first 200-ish pages as well. And because of that, I got a little bored.
Overall, this was a fun book and I did like it but it wasn't one of my favorites. If you're looking for a book with superheroes, I think this would a good one.
March 28, 2016
The reason I wanted to read this book - Margo Lanagan is a co-author. Unfortunately, I didn't find Lanagan's distinct voice anywhere in Zeroes. Three people had written this novel (although Westerfeld's name is in a much bigger font, why is that?), but all parts of it sounded remarkably similar.
Did I like it overall? It was OK. It's a story about teen heroes with moderately interesting super powers. A lot of action, some romance. Not a bad book, but with not much of a crossover appeal, IMO. Reminded me a lot of Kelly Armstrong's YA series, from back when I liked her writing.
Can't say I am coming back for more. Thankfully, no serious cliffhangers.
Did I like it overall? It was OK. It's a story about teen heroes with moderately interesting super powers. A lot of action, some romance. Not a bad book, but with not much of a crossover appeal, IMO. Reminded me a lot of Kelly Armstrong's YA series, from back when I liked her writing.
Can't say I am coming back for more. Thankfully, no serious cliffhangers.
October 6, 2015
5 Words: powers, friends, family, attraction, saving-the-world.
This was an OK read.
It was interesting, but the pace fluctuated too much for me. It didn't keep me hooked, I feel that it peaked too soon.
I didn't really click with any of the characters, I didn't get on with them. And I found that I didn't want to.
And I so badly wanted the author to be brave and kill off certain characters, it would have made this book so much stronger. But it's going to be part of a series, so obviously there can't be deaths at this point. That's just not done.
I received a copy of this for free via NetGalley for review purposes.
This was an OK read.
It was interesting, but the pace fluctuated too much for me. It didn't keep me hooked, I feel that it peaked too soon.
I didn't really click with any of the characters, I didn't get on with them. And I found that I didn't want to.
And I so badly wanted the author to be brave and kill off certain characters, it would have made this book so much stronger. But it's going to be part of a series, so obviously there can't be deaths at this point. That's just not done.
I received a copy of this for free via NetGalley for review purposes.
June 14, 2017
DNF @ 33%
This was my first Scott Westerfeld novel. That being said, I'm not in too much of a hurry to try out his others. The idea for the novel really caught my attention.
Six California teens that have powers that set them apart from everyone else:
Scam- the voice inside him says whatever you want to hear
Crash- brings technology to its knees
Flicker- can see through anyone's eyes but her own
Anonymous- out of sight, out of mind
Bellwether- Focuses the energy of the group on one goal
and the sixth - Kelsie - not yet a party of their group, but definitely getting entangled. She can control the emotions of a crowd.
Ethan (Scam) has got a voice that will say whatever you want to hear, whether it's true or not. It can be handy, or can land him in a world of trouble...like when the voice starts gabbing in the middle of a bank robbery and lands him in deep. The only people who can help are the other Zeroes, who aren't really on speaking terms anymore.
Enter Nate (Bellwether), the group's "glorious leader". After Scam's SOS, he pulls the scattered Zeroes back together. But when the rescue blows up in their faces, the Zeroes find themselves propelled into whirlwind encounters with ever more dangerous criminals across the city.
So basically every problem thus far in this book, was because Ethan is a selfish idiot. The reason the Zeroes were no longer friends? Because of Ethan apparently saying some hurtful things to the others with "the voice". The reason he was at the bank during the robbery? Because he had basically stolen a large duffel bag of money from a drug dealer while attempting to get a ride home and decided he had earned that money. The reason the rescue plan went to hell? Because he panicked after using "the voice" on the bank robber and getting detained by the police for questioning and had to send out a request for help. Ethan was pissing me off.
It's funny, usually in YA, I find the characters to be more mature than their age would suggest, but it was the opposite with this one. I couldn't imagine finishing out this book, which still had over 300 pages left in it. I've got too many other (hopefully better) books waiting to be read, so this one's going back to the library and maybe the next person to check it out will get more out of it than I did.
This was my first Scott Westerfeld novel. That being said, I'm not in too much of a hurry to try out his others. The idea for the novel really caught my attention.
Six California teens that have powers that set them apart from everyone else:
Scam- the voice inside him says whatever you want to hear
Crash- brings technology to its knees
Flicker- can see through anyone's eyes but her own
Anonymous- out of sight, out of mind
Bellwether- Focuses the energy of the group on one goal
and the sixth - Kelsie - not yet a party of their group, but definitely getting entangled. She can control the emotions of a crowd.
Ethan (Scam) has got a voice that will say whatever you want to hear, whether it's true or not. It can be handy, or can land him in a world of trouble...like when the voice starts gabbing in the middle of a bank robbery and lands him in deep. The only people who can help are the other Zeroes, who aren't really on speaking terms anymore.
Enter Nate (Bellwether), the group's "glorious leader". After Scam's SOS, he pulls the scattered Zeroes back together. But when the rescue blows up in their faces, the Zeroes find themselves propelled into whirlwind encounters with ever more dangerous criminals across the city.
So basically every problem thus far in this book, was because Ethan is a selfish idiot. The reason the Zeroes were no longer friends? Because of Ethan apparently saying some hurtful things to the others with "the voice". The reason he was at the bank during the robbery? Because he had basically stolen a large duffel bag of money from a drug dealer while attempting to get a ride home and decided he had earned that money. The reason the rescue plan went to hell? Because he panicked after using "the voice" on the bank robber and getting detained by the police for questioning and had to send out a request for help. Ethan was pissing me off.
It's funny, usually in YA, I find the characters to be more mature than their age would suggest, but it was the opposite with this one. I couldn't imagine finishing out this book, which still had over 300 pages left in it. I've got too many other (hopefully better) books waiting to be read, so this one's going back to the library and maybe the next person to check it out will get more out of it than I did.
September 11, 2019
LINK UPDATED
Within these pages you will meet six unique teens.
Nate/Bellwether (aka Glorious Leader) has the ability to bend the will of crowds, to make them follow him.
Chizara/Crash can crash anything electronic, hence the name. But the downside to her power is that even being near electronics hurts her to her very bones, makes her brain itch.
Riley/Flicker is blind, but can see through the eyes of others.
Thibault/Anonymous finds it incredibly easy to disappear, but the flip side of this is that no one can remember him unless they’re looking at him. If any more than five people are present, he becomes downright invisible. Ironically, one of the most memorable characters.
Ethan/Scam can open his mouth and let another voice take over. Another voice which knows truths about the people it’s speaking too, truths he would have no way of knowing. But it gets him into trouble.
Kelsie/Mob can affect the mood of a crowd, making them feel better, happier, more alive. But it can also have a negative affect, redoubling anxious or fearful emotions.
It sounds like a really interesting combination of people, a really interesting story. It sounds like it could be mindblowing and fascinating. It sounds like it could be a book of the year.
But it just falls flat.
The rest of this review can be found here!
Within these pages you will meet six unique teens.
Nate/Bellwether (aka Glorious Leader) has the ability to bend the will of crowds, to make them follow him.
Chizara/Crash can crash anything electronic, hence the name. But the downside to her power is that even being near electronics hurts her to her very bones, makes her brain itch.
Riley/Flicker is blind, but can see through the eyes of others.
Thibault/Anonymous finds it incredibly easy to disappear, but the flip side of this is that no one can remember him unless they’re looking at him. If any more than five people are present, he becomes downright invisible. Ironically, one of the most memorable characters.
Ethan/Scam can open his mouth and let another voice take over. Another voice which knows truths about the people it’s speaking too, truths he would have no way of knowing. But it gets him into trouble.
Kelsie/Mob can affect the mood of a crowd, making them feel better, happier, more alive. But it can also have a negative affect, redoubling anxious or fearful emotions.
It sounds like a really interesting combination of people, a really interesting story. It sounds like it could be mindblowing and fascinating. It sounds like it could be a book of the year.
But it just falls flat.
The rest of this review can be found here!
October 4, 2015
Damn that was an enjoyable ride!
The Zeroes are six not-so-normal teenagers, all born in the year 2000, all with some social-related super power. There are way too many main characters for me to talk about them in minute detail, so instead here are some brief dot points:
- Nate (a.k.a. Bellwether, a.k.a. Glorious Leader) has the ability to bend crowds to his will. He can make them focus in on him, believe him, trust him. Comes in handy considering his aspirations to become a politician.
- Ethan (a.k.a. Scam) has another voice inside him. All he has to do is open his mouth and The Voice will say whatever is necessary to achieve Ethan’s goals - whether that be to be left alone, which consequently fucked up his relationship with the Zeroes a year prior - or to get a ride home - leading us to the events of this awesome book. He was a fairly whiny character, always letting The Voice speak for him when times get tough and yet never taking responsibility for what The Voice says.
- Riley (a.k.a. Flicker) is blind, but not really. Riley has the very interesting ability to “see” through other people’s eyes. Isn’t that the coolest? She has a very interesting link with her twin sister - I get the feeling she’s a Zero in some way, too.
