The Edge of the Abyss

by Emily Skrutskie

Overview

Three weeks have passed since Cassandra Leung pledged her allegiance to ruthless pirate-queen Santa Elena and set free Bao, the sea monster Reckoner she'd been forced to train. The days as a pirate trainee are long and grueling, but it's not the physical pain that Cas dreads most. It's being forced to work with Swift, the pirate girl who broke her heart. But Cas has even bigger problems when she discovers Boa is not the only a monster swimming free. Other Reckoners illegally sold to pirates have escaped their captors and are taking the NeoPacific by storm, attacking ships at random and ruining the ocean ecosystem. As a Reckoner trainer, Cas might be the only one who can stop them. But how can she take up arms against the creatures she used to care for and protect? Will Cas embrace the murky morals that life as a pirate brings or perish in the dark waters of the NeoPacific? The exciting sequel to The Abyss Surrounds Us

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781635830019
Publisher:	North Star Editions
Publication date:	04/18/2017
Series:	Abyss Series , #2
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	296
Sales rank:	539,409
Lexile:	870L (what's this?)
File size:	8 MB
Age Range:	12 - 17 Years

About the Author

Emily Skrutskie is six feet tall. She was born in Massachusetts, raised in Virginia, and forged in the mountains above Boulder, Colorado. She holds a BA in Performing and Media Arts from Cornell University, where she studied an outrageous and demanding combination of film, computer science, and game design. She lives and writes in Los Angeles. She can be found online at @skrutskie on Twitter, or on her website, skrutskie.com.

Read an Excerpt

https://flexpub.com/shelfpreview/the-edge-of-the-abyss

Editorial Reviews

"Sci-fi piracy at its finest—Skrutskie has penned another winner." —Booklist Reviews

From the Publisher

05/01/2017
Gr 8 Up—Cassandra Leung has become an official member of Santa Selena's crew. She abandoned her sea monster (a Reckoner), lost her family, and was deceived by Swift, the one person she trusted. Now she must find her place in this world of pirates. Cas learns that there are many Reckoners that were stolen and are now demolishing the ecosystem of the ocean, and all the pirates look to her for a solution. They must destroy the illegal Reckoners to save the sea. To do so, Cas must learn to rely on all those she has lost throughout this journey. She must accept that she will have to kill those she was raised to protect. And she must decide whose side she is on once and for all. Skrutskie's sequel to The Abyss Surrounds Us is just as engaging as its predecessor. It introduces pirates as a group who work together to protect their life force, the ocean, after being turned away from society. Just like Cas, the audience will struggle as they wonder whom they should support. Readers will love this sci-fi adventure story. VERDICT Purchase where the first novel and sci-fi are popular.—Jessica Strefling, US Court of Appeals, Federal Circuit Library

School Library Journal

★ 2017-02-14
The sequel to The Abyss Surrounds Us (2016) finds this world's post-apocalyptic future threatened by rogue genetically engineered sea monsters.Cas Leung, once an aspiring trainer of the savage, gargantuan Reckoners that protect the world's maritime traffic from pirates, now bears the tattoo of pirate captain Santa Elena's Minnow. It's the only way, she figures, she can pursue the double-dealing Reckoner agent who has been selling unlicensed pups to pirates. When the Minnow tangles with one that's now grown and on the loose, Cas realizes the NeoPacific's fast-dwindling fisheries are being consumed by these Hellbeasts, and global environmental catastrophe looms again. Even as Santa Elena convenes the Salt, the treaty organization of the NeoPacific's pirates, to address this threat, the relationship begun previously between Cas and fellow trainee Swift continues to evolve, physical attraction and affection ever in conflict with the ruthless competition for supremacy that defines a pirate trainee's life. Skrutskie deftly balances introspection and action, making for a page-turning, thoughtful read. Her worldbuilding envisions a brutal and diverse future: gender is no barrier to success—kick-ass women abound, most notably brown-skinned Santa Elena and white Swift—and neither, for the most part, is race, although differences are both acknowledged and celebrated. Chinese-American Cas' moment with a plate of siumai, ordered in her "best Canto," is "pure bliss" with "food that is so thoroughly mine." A dazzling, satisfying sequel. (Science fiction. 14 & up)

Kirkus Reviews