DECEMBER 2019 - AudioFile
In this dystopian audiobook, listeners are invited to imagine the far-reaching impact of fake news. Narrator Caitlin Kelly employs an unobtrusive style—a fitting choice for a plot-driven story. Sixteen-year-old Meri lives in a future version of Chicago, where she longs to become a government-approved artist just like her mother, who was recently killed in a car accident. Meri’s quest to understand her mother’s final project leads her to a generations-old government conspiracy to sanitize U.S. history and to the resistance group that is trying to preserve the truth. Kelly imbues Meri’s voice with plausible naïveté and spirit. Overall, she keeps listeners engaged throughout the familiar beats of this series opener. R.A.H. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine
From the Publisher
[Verify] builds steadily from simmering disquiet to a shattering final showdown that will leave readers desperate to reach the conclusion and anxious for sequels. Both timely and relevant in the age of fake news... a worthy read that will have readers wondering just how much truth they really want to know.” — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
“Wow! Shades of Fahrenheit 451 and Orwell’s 1984... Painfully real and urgent. Read this book.” — Michael Grant, internationally best selling author of the Gone series
“Words, history, books, and their truths must prevail. Verify is a very timely tale and one that will leave you impatient for the next book in the series.” — Becky Anderson, Anderson’s Bookshops
“At once timely and timeless, Verify reminds us of the power of words and the importance of truth. Thrilling and terrifying, it is an undeniable call to action. Trust but Verify that this is the perfect book for our times.” — Rachel Bellavia, Read Between the Lynes
“Charbonneau deftly immerses readers in a future that feels unnervingly possible, where truth and history are no longer related to fact. A powerful reminder of the potential we each hold to demand and influence change.” — Sara Grochowski, McLean & Eakin Booksellers
“What would you give up for security? Words? Books? Your freedoms? Look up the word ‘verify,’ and you’ll start unraveling why you need to read and discuss Charbonneau’s book. I shivered when reading her latest creation. You will, too.” — Joe Hight, president, Best of Books, Edmond, OK
“This book captured me from start to end and has a crucial message around the power of words and the right we all have to each and every one.” — Destinee Hodge, East City Bookshop
PRAISE FOR DIVIDING EDEN: “Charbonneau’s skill as a thriller writer will hook readers as the tension between the siblings grows and the Trial of Succession rushes towards an explosive end... This new fantasy will give them plenty to sink their teeth into.” — Booklist
“The trendy plot—filled with royal intrigue, romance, and a dangerous competition—is sure to make this new fantasy series a popular choice... Hand this one to fans of Sarah J. Maas, Kiera Cass, and Evelyn Skye.” — School Library Journal
“The siblings are complex characters, weighted down by their respective heartaches and issues, and their skeptical views on the world feel realistic... there’s a lot to like about this messed up, lush, and dark world.” — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
Michael Grant
Wow! Shades of Fahrenheit 451 and Orwell’s 1984... Painfully real and urgent. Read this book.
Sara Grochowski
Charbonneau deftly immerses readers in a future that feels unnervingly possible, where truth and history are no longer related to fact. A powerful reminder of the potential we each hold to demand and influence change.”
Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
[Verify] builds steadily from simmering disquiet to a shattering final showdown that will leave readers desperate to reach the conclusion and anxious for sequels. Both timely and relevant in the age of fake news... a worthy read that will have readers wondering just how much truth they really want to know.
Rachel Bellavia
At once timely and timeless, Verify reminds us of the power of words and the importance of truth. Thrilling and terrifying, it is an undeniable call to action. Trust but Verify that this is the perfect book for our times.
Becky Anderson
Words, history, books, and their truths must prevail. Verify is a very timely tale and one that will leave you impatient for the next book in the series.
Destinee Hodge
This book captured me from start to end and has a crucial message around the power of words and the right we all have to each and every one.
Joe Hight
What would you give up for security? Words? Books? Your freedoms? Look up the word ‘verify,’ and you’ll start unraveling why you need to read and discuss Charbonneau’s book. I shivered when reading her latest creation. You will, too.
Booklist
PRAISE FOR DIVIDING EDEN: “Charbonneau’s skill as a thriller writer will hook readers as the tension between the siblings grows and the Trial of Succession rushes towards an explosive end... This new fantasy will give them plenty to sink their teeth into.
Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
[Verify] builds steadily from simmering disquiet to a shattering final showdown that will leave readers desperate to reach the conclusion and anxious for sequels. Both timely and relevant in the age of fake news... a worthy read that will have readers wondering just how much truth they really want to know.
Booklist
PRAISE FOR DIVIDING EDEN: “Charbonneau’s skill as a thriller writer will hook readers as the tension between the siblings grows and the Trial of Succession rushes towards an explosive end... This new fantasy will give them plenty to sink their teeth into.
Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
[Verify] builds steadily from simmering disquiet to a shattering final showdown that will leave readers desperate to reach the conclusion and anxious for sequels. Both timely and relevant in the age of fake news... a worthy read that will have readers wondering just how much truth they really want to know.
EW.com
Joelle Charbonneau made test-taking terrifying in her best-selling trilogy, The Testing. Now, she turns her dystopian eye towards social networks and teens’ wishes in Need.
DECEMBER 2019 - AudioFile
In this dystopian audiobook, listeners are invited to imagine the far-reaching impact of fake news. Narrator Caitlin Kelly employs an unobtrusive style—a fitting choice for a plot-driven story. Sixteen-year-old Meri lives in a future version of Chicago, where she longs to become a government-approved artist just like her mother, who was recently killed in a car accident. Meri’s quest to understand her mother’s final project leads her to a generations-old government conspiracy to sanitize U.S. history and to the resistance group that is trying to preserve the truth. Kelly imbues Meri’s voice with plausible naïveté and spirit. Overall, she keeps listeners engaged throughout the familiar beats of this series opener. R.A.H. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
2019-06-23
An alluring young man gives teenage Meri a slip of paper that changes everything she knows about the world and sets her on a quest for the truth.
The paper says only "VERIFY," a word Meri has never seen before. As it turns out, there is a lot about the world that Meri does not know. Following clues left by her late mother, Meri begins to learn the truth behind the clean, eco-friendly, safe society in which they live. Charbonneau (Eden Conquered, 2018, etc.) imagines an America where years of banned word lists, travel restrictions, and censorship through digitization have made truth meaningless. The fast-paced story hits all the expected beats as the author sets up Meri's dystopian world, one that is interesting but will feel familiar to readers experienced with the genre. Meri is hurriedly inducted into a secret resistance group, all while dealing with friendship, romance, her father's alcoholism, and pursuit by the secret police. A strong thread of anxiety about technological advancement runs through the book, from the untrustworthiness of e-books to the dangers of recycling paper books. Many threads are left dangling in obvious preparation for a series, but the abrupt ending will leave dystopia-loving young adult readers eager to find out what happens next. Meri is white, and two important secondary characters have brown skin.
Hard to put down but easy to forget. (Dystopian. 13-18)
