y1 by Sherrie Cronin

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Title: y1

Author: Sherrie Cronin
Series: 46. Ascending (Book #2)

Genre: Science Fiction

Length: 339 pages

Published: 2012

Publisher: Cinnabar Press

Brief Synopsis: (Taken from Goodreads) Zane swore as a child to protect all the odd people of the world, studying chameleons and muscle groups to teach himself to alter his own appearance. No longer a young boy too smart and too different to fit in, Zane starts his first job at a pharmaceutical company where he uncovers layers of corporate secrets that hide surprisingly vile plans. Once he is sent on a sales trip to the South Pacific, it becomes clear that there are those who would kill to protect the mysteries that the company has worked so hard to keep hidden. 

Charged with murder and hunted by an unsavory boot camp manager, he finds himself sailing to remote islands with a shadowy group known as y1. Fantasy, reality and a bit of speculative science come together as Zane uses all his unique abilities to resist turning from a murder suspect into a murder victim. He still wants to find a way to keep his childhood promise, if he can only live long enough to do so.

My Review:

I give this book a 5 out of 5. 

Once again, Sherrie Cronin shows off her amazing research skills! Like the first novel in the series, x0, she weaves real facts and controversial, sensitive topics in with the fictional Zeitman family. This time we follow Lola's son, Zane, as he learns at a young age that he can adjust his appearance to better blend in, much like a chameleon. 

When he gets older, he ends up working for a pharmaceutical company called Penthes. While interning in the lab, he keeps his head down as he realizes what a toxic environment the lab is. Eventually he spends time interning in marketing and finds himself adjusting his appearance to better fit in up there. There he catches the eye of the CEO himself, who is looking for a proper replacement. Forced to keep a huge secret, Zane begins to do research in the way the company is running, among other darker things, for the CEO. His job as spy gets more and more dangerous as he begins looking into not only the disappearance of the CEO's son, but also the death of his boss while in Samoa. 

Other key players are Afi, Joy and Toby, who Zane befriends while verifying the route a huge conference his company is hosting will take in the Pacific from Samoa to a school for troubled youth and finally to Fiji. Toby has a mysterious past and prefers to be a loner, but ends up helping first Afi and then Joy. Afi has run away from a school for troubled youth where horrific abuse is occurring, and Joy is running from her overbearing and controlling father. 

Throughout the story, Ms. Cronin weaves her research, using real facts and real stories of corruption to strengthen the novel. Unlike x0, where I had a hard time getting into the actual story because the factual information was so in-your-face, once I started y1 I could not stop. The factual information was present, but it was not overwhelming and blended extremely well into the story. I've already started Book 3 (z2), and can't wait to finish that one out as well!

You can purchase y1 through Amazon in hard copy or Kindle format. 

Have you read y1? If so, leave a comment and let me know your thoughts! 

Please note: I was not compensated in any way for this review. It is strictly my opinion.