- Chizara (a.k.a. Crash) has an itch that can only be scratched by “crashing” all surrounding technology. The buzz of electricity burrow under her skin and won’t leave her be. I think Chizara was one of the most interesting of the Zeroes. She was painfully aware of just how horrible their powers can become; she’s not sure if she even wants to be a Zero in the first place. I seriously enjoyed her character progression in this one and can’t wait to see more of it in the next two books.
- Kelsie (a.k.a. Mob) has a similar crowd-related power to Bellwether, except instead of controlling the crowd, the crowd becomes a single entity for her to affect. Whether that be by making them dance the night away or by making them fearful. I’m still really intrigued about her character; can’t wait to see her grow in the rest of the series.
- Thibault (a.k.a. Anonymous) has the most heartbreaking of all the powers. Thibault is “anonymous” with a crowd (i.e. more than five people), in the sense that people forget he’s there. Even his own family. *Cue heartbreak here*.
All of their powers - except for Ethan’s - work on a curve, which I found to be super interesting. Basically, although Ethan’s powers only really work one-on-one, the other Zeroes' powers work best when there are in a group of at least six people. What makes this number so special? I hope we’ll find out.
The cultural diversity in this novel was awesome. Bellwether is Hispanic and Chizara is of African-descent (forgive me for not being able to pinpoint exactly where). I could do with a little more LGBTA+ representation but I’m pretty happy with what we have so far.
Although each author wrote 2 characters, it flowed seemlessly. Usually with such a large ensemble, there is always a character whose POV I hate having to plow through, but that was not the case with Zeroes. I found each and every character to be interesting in their own right.
The plot was fairly fast paced and action-oriented. Which is strange considering that this first instalment takes place over the course of two weeks. The ending was good, but could have been better. I found it to be the perfect set-up for more to come.
The Zeroes are six not-so-normal teenagers, all born in the year 2000, all with some social-related super power. There are way too many main characters for me to talk about them in minute detail, so instead here are some brief dot points:
- Nate (a.k.a. Bellwether, a.k.a. Glorious Leader) has the ability to bend crowds to his will. He can make them focus in on him, believe him, trust him. Comes in handy considering his aspirations to become a politician.
- Ethan (a.k.a. Scam) has another voice inside him. All he has to do is open his mouth and The Voice will say whatever is necessary to achieve Ethan’s goals - whether that be to be left alone, which consequently fucked up his relationship with the Zeroes a year prior - or to get a ride home - leading us to the events of this awesome book. He was a fairly whiny character, always letting The Voice speak for him when times get tough and yet never taking responsibility for what The Voice says.
- Riley (a.k.a. Flicker) is blind, but not really. Riley has the very interesting ability to “see” through other people’s eyes. Isn’t that the coolest? She has a very interesting link with her twin sister - I get the feeling she’s a Zero in some way, too.
- Chizara (a.k.a. Crash) has an itch that can only be scratched by “crashing” all surrounding technology. The buzz of electricity burrow under her skin and won’t leave her be. I think Chizara was one of the most interesting of the Zeroes. She was painfully aware of just how horrible their powers can become; she’s not sure if she even wants to be a Zero in the first place. I seriously enjoyed her character progression in this one and can’t wait to see more of it in the next two books.
- Kelsie (a.k.a. Mob) has a similar crowd-related power to Bellwether, except instead of controlling the crowd, the crowd becomes a single entity for her to affect. Whether that be by making them dance the night away or by making them fearful. I’m still really intrigued about her character; can’t wait to see her grow in the rest of the series.
- Thibault (a.k.a. Anonymous) has the most heartbreaking of all the powers. Thibault is “anonymous” with a crowd (i.e. more than five people), in the sense that people forget he’s there. Even his own family. *Cue heartbreak here*.
All of their powers - except for Ethan’s - work on a curve, which I found to be super interesting. Basically, although Ethan’s powers only really work one-on-one, the other Zeroes' powers work best when there are in a group of at least six people. What makes this number so special? I hope we’ll find out.
The cultural diversity in this novel was awesome. Bellwether is Hispanic and Chizara is of African-descent (forgive me for not being able to pinpoint exactly where). I could do with a little more LGBTA+ representation but I’m pretty happy with what we have so far.
Although each author wrote 2 characters, it flowed seemlessly. Usually with such a large ensemble, there is always a character whose POV I hate having to plow through, but that was not the case with Zeroes. I found each and every character to be interesting in their own right.
The plot was fairly fast paced and action-oriented. Which is strange considering that this first instalment takes place over the course of two weeks. The ending was good, but could have been better. I found it to be the perfect set-up for more to come.
March 10, 2018
First things first I love superheroes. I adore them. So when I heard that Scott Westerfield had co-written a nearly 600 page book about kids with super powers I was down. I was so down. Young Avengers and Teen Titans is my jam.
Unfortunately, Zeroes is not my jam. It is not my peanut butter either.
I’ve read a lot of Scott Westerfeld. Back in Junior High I went through a bit of a phase where I just read everything of his, so when I saw his name splashed across the cover I was sure I’d like Zeroes. Maybe I should re-read some past Westerfeld works and see if they really were worth all that noise because Zeroes is just...meh.
Zeroes is okay. For me it was a solid 2.5/5 stars and that’s it. It doesn't feel special, it's your typical action movie/superhero plot except none of the bad guys have powers and the characters never come across as being in actual danger. Throw in some cliche romance (in the book’s defense, the romance was barely there) and I am done.
At times the plot felt like it was moving along too fast. Just 2 days and Anonymous and Scam are BFF’s? Flicker takes one look at Anonymous (tall, dark, handsome), decides he’s the most beautiful boy she’s ever seen and decides she’ll stalk him back to his house? It's little forced (after a while their little romance felt kind of cute but still... annoying)
I don't understand why the Zeroes completely broke up in the first place, either. A group of super-powered teenagers find each other and then split over some cruel words? It feels weak.
On the upside, their powers are original and interesting. It’s hard to find a comic / book that doesn’t recycle the same “special abilities” over and over again. The character cast is diverse (racially, economically,and disability wise). I felt for Anonymous and wanted to know more about him. Scam on the other hand was an absolute idiot. Just completely. Despite that I couldn’t bring myself to hate him, I even feel sorry for him. At least dye your hair dude! Wear some sunglasses! Maybe a hat! You literally have gangsters after you some self-preservation would be nice.
Plot: 2/5
Characters: 2.5/5
Writing: 3/5
Pacing: 2.5/5
Unfortunately, Zeroes is not my jam. It is not my peanut butter either.
I’ve read a lot of Scott Westerfeld. Back in Junior High I went through a bit of a phase where I just read everything of his, so when I saw his name splashed across the cover I was sure I’d like Zeroes. Maybe I should re-read some past Westerfeld works and see if they really were worth all that noise because Zeroes is just...meh.
Zeroes is okay. For me it was a solid 2.5/5 stars and that’s it. It doesn't feel special, it's your typical action movie/superhero plot except none of the bad guys have powers and the characters never come across as being in actual danger. Throw in some cliche romance (in the book’s defense, the romance was barely there) and I am done.
At times the plot felt like it was moving along too fast. Just 2 days and Anonymous and Scam are BFF’s? Flicker takes one look at Anonymous (tall, dark, handsome), decides he’s the most beautiful boy she’s ever seen and decides she’ll stalk him back to his house? It's little forced (after a while their little romance felt kind of cute but still... annoying)
I don't understand why the Zeroes completely broke up in the first place, either. A group of super-powered teenagers find each other and then split over some cruel words? It feels weak.
On the upside, their powers are original and interesting. It’s hard to find a comic / book that doesn’t recycle the same “special abilities” over and over again. The character cast is diverse (racially, economically,and disability wise). I felt for Anonymous and wanted to know more about him. Scam on the other hand was an absolute idiot. Just completely. Despite that I couldn’t bring myself to hate him, I even feel sorry for him. At least dye your hair dude! Wear some sunglasses! Maybe a hat! You literally have gangsters after you some self-preservation would be nice.
Plot: 2/5
Characters: 2.5/5
Writing: 3/5
Pacing: 2.5/5
July 30, 2016
It took me awhile to read this but it was amazing! I loved it so much, it was a lot of fun to read. There was so much action and I couldn't stop reading, even though I was interrupted a bunch of times. :( The struggles of being a reader! Anyway, I am so glad I picked this up, I was at the library and saw this and grabbed it!
“Wisdom tells me I'm nothing, love tells me I'm everything.”
This book follows 6 teenagers who have a life that is nothing near ordinary. They all have a power, but each power comes with a price. Scam has the voice, which says what he wants to hear but gets him into sticky situations. It also follows many others like Crash, Bellweather, Flicker, Mob, and Anonymous. They call themselves zeros, those who aren't heroes. After an incident in the summer, the zeros separated. But the zeros are forced to work together after Scam was taken by the cops because of a bank robbery. The adventure starts to unfold, showing the characters go through crazy adventures.
“No one owns the sunset,”
I loved this book so much, it had the perfect amount of humor and action. It was so much fun to read, there was so much that happened, I never got time to recover from what had happened because more things were thrown at me. It was like a roller-coaster with a bunch of loops that won't stop until the very end. And in order to stay on this roller-coaster, you have to hold on tight! And that's what I did the entire time I was reading, I was holding the book with a death-grip.
