SYLO (The SYLO Chronicles Series #1)

by D. J. MacHale

Overview

The ultimate action-fueled end-of-the-world conspiracy trilogy from #1 New York Times bestselling author D.J. MacHale

THEY CAME FROM THE SKY
parachuting out of military helicopters to invade Tucker Pierce’s idyllic hometown on Pemberwick Island, Maine.
 
They call themselves SYLO and they are a secret branch of the U.S. Navy. SYLO’s commander, Captain Granger, informs Pemberwick residents that the island has been hit by a lethal virus and must be quarantined. Now Pemberwick is cut off from the outside world.
 
Tucker believes there’s more to SYLO’s story. He was on the sidelines when the high school running back dropped dead with no warning. He saw the bizarre midnight explosion over the ocean, and the mysterious singing aircraft that travel like shadows through the night sky. He tasted the Ruby—and experienced the powers it gave him—for himself.
 
What all this means, SYLO isn’t saying. Only Tucker holds the clues that can solve this deadly mystery.
 
LOOK TO THE SKY
because Pemberwick is only the first stop.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781595146663
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	03/04/2014
Series:	SYLO Chronicles Series , #1
Pages:	432
Sales rank:	401,671
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.20(h) x 1.50(d)
Lexile:	HL680L (what's this?)
Age Range:	10 - 14 Years

About the Author

D.J. MacHale is the author of the bestselling book series Pendragon: Journal of an Adventure through Time and Space, the spooky Morpheus Road trilogy, and the whimsical picture book The Monster Princess.  He has written, directed, and produced numerous award-winning television series and movies for young people including Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Flight 29 Down, and Tower of Terror.  D.J. lives with his family in Southern California. You can visit him online at www.djmachalebooks.com.

Read an Excerpt

foreword
(Continues…)

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Excerpted from "SYLO"
by .
Copyright © 2014 D. J. MacHale.
Excerpted by permission of Penguin Young Readers Group.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"I'm not sure anyone does suspense quite like D.J. MacHale. I ripped through the pages of SYLO, a relentlessly fast-paced, intriguing, expertly-written tale that leaves you breathless and satisfied, yet wanting more. Highly recommended." James Dashner, New York Times bestselling author of the Maze Runner series
 
“SYLO will have your pulse racing and your head spinning. Make plans to stay up all night finishing it." Michael Grant, New York Times bestselling author of the Gone series

"SYLO is D.J. MacHale at his finest — he's crafted a book full of friendship, mystery and heart-pounding, spine-tingling adventure." Holly Black, New York Times bestselling author

“Packed with thrilling chases, daring escapes, and breathtaking action sequences, SYLO will grab the reader's attention from the first page and not let go until the final, stunning conclusion!”—Michael Carroll, author of The Quantum Prophecy
 
“I have no fingernails left! I chewed off every last one of them while I fretted over the fate of Tucker and his friends. Well done, Mr. MacHale."—PJ Haarsma, author of the Softwire series

Editorial Reviews

"Absolutely un-put-down-able, more exciting than an X-box and a rollercoaster combined."--Kirkus, starred review

"If you're a fan of The Maze Runner and Alex Rider, you might want to pick up SYLO... A fast-paced read and a huge cliffhanger." --EW.com

"[An] extremely high-octane story that's the equivalent to a summer movie blockbuster." --Booklist 

"An entertaining and creepy tale." --Publishers Weekly 

"This action-fueled, end-of-the-world-as-we-know-it adventure... should have teen reader clamoring for the next installment." --VOYA

"MacHale pens some terrific and unique action scenes... will leave readers hungry for the next installment." --SLJ

"I'm not sure anyone does suspense quite like D.J. MacHale. I ripped through the pages of SYLO, a relentlessly fast-paced, intriguing, expertly-written tale that leaves you breathless and satisfied, yet wanting more. Highly recommended." James Dashner, New York Times bestselling author of the Maze Runner series
 
“SYLO will have your pulse racing and your head spinning. Make plans to stay up all night finishing it." Michael Grant, New York Times bestselling author of the Gone series

