“THE STELLOW PROJECT,” by Shari Becker, Skyscape, June 23, 2015, Hardcover, $16.99 (young adult)
“The Stellow Project” starts out like a bunch of those end-of-the-world summer blockbuster movies — “Day After Tomorrow,” “Deep Impact,” etc. — massive storm, teenagers in danger. You get the idea.
Seventeen-year-old Lilah Stellow is sick. She’s been sick her whole life, and when the weather changes, her health worse. When a killer storm unexpectedly hits Manhattan, Lilah’s father sends her and her younger sister to their cabin in the mountains, promising to join them as soon as he can.
Lilah was counting on her father to bring her more medication, but he never comes. Instead, he disappears. And soon news reports name him as a prime suspect in an act of ecoterrorism. Lilah doesn’t know what to do. She’s caring for her sister, her health is declining and she’s scared someone is watching them.
Just when things are about to fall apart, Lilah finds help from an unexpected source. The sisters find safety at an off-the-grid research facility, and Lilah finds herself drawn in by Daniel, the son of the lead scientist. But safety is in the eye of the beholder, and Lilah must decide whether to follow her new friends or her heart.
“The Stellow Project” is the first book in a planned trilogy, and it’s obvious, but not until you near the end, and then it becomes infuriatingly obvious. The book ends with an unsatisfying cliffhanger that makes you wish it were 50 pages longer just to tie up some loose ends.
That’s unfortunate, because “The Stellow Project” is fairly entertaining — the writing is clean and the story fast-paced. It’s not a deep or super memorable read, but it is enjoyable. Here’s hoping the following books strengthen and the series as a whole works cohesively.