The characters were a lot of fun to read about, each one was unique in their own way. I loved the small inside jokes they had and how they had each other's back. My least favourite zero would be Scam, I am not a huge fan of his character, I like the voice but it's scary at how much it knows. Flicker is cool, but I wanted to learn more about her. Anonymous had a very sad past and he has the most difficult power to deal with. Bellweather was cool and kept the group together. I like Crash a lot, she was so cool! Mob was interesting but really selfish. But these guys make an awesome squad!
The bonds between the different characters was cool to see. I loved Anonymous and Flicker, they were awesome and the way their relationship progressed was cool. It must be painful for Anonymous though, his power is so hard to deal with. Scam's relationship with everyone is uneasy but I am glad to see it progress slowly into something different. Crash is a great friend and I love all of the character development in this book!
The book pacing was super fast, it felt like I was going crazy! There are so many things that happen and all of the things that happen are so unexpected. I went into this book thinking that it would be about a bunch of heros who are living a double life. I didn't even read the summary of the book I just dove in and it was so different. The different point of views fit the pacing of this book! Each character felt different because of how good the writing was! I can differentiate the different character's voices because of how well the writing was.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants a big adventure filled with twists an turns. Anyone who is ready to jump on a roller-coaster, should read this book! It's one thing that you shouldn't be missing out on!
“Wisdom tells me I'm nothing, love tells me I'm everything.”
This book follows 6 teenagers who have a life that is nothing near ordinary. They all have a power, but each power comes with a price. Scam has the voice, which says what he wants to hear but gets him into sticky situations. It also follows many others like Crash, Bellweather, Flicker, Mob, and Anonymous. They call themselves zeros, those who aren't heroes. After an incident in the summer, the zeros separated. But the zeros are forced to work together after Scam was taken by the cops because of a bank robbery. The adventure starts to unfold, showing the characters go through crazy adventures.
“No one owns the sunset,”
I loved this book so much, it had the perfect amount of humor and action. It was so much fun to read, there was so much that happened, I never got time to recover from what had happened because more things were thrown at me. It was like a roller-coaster with a bunch of loops that won't stop until the very end. And in order to stay on this roller-coaster, you have to hold on tight! And that's what I did the entire time I was reading, I was holding the book with a death-grip.
The characters were a lot of fun to read about, each one was unique in their own way. I loved the small inside jokes they had and how they had each other's back. My least favourite zero would be Scam, I am not a huge fan of his character, I like the voice but it's scary at how much it knows. Flicker is cool, but I wanted to learn more about her. Anonymous had a very sad past and he has the most difficult power to deal with. Bellweather was cool and kept the group together. I like Crash a lot, she was so cool! Mob was interesting but really selfish. But these guys make an awesome squad!
The bonds between the different characters was cool to see. I loved Anonymous and Flicker, they were awesome and the way their relationship progressed was cool. It must be painful for Anonymous though, his power is so hard to deal with. Scam's relationship with everyone is uneasy but I am glad to see it progress slowly into something different. Crash is a great friend and I love all of the character development in this book!
The book pacing was super fast, it felt like I was going crazy! There are so many things that happen and all of the things that happen are so unexpected. I went into this book thinking that it would be about a bunch of heros who are living a double life. I didn't even read the summary of the book I just dove in and it was so different. The different point of views fit the pacing of this book! Each character felt different because of how good the writing was! I can differentiate the different character's voices because of how well the writing was.
I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants a big adventure filled with twists an turns. Anyone who is ready to jump on a roller-coaster, should read this book! It's one thing that you shouldn't be missing out on!
January 31, 2016
"Wisdom tells me I am nothing. Love tells me I am everything."
One of the best books I've read all year. Well written, fast-paced, and a heck of a plot. The writing was sharp and beautiful.
I feel like super-heroes are big right now, so much so that it's hard to differentiate between them and get excited about another superhero story. But this book offered a lot. Great descriptive lines, and highly imaginative.
Highly recommend!
One of the best books I've read all year. Well written, fast-paced, and a heck of a plot. The writing was sharp and beautiful.
I feel like super-heroes are big right now, so much so that it's hard to differentiate between them and get excited about another superhero story. But this book offered a lot. Great descriptive lines, and highly imaginative.
Highly recommend!
October 16, 2015
Zeroes is the first in a new YA superhero trilogy written by heavy-hitters Scott Westerfeld, Margo Lanagan and Deborah Biancotti.
In it, six teenagers, all born in the same year of 2000, have superpowers. They are the “zeroes”, brought together by their Glorious Leader Nate (or “Bellwether”), an ambitious young man who has a vision for the group and had been trying to train and develop their abilities. Then, one year before the story starts, Ethan/”Scam” torn them apart with the truths no one dared to say out loud. Now Scam is in trouble: the “voice” that speaks on his behalf once more speaks truths but this time, to the wrong people. With both criminals and the police after him, he has no one to turn to but the zeroes. And they come to the rescue. Like a well-oiled machine they get him out and to safety but when doing so, start a chain events that could prove fatal.
And then they find another unknown zero out there.
Zeroes is a character piece: the characters’ motivations and inner conflict move the story along and the chapters alternate, with viewpoints from all six characters. I understand that each author is responsible for two out of six (but no one knows who writes who). An aside: it’s difficult to differentiate each of the characters’ voices and I’d be hard press to even start guessing who wrote what. I wonder: does this mean the book is seamlessly edited? Or that it is far too edited to make each individual voice sound pretty much the same?
Digression aside, Zeroes deals with superpowers that are less flashy and cool and more… subtle, double-edged, inconvenient and often downright awful. Take for example Anonymous: who can disappear so easily that everybody has problems remembering him – even his own family. Mob, who can control the feeling and moods of a crowd but also be overwhelmed by them and when negative feelings are enhanced, things can definitely turn to worse. Crash, who can literally crash all electronics but who finds it hard to control her power and could potentially destroy entire communication nets – not to mention the ill-feeling she has whenever near that “noise”. Or Flicker who is blind but can see through everybody’s eyes (apart from Anonymous’ for some reason): if you think this is a disgusting invasion of privacy: YOU ARE CORRECT.
Most powers here – especially Flicker’s, Mob’s, Scam and Bellwether’s are about controlling/affecting other people – their feelings, their mood, their eyes and their reactions. The moral and ethics of this is a recurring element for some of them but mostly, these teenagers – especially Nate – are incredibly self-centred and lacking empathy.
Zeroes, AKA Assholes.
I kid, of course. The point of the novel – and I am guessing of the entire trilogy – is that journey of moving away from being stupid idiots to worthy members of society. I love superhero stories exactly because of that: because powers are often double-edged swords that can cut both ways but we don’t see that conundrum enough. In this first book, it is Crash – whose power increases and changes and morphs more than anybody else’s that really undergoes that journey. I love that sense of moral and ethics is fuelled by her mother. It’s not for nothing that the subheading of the novel is “Every power has a price”.
Now, doesn’t this sound awesome? Add to that the fact that the cast of characters is racially diverse (Nate is a super wealthy latino, we really don’t see that a lot in books) and that there is one cute romance that develops between two unexpected characters and you have the potential for GREATNESS.
But for all of this, Zeroes is so just so very bland. There are sparks here and there: Anonymous’ narrative and very presence in the novel adds a level of unreliability because people have such a hard time remembering him and his story is by far the most emotionally engaging. The flashy side of Crash’s power increases the cool factor. But mostly, the narrative feels repetitive and overlong, going round in circles of sameness especially regarding the characters’ inner conflicts.
At the end of the day, Zeroes was an ok read – with really great, fun parts but underwhelming on the whole. Given the premise and the authors involved, I am afraid I was expecting a lot more.
In it, six teenagers, all born in the same year of 2000, have superpowers. They are the “zeroes”, brought together by their Glorious Leader Nate (or “Bellwether”), an ambitious young man who has a vision for the group and had been trying to train and develop their abilities. Then, one year before the story starts, Ethan/”Scam” torn them apart with the truths no one dared to say out loud. Now Scam is in trouble: the “voice” that speaks on his behalf once more speaks truths but this time, to the wrong people. With both criminals and the police after him, he has no one to turn to but the zeroes. And they come to the rescue. Like a well-oiled machine they get him out and to safety but when doing so, start a chain events that could prove fatal.
And then they find another unknown zero out there.
Zeroes is a character piece: the characters’ motivations and inner conflict move the story along and the chapters alternate, with viewpoints from all six characters. I understand that each author is responsible for two out of six (but no one knows who writes who). An aside: it’s difficult to differentiate each of the characters’ voices and I’d be hard press to even start guessing who wrote what. I wonder: does this mean the book is seamlessly edited? Or that it is far too edited to make each individual voice sound pretty much the same?
