Title: Scan (Scan #1)
Authors: Walter Jury & Sarah Fine
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers (Penguin)
Release Date: May 1, 2014
Tate and his father don’t exactly get along. As Tate sees it, his father has unreasonably high expectations for Tate to be the best—at everything. Tate finally learns what he’s being prepared for when he steals one of his dad’s odd tech inventions and mercenaries ambush his school, killing his father and sending Tate on the run from aliens who look just like humans.
All Tate knows—like how to make weapons out of oranges and lighter fluid—may not be enough to save him as he’s plunged into a secret interspecies conflict that’s been going on for centuries. Aided only by his girlfriend and his estranged mother, with powerful enemies closing in on all sides, Tate races to puzzle out the secret behind his father’s invention and why so many are willing to kill for it.
A riveting, fast-paced adventure, Scan is a clever alien thriller with muscle and heart.
Guest Post
Walter Jury
(SPOILER ALERT--this post contains some spoilers.)
My favorite scene to write was the final set piece. Without giving away any plot points, it is a major action sequence that involves Tate and his primary pursuer in a very fun location that, while it is described in detail, still allows for the imagination to run wild. With Tate's skills that we establish early on, we get a real sense of how high the stakes are and how far he can progress with his Dad's tutelage and influence guiding him.
