![]() Surely it’s the jackpot: they’ll each receive $50,000 every month for life, and Emmett’s mother will get a kidney transplant, otherwise impossible for poor people. When Babel Communications invites 10 teens to participate in “the most serious space exploration known to mankind,” Emmett signs on. Kids endure rigorous competition aboard a spaceship. It’s a satisfying one, though, and it rises above the genre via gritty language and secondary characters with lives of their own. ![]() The trope of the underdog who survives and wins a better future due to kindness in the world and in his heart is fairly standard fare, and this is no exception. A surplus of action keeps the plot moving forward and obscures questions of logic that might emerge if readers had an opportunity to stop and think. Some of the survival techniques he uses are both unlawful and unlikely, but Digger’s strong narrative voice and the basic decency beneath his stupidity help readers overcome these flaws. He develops a whole new persona as Gerry, the baby sitter for a kid with reading difficulties and a gambling father, and gets a job as a stable hand for a nearby horse-rescue farm. Though seemingly anxious for their safety, Digger is derailed surprisingly easily once on the outside, as he tries to evade authorities and fend for himself as best he can. ![]() ![]() Introduced as the culprit in a prank gone wrong in Red Kayak (2004), Digger is angry yet determined to help his mother and siblings, who have long been abused by his father. Sentenced to a juvenile detention camp and eager to escape, Digger has a plan that sends him on a journey that is both a survival story and a lesson in trust. ![]()
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