Digression aside, Zeroes deals with superpowers that are less flashy and cool and more… subtle, double-edged, inconvenient and often downright awful. Take for example Anonymous: who can disappear so easily that everybody has problems remembering him – even his own family. Mob, who can control the feeling and moods of a crowd but also be overwhelmed by them and when negative feelings are enhanced, things can definitely turn to worse. Crash, who can literally crash all electronics but who finds it hard to control her power and could potentially destroy entire communication nets – not to mention the ill-feeling she has whenever near that “noise”. Or Flicker who is blind but can see through everybody’s eyes (apart from Anonymous’ for some reason): if you think this is a disgusting invasion of privacy: YOU ARE CORRECT.
Most powers here – especially Flicker’s, Mob’s, Scam and Bellwether’s are about controlling/affecting other people – their feelings, their mood, their eyes and their reactions. The moral and ethics of this is a recurring element for some of them but mostly, these teenagers – especially Nate – are incredibly self-centred and lacking empathy.
Zeroes, AKA Assholes.
I kid, of course. The point of the novel – and I am guessing of the entire trilogy – is that journey of moving away from being stupid idiots to worthy members of society. I love superhero stories exactly because of that: because powers are often double-edged swords that can cut both ways but we don’t see that conundrum enough. In this first book, it is Crash – whose power increases and changes and morphs more than anybody else’s that really undergoes that journey. I love that sense of moral and ethics is fuelled by her mother. It’s not for nothing that the subheading of the novel is “Every power has a price”.
Now, doesn’t this sound awesome? Add to that the fact that the cast of characters is racially diverse (Nate is a super wealthy latino, we really don’t see that a lot in books) and that there is one cute romance that develops between two unexpected characters and you have the potential for GREATNESS.
But for all of this, Zeroes is so just so very bland. There are sparks here and there: Anonymous’ narrative and very presence in the novel adds a level of unreliability because people have such a hard time remembering him and his story is by far the most emotionally engaging. The flashy side of Crash’s power increases the cool factor. But mostly, the narrative feels repetitive and overlong, going round in circles of sameness especially regarding the characters’ inner conflicts.
At the end of the day, Zeroes was an ok read – with really great, fun parts but underwhelming on the whole. Given the premise and the authors involved, I am afraid I was expecting a lot more.
November 8, 2016
This review appears on Happy Indulgence! Check it out for more reviews.
Superheroes are my jam and Zeroes is a high octane, action-packed story about a team of teenage misfits who also happen to have powers.
Superpowers never get old for me, and I loved hearing about the different powers that each of the six teens had. Kelsie has the power of crowd control, which comes in handy in dangerous public situations. Scam has an all knowing, all seeing voice that gets him in – and out of situations in a jiffy without much control over what he says. Anonymous seems to fade from existence as people easily forget about him. There’s also Nate, or the Glorious Leader who can control people’s reactions to him and Flicker, the blind girl who can see from people’s eyes. Each of their powers were interesting and fun to read about, as they used them as the story unfolded.
With so many point of views, the one who I was most fascinated with was Ethan aka Scam. It was interesting how his power was compared to schizophrenia, as he doesn’t have control over the ‘voice’ that somehow knows things about people that only they know. It was fascinating seeing the shift in his demeanour – from the geeky, unconfident teenager to the confident, charismatic person while his voice was in use. It would actually be pretty freaky – and amazing – seeing that change in someone, especially when he starts manipulating siutations from his very emotions.
There isn’t much background for each of the characters, and we aren’t given how they got the powers to begin with. Is this a natural phenomenon, are they the only ones with powers, or is it some sort of hidden code between them? When it comes to the validity of the world being built, answering these questions is important, and I hope it’s addressed in the sequel, Swarm. There also isn’t much of a plot line, with most of the story focused on unfolding current events and saving Kelsie’s dad. Who are the Zeroes, what are Nate’s plans for them and what do they usually do with themselves? I have so many questions, and not enough answers.
As an action-packed superhero read, Zeroes definitely fits the bill when it comes to superpowers and fun. Each of the characters are fun and unique, especially when discovering what they have to offer the group. The book doesn’t give a lot of depth or background when it comes to the characters or where the powers came from however, so it’s best enjoyed without thinking too much about it.
I received a review copy in exchange for an honest review.
Superheroes are my jam and Zeroes is a high octane, action-packed story about a team of teenage misfits who also happen to have powers.
Superpowers never get old for me, and I loved hearing about the different powers that each of the six teens had. Kelsie has the power of crowd control, which comes in handy in dangerous public situations. Scam has an all knowing, all seeing voice that gets him in – and out of situations in a jiffy without much control over what he says. Anonymous seems to fade from existence as people easily forget about him. There’s also Nate, or the Glorious Leader who can control people’s reactions to him and Flicker, the blind girl who can see from people’s eyes. Each of their powers were interesting and fun to read about, as they used them as the story unfolded.
With so many point of views, the one who I was most fascinated with was Ethan aka Scam. It was interesting how his power was compared to schizophrenia, as he doesn’t have control over the ‘voice’ that somehow knows things about people that only they know. It was fascinating seeing the shift in his demeanour – from the geeky, unconfident teenager to the confident, charismatic person while his voice was in use. It would actually be pretty freaky – and amazing – seeing that change in someone, especially when he starts manipulating siutations from his very emotions.
There isn’t much background for each of the characters, and we aren’t given how they got the powers to begin with. Is this a natural phenomenon, are they the only ones with powers, or is it some sort of hidden code between them? When it comes to the validity of the world being built, answering these questions is important, and I hope it’s addressed in the sequel, Swarm. There also isn’t much of a plot line, with most of the story focused on unfolding current events and saving Kelsie’s dad. Who are the Zeroes, what are Nate’s plans for them and what do they usually do with themselves? I have so many questions, and not enough answers.
As an action-packed superhero read, Zeroes definitely fits the bill when it comes to superpowers and fun. Each of the characters are fun and unique, especially when discovering what they have to offer the group. The book doesn’t give a lot of depth or background when it comes to the characters or where the powers came from however, so it’s best enjoyed without thinking too much about it.
I received a review copy in exchange for an honest review.
October 29, 2015
Bailed at page 127, when I realized I was saddened by the thought of having to pick this up again.
I've been a giant Westerfeld fan, and, although I don't think I even made it to the second act, the setup was masterfully written. Smooth as fuck, man. I just couldn't connect with the characters. I don't know, did I grow out of YA? I'm an old, so . . . I guess so?
Sad panda.
I've been a giant Westerfeld fan, and, although I don't think I even made it to the second act, the setup was masterfully written. Smooth as fuck, man. I just couldn't connect with the characters. I don't know, did I grow out of YA? I'm an old, so . . . I guess so?
Sad panda.
March 11, 2016
Two stars for being interested enough to finish this book... but I didn't really get the whole point of the book and the characters fell flat to me. *shrug* I like the Leviathan trilogy SO much better by this author.
September 20, 2015
***This review has also been posted on The Social Potato
I wanted to love this book. I really really did, but unfortunately, Zeroes didn’t blow my mind the way I had wanted it to. It’s not that I didn’t enjoy reading the book, it's just that I wanted so much from it. Scott Westerfeld is one of my favorite authors and superpowers are always incredibly fun to read about so I went in expecting to love this book. When it turned out this book wasn’t everything I had wanted it to be, I was sad and disappointed.
The characters are a diverse bunch, which was awesome but I don't think they weren’t developed as well as they could have been. This is the kind of book where the multiple point of views didn’t work for me. The transitions were okay but I couldn’t get behind all the characters. I liked reading about some more than others but I also felt no strong connection to any particular character since the various POVs focused more on progressing the plot than they did on character development. What development there was related back to the superpowers. I just wanted to be able to experience them as individuals and really get to be inside the characters' heads.
When a book features a group of superheroes, one would expect amazing group dynamics. Unfortunately, for most of the book this group did NOT work like a group. That’s partly because they hadn’t been a group for a year but even when they got back together, I didn’t get the sense of comradeship I had been expecting. There was no witty banter; there weren’t any really fun interactions. The group split up into smaller groups of people who worked together and reported back to Nate aka The Glorious Leader.
This book tells the story of six teenagers born in the year 2000 (WTF? When did kids in books get to be so much younger than me?); Nate, Thibault, Riley, Ethan, Kelsie and Chizara. They all possess various superpowers that make their lives both harder and easier. Nate is the leader of this group but being the sketchy character he is, we never know whether he is a ‘good’ guy or just manipulating the group. To be honest, he was my favorite character since he seemed to be the most complex. Then we have Riley who is blind but her superpower allows her to see through other people’s eyes. I feel like there wasn’t much more to her but that could also be because I never really felt anything for her. Ethan’s power comes in the form of the voice which is all knowing. Ethan was an interesting character because his power completely contrasted his personality. I really liked that contrast but I also wanted to get to know more about Ethan. Chizara has powers that allows her to crash technology and she was the one that underwent the most development over the course of the book (I’d say.) She has always had problems with her power but she finally learns to accept them over the course of the book. Thibault was the character I sympathized with the most. His powers make it so that no one really remembers him. He is invisible but not really. People just have a tendency to forget he is there. That’s nice in a lot of situations but when that results in his parents forgetting about him…. it's not so much fun as it is sad. Kelsie is the latest addition to the group and her superpowers allowed her to amplify emotions in crowds (kind of?) I guess she was an okay character too but I also didn’t really care about her?
