X in Flight (XYZ Trilogy Series), Vol. 1 Book

X in Flight centers on the lives of three intriguing teens. X — short for Xenos — is 17, tough but shy. He’s a decent golfer, but his mother thinks he’s the next Tiger Woods. One night, X is shocked to discover that he can fly. Is he a superhero? An angel? Or just really screwed up? X’s girlfriend, Cat, is pierced, mean, angry — and afraid. Ruby watches them both in silence. X admires her, but Ruby thinks she’s going crazy. Their lives intersect one terrifying night at a school dance, when X’s powers are the only way to save Ruby’s life. Does he believe in himself enough to do it? Dark, deep, and dramatic, X in Flight is a bold departure from the humorous Haley Andromeda series, but it shows Karen Rivers at the height of her powers. Here, she proves her matchless ability to create and understand today's teens and their complicated lives, and to tell intense stories with honesty, humor, and intelligence.

School Library Journal

Gr 9 Up- Xenos, or X, never feels like he quite fits in. He's of mixed race in an almost all-white high school, is a golf prodigy who's not sure his skills are up to par, and is a serious kid who covers his uncertainty with swagger and bravado. He feels trapped in the rickety trailer he shares with his unreliable ex-hippie mother and toddler brother, and equally trapped in his relationship with Cat, his on-again-off-again girlfriend. Cat is no less confused. Convinced that she'll never live up to the standard set by her overachieving twin sister, she acts out ferociously with cutting words, body piercings, and too much alcohol, throwing herself at boys and men to hide her insecurity. Their classmate Ruby is a shy girl whose increasing rage at her celebrity-shrink father and his girlfriends makes her fear that she's going crazy. X's growing alienation from Cat (who discovers that she is pregnant) and his fierce crush on Ruby are complicated by an unexpected discovery: he can fly. Alternating chapters narrated by X, Cat, and Ruby chronicle the fascination-and sometimes repulsion-that each character has for the others, as their interconnecting paths head toward an explosive conclusion. The first in the "XYZ" trilogy, Rivers's dark, meandering novel offers more nuanced characterization and subtle action than typical science fiction. This intriguing juxtaposition of the teen relationship drama and the contemporary fantasy novel should please fans of both genres.-Meredith Robbins, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis High School, New York City