The Rig by Joe Ducie - ESSENTIAL

Ducie, Joe The Rig, 308 pgs. Houghton, Mifflin, Harcourt, 2015. $16.99. Language: PG-13 (67 swears; no ‘F’); Mature Content: PG; Violence: PG-13

The Rig is a maximum security juvenile prison where the worst of the worst are sent. This oil rig in the middle of the Arctic Ocean has been redesigned to be a prison that no one can escape. Will Drake is the prisoner who has escaped every prison they have ever placed him in and he hopes to be the first to find the flaw in the system and return to freedom. Even though arctic waters surround him for hundreds of miles and his every movement is tracked, he knows escape is always possible. However, in the process of planning his escape, Drake will discover that the prison is guarding dark secrets as well as dangerous criminals.

This is a fast paced book with a plot that is unique and engaging. The characters are well developed and readers will find themselves caring about their stories. The plot can become rather violent with beatings and a few deaths, but nothing that can be judged gratuitous. Also, being that the book is set in a prison, violence is reasonable to expect. As with many young adult novels the main characters are described as juveniles as young as fifteen, but tend to act and speak as though they are well into adulthood. Overall, fans of adventure and sci-fi will this novel enjoyable.

HS—ESSENTIAL AEB