You might notice that I barely said anything of substance about the characters and that's because I don't really have anything to say. We don't really find out the back stories of most of the main characters, we don't see most of the them engage with people outside of the group, we don't get to see them have any strong feelings towards things that don't involve their powers, we don't really get much of anything. At the moment, it just seems that their powers are what make these characters who they are.
There are two romances featured in the book and I didn’t like either *gasp*. Ethan has a case of insta-crush when he meets Kelsie. AND I DO SAY INSTA-CRUSH. They don’t even have a conversation before he is all like, I LIKE HER. Look, I've had crushes that have developed over the course of a day, so I get it, but I don’t tend to crush on random strangers I’ve never talked to before or seen.
The romance between Thibault and Riley didn’t work for me because it seemed random and we don't get to see the entirety of their relationship because Riley doesn’t always remember her time with Thibault. That is sad but also kind of creepy since she has no real way of knowing what happened. She just has to trust this guy she can barely remember, that nothing weird went down.
Also, Riley and Nate clearly have an interesting history and I was sad that was just brushed under the rug and not explored at all!
The main conflict is centred around rescuing Kelsie's dad who fucked up big time when he decided to get involved with the wrong crowd. It starts with a bank robbery gone horribly wrong and it ends... well that's for you to find out. I enjoyed watching these kids (I am going to call them kids because they were born in 2000) run around and use their powers in interesting ways to save the day.
Overall, this book was enjoyable with an engaging plot but I found it lacking in several other areas. I am intrigued though and still want to know more about these characters (AND NATE) and see where things will go from here, so I shall await the sequel. Until then, all I can say is that I hope other people will have better luck with the book than I did!
Note that I received an advanced copy of the book in exchange for an honest review
I wanted to love this book. I really really did, but unfortunately, Zeroes didn’t blow my mind the way I had wanted it to. It’s not that I didn’t enjoy reading the book, it's just that I wanted so much from it. Scott Westerfeld is one of my favorite authors and superpowers are always incredibly fun to read about so I went in expecting to love this book. When it turned out this book wasn’t everything I had wanted it to be, I was sad and disappointed.
The characters are a diverse bunch, which was awesome but I don't think they weren’t developed as well as they could have been. This is the kind of book where the multiple point of views didn’t work for me. The transitions were okay but I couldn’t get behind all the characters. I liked reading about some more than others but I also felt no strong connection to any particular character since the various POVs focused more on progressing the plot than they did on character development. What development there was related back to the superpowers. I just wanted to be able to experience them as individuals and really get to be inside the characters' heads.
When a book features a group of superheroes, one would expect amazing group dynamics. Unfortunately, for most of the book this group did NOT work like a group. That’s partly because they hadn’t been a group for a year but even when they got back together, I didn’t get the sense of comradeship I had been expecting. There was no witty banter; there weren’t any really fun interactions. The group split up into smaller groups of people who worked together and reported back to Nate aka The Glorious Leader.
This book tells the story of six teenagers born in the year 2000 (WTF? When did kids in books get to be so much younger than me?); Nate, Thibault, Riley, Ethan, Kelsie and Chizara. They all possess various superpowers that make their lives both harder and easier. Nate is the leader of this group but being the sketchy character he is, we never know whether he is a ‘good’ guy or just manipulating the group. To be honest, he was my favorite character since he seemed to be the most complex. Then we have Riley who is blind but her superpower allows her to see through other people’s eyes. I feel like there wasn’t much more to her but that could also be because I never really felt anything for her. Ethan’s power comes in the form of the voice which is all knowing. Ethan was an interesting character because his power completely contrasted his personality. I really liked that contrast but I also wanted to get to know more about Ethan. Chizara has powers that allows her to crash technology and she was the one that underwent the most development over the course of the book (I’d say.) She has always had problems with her power but she finally learns to accept them over the course of the book. Thibault was the character I sympathized with the most. His powers make it so that no one really remembers him. He is invisible but not really. People just have a tendency to forget he is there. That’s nice in a lot of situations but when that results in his parents forgetting about him…. it's not so much fun as it is sad. Kelsie is the latest addition to the group and her superpowers allowed her to amplify emotions in crowds (kind of?) I guess she was an okay character too but I also didn’t really care about her?
You might notice that I barely said anything of substance about the characters and that's because I don't really have anything to say. We don't really find out the back stories of most of the main characters, we don't see most of the them engage with people outside of the group, we don't get to see them have any strong feelings towards things that don't involve their powers, we don't really get much of anything. At the moment, it just seems that their powers are what make these characters who they are.
There are two romances featured in the book and I didn’t like either *gasp*. Ethan has a case of insta-crush when he meets Kelsie. AND I DO SAY INSTA-CRUSH. They don’t even have a conversation before he is all like, I LIKE HER. Look, I've had crushes that have developed over the course of a day, so I get it, but I don’t tend to crush on random strangers I’ve never talked to before or seen.
The romance between Thibault and Riley didn’t work for me because it seemed random and we don't get to see the entirety of their relationship because Riley doesn’t always remember her time with Thibault. That is sad but also kind of creepy since she has no real way of knowing what happened. She just has to trust this guy she can barely remember, that nothing weird went down.
Also, Riley and Nate clearly have an interesting history and I was sad that was just brushed under the rug and not explored at all!
The main conflict is centred around rescuing Kelsie's dad who fucked up big time when he decided to get involved with the wrong crowd. It starts with a bank robbery gone horribly wrong and it ends... well that's for you to find out. I enjoyed watching these kids (I am going to call them kids because they were born in 2000) run around and use their powers in interesting ways to save the day.
Overall, this book was enjoyable with an engaging plot but I found it lacking in several other areas. I am intrigued though and still want to know more about these characters (AND NATE) and see where things will go from here, so I shall await the sequel. Until then, all I can say is that I hope other people will have better luck with the book than I did!
Note that I received an advanced copy of the book in exchange for an honest review
April 24, 2017
A fascinating ensemble cast of characters combined with a bunch of not-quite-controlled superpowers makes for a rollercoaster ride of a book. I love that this is book one of a trilogy but completely self-contained, and I can't wait for what comes next. Also, could we please have a TV series?
January 5, 2016
I’m not sure how much of a compliment this is, what with the low opinion I have of most CW shows (Supernatural notwithstanding), but Zeroes is one of the first superhero novels I’ve read that could be a CW show. It reminds me a lot of the well-intentioned but ill-fated attempts like Alphas (which I know wasn’t the CW, but that’s neither here nor there), in that it follows the standard formula: a group of people have powers, or abilities, and come together clandestinely to tackle your everyday grievances. But they are unsure of themselves, and sometimes each other, so they have those internal conflicts to sort out along the way.
Oh, and here they’re only fifteen years old.
I’ve only read books by Scott Westerfeld and not Margo Lanagan or Deborah Biancotti, so it’s hard to see the influence of individual authors here. But I have a suspicion that fans of any of these three authors will enjoy Zeroes, if only because the book has a unified voice despite being a product of three. I was sceptical about having six perspectives—this isn’t Game of Thrones—but it helps that the narration stays in third person. More importantly, the different perspectives help us understand that the real challenge the Zeroes face is not the world out there but their own conflicting emotions about their anomalous abilities.
Westerfeld et al do a great job at balancing teenage angst and superhero angst. It’s this combination of angst that makes me think about CW shows. Here we have an ensemble cast balanced in gender and diverse in ethnicity, and each character has their own struggles at home in addition to (or because of) their power. Although Flickonymous steals the show for me, I am surprised how invested I became in all of the Zeroes—it’s hard to choose favourites.
Even Nate, manipulative, scheming, Nate, is a great example of someone who is sympathetic even if he’s not likable. With his power to harness the charisma of crowds for his own uses, Nate has ambitions of a political bent. And he doesn’t hesitate to prod the Zeroes into going along with him on things. The way Chizara (and, occasionally, Flicker) butt heads with him is a nice reminder that he doesn’t always speak for the group. And I can see a future where Nate misuses his powers and ends up more on the supervillain side of things. Forget Chizara’s crash-induced highs: if any of the Zeroes go dark, my money would be on Nate.
The tagline on this edition’s cover reads, “Every power has a price.” Too many superhero stories these days seem to focus on this facet of the superpower trope set. Simply put, a lot of stories about superpowers turn into downers; in the quest for gritty realism or conflict, authors end up making their superpowered characters cursed and burdened. Zeroes certainly explores this angle: Anonymous can’t stick in people’s heads, not even the other Zeroes’; Ethan’s voice, of course, always gets him into trouble. Nevertheless, the book takes a more proactive approach to this theme. The Zeroes see their powers develop as they use them more, and it becomes clear (as in the case of Flicker and Anonymous) that there are more dimensions to their powers.
