Zeroes

Title: Zeroes

Series: Zeroes - book 1

Author: Scott Westerfeld, Margo Lanagan, Deborah Biancotti

Rating: 4.5 stars

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Science Fiction

Number of Pages: 496

Publisher: Allen & Unwin

Publication Date: 2015

Summary: Don't call them heroes. But these six Californian teens have powers that 

set them apart.

Ethan aka Scam has a voice inside him that'll say whatever people want to hear, whether it's true or not. Which is handy, except when it isn't - like when the voice starts gabbing in the middle of a bank robbery. The only people who can help are the other Zeroes, who aren't exactly best friends these days.

Enter Nate, aka Bellwether, the group's 'glorious leader.' After Scam's SOS, he pulls the scattered Zeroes back together. But when the rescue blows up in their faces, the Zeroes find themselves propelled into whirlwind encounters with ever more dangerous criminals. At the heart of the chaos they find Kelsie, who can take a crowd in the palm of her hand and tame it or let it loose as she pleases.

Not many author's can make a book about a group of dysfunctional characters and make a story that you will actually enjoy, but this trio have somehow succeeded. With an almost casual efficiency, this trio of authors managed to turn the world upside down, shake it and walk off with a shrug as if to say 'well what did you expect from us, you didn't think we would make it easy for these guys'. These six characters are all connected to each other through the fact that they are all different and have unusual powers. But these powers don't only bring them together but also push them apart. 

Zeroes is told in multiple perspectives which helped to build on the extensive array of characters. Through each perspective you begin to see how difficult the lives of our characters are because of their abilities; these guys are Zeroes, not Heroes for a reason. Scam has the abilities to talk his way out of anything, but that sometimes means he pushes someone else in his path. Anonymous get forgotten by everyone, including his family and Crash, well she can crash any electronic system, so it's best that she stays away from hospitals and airplanes, just in case. 

Based on the other books I have read by Scott Westerfeld I knew to expect an unconventional story and I wasn't disappointed. Ever book I have read by Scott Westerfeld has had a clear and distinctive mark that is clearly his own and despite the fact that this book was co-authored his presence was still there. With two other author's co-writing this book I was worried that there would be a bit of disjointedness to this book, but at no point did I ever feel like there were multiple author's writing styles, I feel like I read a book by Scott Westerfeld alone.