"SYLO is D.J. MacHale at his finest -- he's crafted a book full of friendship, mystery and heart-pounding, spine-tingling adventure." Holly Black, New York Times bestselling author

“Packed with thrilling chases, daring escapes, and breathtaking action sequences, SYLO will grab the reader's attention from the first page and not let go until the final, stunning conclusion!”—Michael Carroll, author of The Quantum Prophecy
 
“I have no fingernails left! I chewed off every last one of them while I fretted over the fate of Tucker and his friends. Well done, Mr. MacHale."—PJ Haarsma, author of the Softwire series

From the Publisher

MacHale (the Pendragon books) shifts into thriller mode as he launches a trilogy with an entertaining and creepy tale of teens forced into a dire situation. Tucker is a high school freshman on Pemberwick Island, Maine, content to be a benchwarmer on the varsity football team. After the star tailback drops dead during a game, Tucker and his best friend Quinn go for a therapeutic bike ride at night and spy a mysterious aircraft. Soon after, more people start dying, and the island is quarantined and placed under protection of the SYLO agency. The introduction of a drug called the Ruby increases the threat, as humans and animals alike become strong and fast under its influence, but risk overdosing. As deaths continue to mount, Quinn, Tucker, and a girl named Tori become suspicious of their own families, as well as the government. MacHale throws a lot of action and a touch of romance into his conspiracy-laden plot, but fans of similar series (Michael Grant’s Gone books, for example) should have no problem keeping up. Ages 10–up. Agent: Richard Curtis, Richard Curtis Associates. (July)

Publishers Weekly

09/01/2013
Gr 8 Up—MacHale's current-day dystopic series opener begins with a mysterious death and gets stranger from there. On Pemberwick Island off the coast of Maine, Tucker Pierce, 14, is vaulted onto his high school football team's starting lineup after a star player falls dead at the end of a game. To clear their heads, Tucker and his friend Quinn Carr take a late-night bike ride on the road that runs around the island's perimeter only to encounter a shadowy flying object that emits strange music that then explodes over the water. Within a few days, a stranger to the island offers Tucker a "supplement" called "the Ruby" that makes him feel superhuman. Then a military force wearing red camo uniforms with a patch bearing the word "SYLO" takes control of the island, and the president announces a quarantine until the CDC can identify and neutralize the "Pemberwick virus." Tucker and Quinn don't know what to make of events or who to trust as martial law takes over. In desperation, the teens make plans with Tori Sleeper, a lobsterman's daughter, to use her dad's two boats to escape the island. MacHale pens some terrific and unique action scenes, but they never overwhelm the story as the characters face one quandary, riddle, or dilemma after another in unraveling the mystery of what is happening. The shocking ending will leave readers hungry for the next installment.—Eric Norton, McMillan Memorial Library, Wisconsin Rapids, WI

School Library Journal

This riveting novel starts with a question: How safe is it to remain uninvolved? At 14, Tucker Pierce is all about fitting in and going with the flow. While his friends talk about going out into the world and doing great things, he prefers to dream small. He likes life on tiny, fictional Pemberwick Island, Maine, and hopes to take over his father's landscaping business eventually. For now, warming the bench at the weekly football games is just fine with him. But when the island is quarantined by the U.S. Navy, things start to fall apart, and Tucker can't stand aside for long. People start dying. The girl he wants to get to know a whole lot better, Tori, is captured along with Tucker and imprisoned behind barbed wire. The country-club golf course has been converted into a military camp run by a division of the military they've never heard of: SYLO. There's no communication from the mainland to the island and no way to get word of what's happening out to the world. Tucker and Tori need to get to the mainland to tell their story. Can they get past the naval blockade? Can they survive the sky-borne attack on the blockade? Whom can they trust? Who--or what--is SYLO? And who is fighting whom? MacHale knows boy readers and delivers, giving them an action-packed plot with a likable, Everykid protagonist and doling out answers with just the right amount of parsimony to keep the pages turning. This first installment in a proposed trilogy is absolutely un-put-down-able, more exciting than an X-Box and roller coaster combined. (Adventure. 10-16)

Kirkus Reviews