There are also subtle attempts to examine what it means to be a hero, which for me is always what superhero stories need to be about. (It’s for this reason that I’m loving Supergirl on CBS so much—small shout-out here!) Chizara’s credo of “do no harm” with her power leads to her breaking with the other Zeroes. As much as my “can’t we all just get along?” voice cringed at this moment, I was totally with Chizara and her tirade against Nate’s meddling. But it’s not black-and-white, and towards the climax of the book, Chizara learns that sometimes not doing something can in fact result in harm. To her credit, she realizes this pretty quickly.
This is a young adult book in the sense that its characters are young. And they mess up like fifteen-year-olds might. Nate seems much too mature for his age—and that’s because he’s a little precocious, given his upbringing and charms—but the other Zeroes show the cracks in their adolescent facades. There are times when Westerfeld et al stretch credibility a little thinly—lots of underage driving here. Similarly, while I might believe a group of fifteen-year-olds getting mixed up with drug lords, the book tries too hard to walk the line between gritty and goofy.
Superhero novels are so often a mixed bag, and Zeroes is no exception. But it’s probably a better mixed bag than I’ve read in a while. Its characters are diverse—not just in terms of their backgrounds, but also in their personalities. None of them are too dominant, in the sense that I never groaned when the book switched to a specific character’s perspective. And although the background plot involving drug gangs and mobsters and a bank robbery gone awry occasionally gets lost in the relationship drama, this feels all too appropriate for the Zeroes’ first outing. I’m very interested to see what happens in the next book.
Oh, and I totally ship Flicker/Anonymous. Soooooo good. I wouldn’t be surprised if Chizara and Nate hit it off next, though it might be weird of the six Zeroes all start pairing off with each other. But Flicker is my fave, and I’m glad she was able to help her little lost Nothing boy.
Oh, and here they’re only fifteen years old.
I’ve only read books by Scott Westerfeld and not Margo Lanagan or Deborah Biancotti, so it’s hard to see the influence of individual authors here. But I have a suspicion that fans of any of these three authors will enjoy Zeroes, if only because the book has a unified voice despite being a product of three. I was sceptical about having six perspectives—this isn’t Game of Thrones—but it helps that the narration stays in third person. More importantly, the different perspectives help us understand that the real challenge the Zeroes face is not the world out there but their own conflicting emotions about their anomalous abilities.
Westerfeld et al do a great job at balancing teenage angst and superhero angst. It’s this combination of angst that makes me think about CW shows. Here we have an ensemble cast balanced in gender and diverse in ethnicity, and each character has their own struggles at home in addition to (or because of) their power. Although Flickonymous steals the show for me, I am surprised how invested I became in all of the Zeroes—it’s hard to choose favourites.
Even Nate, manipulative, scheming, Nate, is a great example of someone who is sympathetic even if he’s not likable. With his power to harness the charisma of crowds for his own uses, Nate has ambitions of a political bent. And he doesn’t hesitate to prod the Zeroes into going along with him on things. The way Chizara (and, occasionally, Flicker) butt heads with him is a nice reminder that he doesn’t always speak for the group. And I can see a future where Nate misuses his powers and ends up more on the supervillain side of things. Forget Chizara’s crash-induced highs: if any of the Zeroes go dark, my money would be on Nate.
The tagline on this edition’s cover reads, “Every power has a price.” Too many superhero stories these days seem to focus on this facet of the superpower trope set. Simply put, a lot of stories about superpowers turn into downers; in the quest for gritty realism or conflict, authors end up making their superpowered characters cursed and burdened. Zeroes certainly explores this angle: Anonymous can’t stick in people’s heads, not even the other Zeroes’; Ethan’s voice, of course, always gets him into trouble. Nevertheless, the book takes a more proactive approach to this theme. The Zeroes see their powers develop as they use them more, and it becomes clear (as in the case of Flicker and Anonymous) that there are more dimensions to their powers.
There are also subtle attempts to examine what it means to be a hero, which for me is always what superhero stories need to be about. (It’s for this reason that I’m loving Supergirl on CBS so much—small shout-out here!) Chizara’s credo of “do no harm” with her power leads to her breaking with the other Zeroes. As much as my “can’t we all just get along?” voice cringed at this moment, I was totally with Chizara and her tirade against Nate’s meddling. But it’s not black-and-white, and towards the climax of the book, Chizara learns that sometimes not doing something can in fact result in harm. To her credit, she realizes this pretty quickly.
This is a young adult book in the sense that its characters are young. And they mess up like fifteen-year-olds might. Nate seems much too mature for his age—and that’s because he’s a little precocious, given his upbringing and charms—but the other Zeroes show the cracks in their adolescent facades. There are times when Westerfeld et al stretch credibility a little thinly—lots of underage driving here. Similarly, while I might believe a group of fifteen-year-olds getting mixed up with drug lords, the book tries too hard to walk the line between gritty and goofy.
Superhero novels are so often a mixed bag, and Zeroes is no exception. But it’s probably a better mixed bag than I’ve read in a while. Its characters are diverse—not just in terms of their backgrounds, but also in their personalities. None of them are too dominant, in the sense that I never groaned when the book switched to a specific character’s perspective. And although the background plot involving drug gangs and mobsters and a bank robbery gone awry occasionally gets lost in the relationship drama, this feels all too appropriate for the Zeroes’ first outing. I’m very interested to see what happens in the next book.
Oh, and I totally ship Flicker/Anonymous. Soooooo good. I wouldn’t be surprised if Chizara and Nate hit it off next, though it might be weird of the six Zeroes all start pairing off with each other. But Flicker is my fave, and I’m glad she was able to help her little lost Nothing boy.
September 18, 2019
Every power has a price.
It was a cute origins story. How the Zeroes, a joke on Heroes because they can’t control their powers, came to be. It took me a very long time to actually care for any of them and by the time I did the book was over. There was a lot of action and I might return for book two. Just because I’m wondering so much about their powers. For example are the powers hereditary or was it just them, all born in the year 2000? Are there more? I looked and see that in book 2 they fight someone named Swarm. I’m wondering if it’s a parent or relative. I’m also very curious about Riley/Flicker’s sister. Flicker keeps saying she’s jealous and that she builds story’s with her words. I’m wondering if she has a power too. Are some powers dormant until you need them? Sadly, I don’t think these questions will be answered. My questions are more about family and genetics. We’re they made? See, I can’t stop with the questions. But I’m not interested enough to care.
I’ll see what happens in the future. My library has the other audiobooks I think.
It was a cute origins story. How the Zeroes, a joke on Heroes because they can’t control their powers, came to be. It took me a very long time to actually care for any of them and by the time I did the book was over. There was a lot of action and I might return for book two. Just because I’m wondering so much about their powers. For example are the powers hereditary or was it just them, all born in the year 2000? Are there more? I looked and see that in book 2 they fight someone named Swarm. I’m wondering if it’s a parent or relative. I’m also very curious about Riley/Flicker’s sister. Flicker keeps saying she’s jealous and that she builds story’s with her words. I’m wondering if she has a power too. Are some powers dormant until you need them? Sadly, I don’t think these questions will be answered. My questions are more about family and genetics. We’re they made? See, I can’t stop with the questions. But I’m not interested enough to care.
I’ll see what happens in the future. My library has the other audiobooks I think.
October 29, 2015
You can read this review and more @Book Enthral
First Thoughts 28/10
Such a great first instalment to the series! I loved all the POVs, everyone had such a unique presences and brought something new to the book. I loved how their superpowers seemed so mundane and yet can achieve so much! I will most certainly be keeping up with this series!
Review to come :)
Review 29/10
This was my first Scott Westerfeld book and I gotta say, he definitely lives up to the hype. Or maybe, him, Lanagan and Biancotti just make an amazing writing trio. I wonder which authors wrote which characters? ANYWAYS I DISGRESS, this book was so unique and just a whole bunch of fun. Zeroes is about a group or teenagers who all have some form of superpowers, but they aren’t exactly your typical superhero powers. As you can probably assume, something happens and these Heroes Zeroes need to come together and help save the day! I don’t usually read superhero-ish books so this book was a whole new exciting vibe for me!
This book contains a whooping six POVs, which going into this novel, I was expecting to find overwhelming but instead is delivered in a way which makes every character feel fresh and distinctive. I loved all the diversity between all the characters: race, socio-economical background, family life, cultural beliefs. Also, with all the POVs you as the reader get the unique experience of being able to form your own perspective towards a character, instead of being inside one character and having to take their word for law. You are able to put together ever characters opinion on each other and then form your own opinion.
Ethan AKA Scam – Ethan’s power is that he has an inner voice that just knows what needs to be said to get Ethan what he wants, however he is unable to control what the voice says and this gets him in a trouble quiet frequently.
Kelsie AKA Mob – Kelsie’s able to influence a crowds emotion, essentially moulding a crowd to experience whatever she wants.
Nate AKA Bellwether AKA Glorious Leader – Nate is the Zeroes leader, he has the power to focus and influence the energy of a group onto whatever subject he chooses (usually himself).
Riley AKA Flicker – Flicker, herself, is blind except that she is able to see out of anyone else’s eyes. She can flick between hundreds to different people’s eyes to view a scene from ever angle.
