Be My Enemy

Gr 7 Up—Teen science whiz and star goalie Everett Singh is back in this exciting sequel to Planesrunner (PYR, 2011). As he found out in the first volume, there are many Earths, many universes. The key to traveling among them is the Infundibulum, an electronic map of the multiverse created by his dad. But Dr. Singh is missing, "shot" into a random parallel universe, and before Everett can find him he has to escape from Charlotte Villiers and her storm troopers. Villiers has big plans and needs the Infundibulum to carry them out, but Everett is too fast and too smart for her. So she recruits the only person in the known worlds who can catch him-his double from another Earth. With the crew of the airship Everness, from the electro-steampunk Earth 3, Everett jumps through alternate universes, trying to stay one step ahead of Villiers and the one enemy who knows him as well as he knows himself. McDonald is a master of science fiction, and this story is chock-full of danger and excitement as well as mind-bending physics. The science doesn't overwhelm but readers will be far less confused, especially at the start, if they read Planesrunner first. The author once again includes a helpful glossary of Palari, the Airish argot of the Everness crew. The climax is heart-stopping and shows Everett at his genius best. The ominous denouement will leave readers hungry for the next installment.—Anthony C. Doyle, Livingston High School Library, CA