Thibault AKA Anonymous – has the unfortunate power of being forgettable. Anon is so forgettable that you will have a conversation with him and less than a minute later you could have forgotten what you talked about. He can be in the same room as you and you won’t notice him.
Chizara AKA Crash – has power of electricity. She can crash an entire cities electricity without much of a thought.
As happens with books with a lot of characters, I had my favourites and I had the ones that annoyed me. My favourite characters were Thibault and Flicker for sure, they had (in my opinion) the most interesting powers and the nicest personalities. My least favourite characters were Nate and Ethan. Nate is pretty damn manipulative, he is aware he is this way and doesn’t really plan to change. Ethan plays victim to his voice all the time! He has no control of it, but he does choose to use it so STOP WHINGING.
There isn’t too much world building, but this stems from the fact that none of the characters have any idea why they have powers, they’re just always had them. I’ll be interested to see if it’s explained in the coming books.
The sub-plot of the romance in this book is pretty great. I would have liked if maybe we got a couple more scenes that really cemented my affection for the couples in this book. I am shipping ships though so YAY!
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book the idea is unique and the characters are very distinctive. I’ll definitely be continuing on with the series!
First Thoughts 28/10
Such a great first instalment to the series! I loved all the POVs, everyone had such a unique presences and brought something new to the book. I loved how their superpowers seemed so mundane and yet can achieve so much! I will most certainly be keeping up with this series!
Review to come :)
Review 29/10
This was my first Scott Westerfeld book and I gotta say, he definitely lives up to the hype. Or maybe, him, Lanagan and Biancotti just make an amazing writing trio. I wonder which authors wrote which characters? ANYWAYS I DISGRESS, this book was so unique and just a whole bunch of fun. Zeroes is about a group or teenagers who all have some form of superpowers, but they aren’t exactly your typical superhero powers. As you can probably assume, something happens and these Heroes Zeroes need to come together and help save the day! I don’t usually read superhero-ish books so this book was a whole new exciting vibe for me!
This book contains a whooping six POVs, which going into this novel, I was expecting to find overwhelming but instead is delivered in a way which makes every character feel fresh and distinctive. I loved all the diversity between all the characters: race, socio-economical background, family life, cultural beliefs. Also, with all the POVs you as the reader get the unique experience of being able to form your own perspective towards a character, instead of being inside one character and having to take their word for law. You are able to put together ever characters opinion on each other and then form your own opinion.
Ethan AKA Scam – Ethan’s power is that he has an inner voice that just knows what needs to be said to get Ethan what he wants, however he is unable to control what the voice says and this gets him in a trouble quiet frequently.
Kelsie AKA Mob – Kelsie’s able to influence a crowds emotion, essentially moulding a crowd to experience whatever she wants.
Nate AKA Bellwether AKA Glorious Leader – Nate is the Zeroes leader, he has the power to focus and influence the energy of a group onto whatever subject he chooses (usually himself).
Riley AKA Flicker – Flicker, herself, is blind except that she is able to see out of anyone else’s eyes. She can flick between hundreds to different people’s eyes to view a scene from ever angle.
Thibault AKA Anonymous – has the unfortunate power of being forgettable. Anon is so forgettable that you will have a conversation with him and less than a minute later you could have forgotten what you talked about. He can be in the same room as you and you won’t notice him.
Chizara AKA Crash – has power of electricity. She can crash an entire cities electricity without much of a thought.
As happens with books with a lot of characters, I had my favourites and I had the ones that annoyed me. My favourite characters were Thibault and Flicker for sure, they had (in my opinion) the most interesting powers and the nicest personalities. My least favourite characters were Nate and Ethan. Nate is pretty damn manipulative, he is aware he is this way and doesn’t really plan to change. Ethan plays victim to his voice all the time! He has no control of it, but he does choose to use it so STOP WHINGING.
There isn’t too much world building, but this stems from the fact that none of the characters have any idea why they have powers, they’re just always had them. I’ll be interested to see if it’s explained in the coming books.
The sub-plot of the romance in this book is pretty great. I would have liked if maybe we got a couple more scenes that really cemented my affection for the couples in this book. I am shipping ships though so YAY!
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book the idea is unique and the characters are very distinctive. I’ll definitely be continuing on with the series!
March 4, 2018
Hm. Not too sure what to say about this one. There are some things I liked, some things I didn’t, but overall I feel quite indifferent about this one. Not a bad book by any means but maybe not for me.
Zeroes follows a group of people with superpowers, who all experience a big downside to the powers they have. We follow Ethan at first, whose power is a Voice that he can manipulate to say things to suit his needs, which can say any personal information that he himself does not know. This Voice broke up the Zeroes and he is on bad terms with them at the beginning, but then needs their help when he gets into some trouble.
The characters are all varied and have some very interesting powers, ones that are very badass but cause some pretty bad problems for the heroes. The concept itself is amazing, but I kind of wish there was a tad more of a humorous approach, I have a feeling I would have connected more with this story. I got more attached to them as a group, as the Zeroes, than to them individually (excepting Thibault-he is a sweet darling and should be protected) and I found myself quite apathetic towards them most of the time. I did like the group dynamic and the complicated relationships between them, so that’s where this book did do well for me.
The plot itself is action packed and I LOVE short chapters, but I did find myself bored for a big chunk in the middle. The pacing seemed quite slow for me and I think a lot of filler chapters could have been missed out. The ending (last 100-150 pages) was better than the rest of the book for me, the final big rescue was intense, kept me hooked and I was really rooting for the characters then. My issue is is that was the only time I was that interested, despite other high intensity events happening in the book.
I will probably try the sequel and see what I think, but ultimately I’m not sure that my attachment to one character is enough to justify a whole other 2 books for me. We shall see what book 2 brings!
Zeroes follows a group of people with superpowers, who all experience a big downside to the powers they have. We follow Ethan at first, whose power is a Voice that he can manipulate to say things to suit his needs, which can say any personal information that he himself does not know. This Voice broke up the Zeroes and he is on bad terms with them at the beginning, but then needs their help when he gets into some trouble.
The characters are all varied and have some very interesting powers, ones that are very badass but cause some pretty bad problems for the heroes. The concept itself is amazing, but I kind of wish there was a tad more of a humorous approach, I have a feeling I would have connected more with this story. I got more attached to them as a group, as the Zeroes, than to them individually (excepting Thibault-he is a sweet darling and should be protected) and I found myself quite apathetic towards them most of the time. I did like the group dynamic and the complicated relationships between them, so that’s where this book did do well for me.
The plot itself is action packed and I LOVE short chapters, but I did find myself bored for a big chunk in the middle. The pacing seemed quite slow for me and I think a lot of filler chapters could have been missed out. The ending (last 100-150 pages) was better than the rest of the book for me, the final big rescue was intense, kept me hooked and I was really rooting for the characters then. My issue is is that was the only time I was that interested, despite other high intensity events happening in the book.
I will probably try the sequel and see what I think, but ultimately I’m not sure that my attachment to one character is enough to justify a whole other 2 books for me. We shall see what book 2 brings!
July 13, 2015
I received an ARC from the publisher for an honest review.
This book is due to be published on 23rd September 2015!
I absolutely loved this book, I loved all the different powers the group had, I loved the problems they got themselves into and I loved the fact that they were just kids who had no idea how to be heroes or how to control their powers.
This was such a brilliantly written novel, fast-paced and action packed. Of course, superhero stories have been done, kids with superpowers have been done but just not in this same way, these authors completely twisted the whole 'superpower/superhero' thing!
Full review on my blog:
http://originalbooker.blogspot.co.uk/...
This book is due to be published on 23rd September 2015!
I absolutely loved this book, I loved all the different powers the group had, I loved the problems they got themselves into and I loved the fact that they were just kids who had no idea how to be heroes or how to control their powers.
This was such a brilliantly written novel, fast-paced and action packed. Of course, superhero stories have been done, kids with superpowers have been done but just not in this same way, these authors completely twisted the whole 'superpower/superhero' thing!
Full review on my blog:
http://originalbooker.blogspot.co.uk/...
December 26, 2015
Actual Rating: 3.5
This book is the first in a series by Scott Westerfeld, Margo Lanagan, and Deborah Biancotti. The novel follows six teenagers with superpowers. Except, well, there're not exactly super. These teenagers possess superpowers that basically suck. After a summer of separation due to a cause, the Zeroes are pulled back together to rescue one of their members, Ethan. Kelsey's dad went to prison because of Ethan. Now, all she seeks is a way to get her father out of trouble and she thinks Ethan might be able to do this.
The Characters: So, the character's, at the beginning, weren't very developed. However, as the story progressed, Kelsey and Ethan became more living, while Nate, Thibault (tee-bo), Chizara, and Riley stayed flat. Don't get me wrong, they were emotionally developed, just not physically. I had a difficult time picturing the characters other than Kelsey, Ethan, and Thibault. Also, I had a difficult time understanding their powers until about the last 100 pages. I don't know if this was done on purpose, but the superpowers stayed mostly a mystery until the final action sequence explained them. I did experience some character growth from Chizara and was happy to see that all the Zeroes had different personalities that became more prominent when they were with their team.
The Physical Book: The color scheme of the physical book was a little surprising. Now, I've seen different versions of the cover. The one that I am currently writing this portion of my review about is the cover with the bluish-gray, light gray, and neon orange color scheme. I believe that the neon orange text was not a wise decision. It does make the book stand out, but the gray and blue scheme. However, I do like the summary. Most summaries for the book don't give away a lot, but say to little. Although this summary only covers about a quarter of what the book is actually about, I think it leads the reader to wait for the small details that happen later.
The Writing: I've never read any other book by Scott Westerfeld, but now I might. The writing was engaging. Scott Westerfeld was able to tell the reader, just by posture, weather Ethan was using his voice or not, or when Kelsey was controlling the crowd. I do feel like this book could use more world building, but I'll wait for the next novel in the series to make a judgement.
The Plot: I'm going to be honest, I think the plot was eh. It definitely picked up for the last half, but getting the Zeroes back together felt like a long time. There were many scenes where the characters ran into some stupid trouble that they could have avoided, but, of course, they didn't think the whole plan through. I don't feel like there was a whole ton of action through the novel, but when there was, it was something to take note of. Most thinks in this novel led to each other. Something that disappeared in one chapter, you might want to take note of it. Nothing was left out, or left for the reading to wonder where it went.
Overall: Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone who doesn't mind a more laid back type of novel. If you don't mind being patient to wait for the book to develop a little more, then this is the book for you.
Hey. Hey. Yeah, I'm talking to you! Thank you so much for reading my review if you made it this far! I hope this helped you get a good idea of what Zeroes is made of!
I would love to hear any recommendations you have for books I could read!
Until next time,
Happy Reading!
~Alli
September 30, 2015
I was really looking forward to reading Zeroes; the concept is cool and I really wanted to love it, but it just fell a bit flat.
We don't really get to know any of the characters in great detail because there are six of them and they each have their own point of view. This made it difficult to really care about them and become invested in their story.
The powers that the kids have are one of the more interesting elements of the book. I like that they aren't your typical superpowers and it focused a lot on the problems with having powers rather than how awesome/heroic they are. That really makes Zeroes stand out from other superhero books.
Ethan / Scam is the first character we are introduced to. His power is "the voice" which says exactly what someone wants to hear. He uses it to talk to girls and get dates (he's a teenage boy after all) but it also gets him into a lot of trouble.
Nate / Glorious Leader / Bellwether is the leader of the Zeroes. He has the ability to control what people think (I think). He is the least interesting character to me. I don't really understand his power, he's boring and I have no idea what his code name means.
Riley / Flicker is a blind girl who has the ability to see through other people's eyes. I think that's quite a useful power to have, actually, but also kinda creepy to think of someone being able to look through your eyes. I liked her.
Chizara / Crash can crash technology. It's an interesting power to have and one that I haven't encountered before. Technology causes her so much pain that she struggles to be around it which is ridiculously hard in these modern times. I liked the power but I didn't like her point of view much.
Thibault / Anonymous is my favourite character. He is just so adorable and I felt so bad for him. He is literally unmemorable. People forget about him almost immediately after meeting him. Super useful for spying but rubbish for forming lasting relationships. The Zeroes have a difficult time remembering him without taking notes and his family have forgotten he exists. Quite ironic that he is the most memorable character in the book.
Kelsie / Mob is a girl with a power who hasn't found the Zeroes group yet. She has the ability to manipulate a crowd's feelings. The plot surrounds her and her criminal father who the Zeroes help to rescue.
I think given the fact that this is going to be a series, there maybe could have been less narratives in this. Additional points of view could have been added in as the series progresses. I think that would have helped with the character's development and I would have cared about them all a bit more. (Thibault should always have a pov though as he is just lovely).
The plot is mostly exciting and always moving but there were a couple of things that I didn't really care for. One of the romances was boring as was the deal with saving Kelsie's father. The writing is strong though and the chapters stitch together seamlessly (you can't tell there are three authors writing it; I don't know who wrote what). The powers are the strongest element as it's a unique spin on something that's been done before and I'll likely check out the sequel to hopefully learn more about them.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
We don't really get to know any of the characters in great detail because there are six of them and they each have their own point of view. This made it difficult to really care about them and become invested in their story.
The powers that the kids have are one of the more interesting elements of the book. I like that they aren't your typical superpowers and it focused a lot on the problems with having powers rather than how awesome/heroic they are. That really makes Zeroes stand out from other superhero books.
Ethan / Scam is the first character we are introduced to. His power is "the voice" which says exactly what someone wants to hear. He uses it to talk to girls and get dates (he's a teenage boy after all) but it also gets him into a lot of trouble.
Nate / Glorious Leader / Bellwether is the leader of the Zeroes. He has the ability to control what people think (I think). He is the least interesting character to me. I don't really understand his power, he's boring and I have no idea what his code name means.
Riley / Flicker is a blind girl who has the ability to see through other people's eyes. I think that's quite a useful power to have, actually, but also kinda creepy to think of someone being able to look through your eyes. I liked her.
Chizara / Crash can crash technology. It's an interesting power to have and one that I haven't encountered before. Technology causes her so much pain that she struggles to be around it which is ridiculously hard in these modern times. I liked the power but I didn't like her point of view much.
Thibault / Anonymous is my favourite character. He is just so adorable and I felt so bad for him. He is literally unmemorable. People forget about him almost immediately after meeting him. Super useful for spying but rubbish for forming lasting relationships. The Zeroes have a difficult time remembering him without taking notes and his family have forgotten he exists. Quite ironic that he is the most memorable character in the book.
Kelsie / Mob is a girl with a power who hasn't found the Zeroes group yet. She has the ability to manipulate a crowd's feelings. The plot surrounds her and her criminal father who the Zeroes help to rescue.
I think given the fact that this is going to be a series, there maybe could have been less narratives in this. Additional points of view could have been added in as the series progresses. I think that would have helped with the character's development and I would have cared about them all a bit more. (Thibault should always have a pov though as he is just lovely).
The plot is mostly exciting and always moving but there were a couple of things that I didn't really care for. One of the romances was boring as was the deal with saving Kelsie's father. The writing is strong though and the chapters stitch together seamlessly (you can't tell there are three authors writing it; I don't know who wrote what). The powers are the strongest element as it's a unique spin on something that's been done before and I'll likely check out the sequel to hopefully learn more about them.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
February 6, 2016
4.5 stars
I didn't realize until I got to the end of this on audio (spacing out while they did the credits) that the reader was Amber Benson. Amber Benson! She did so many different voices, I never recognized hers. She did a nice job.
I seem to be hitting a lot of sideways takes on super power stories lately. I don't know if more people are writing them, or if that's just what I keep running into. This was a good one. The story's original, and the powers are different from anything I've seen. A couple of them are more like curses.
This is the beginning of a series, but it's a self-contained story, so readers aren't stuck with a cliffhanger trying to force them to continue the series.
It ran long, I think because they were developing 6 different main characters. The story itself did not warrant the length. The character development and explanation of powers was well-done, with the exception of a romance that progressed at light speed. I do like the couple and the complications their powers bring to the relationship.
The "crocodile" plot line seemed thin (why would anyone take it?) but maybe I just don't understand drug culture well enough.
Overall, it was a strong start to series I'll be sure to continue.
I didn't realize until I got to the end of this on audio (spacing out while they did the credits) that the reader was Amber Benson. Amber Benson! She did so many different voices, I never recognized hers. She did a nice job.
I seem to be hitting a lot of sideways takes on super power stories lately. I don't know if more people are writing them, or if that's just what I keep running into. This was a good one. The story's original, and the powers are different from anything I've seen. A couple of them are more like curses.
This is the beginning of a series, but it's a self-contained story, so readers aren't stuck with a cliffhanger trying to force them to continue the series.
It ran long, I think because they were developing 6 different main characters. The story itself did not warrant the length. The character development and explanation of powers was well-done, with the exception of a romance that progressed at light speed. I do like the couple and the complications their powers bring to the relationship.
The "crocodile" plot line seemed thin (why would anyone take it?) but maybe I just don't understand drug culture well enough.
Overall, it was a strong start to series I'll be sure to continue.
December 30, 2015
Zeroes exceeded all of my expectations, this is what YA should be. I loved the diverse cast of characters, I didn't think I could get behind a story told from so many perspectives but each voice was so unique, it really worked.
A 5 star book to end the year on.
A 5 star book to end the year on.
March 15, 2017
I liked this book but it didn't quite measure up to Scott Westerfeld's "Uglies" series. Those books were amazing and this one was good but it was missing something that I wish I were able to explain. I think part of the problem is that there were a lot of characters and it took me a while to bond with all of the Zeroes. There are six of them and they each have an ability or super power. My favorite Zero was Anonymous. His ability was that he was forgettable; he would meet people but once he was out of their sight, they would forget him (unless they tried really, really hard to remember him which the other Zeroes kept having to do). The other five had Zeroes also had unique abilities as well. I liked the characters and I thought the story was interesting but I'm not sure if I will continue on in the series.
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