cover image Future Imperfect

Future Imperfect

K. Ryer Breese, St. Martin's/Griffin, $9.99 trade paper (310p) ISBN 978-0-312-64151-1

Past meets future, and the power of love challenges a teenager's peculiar supernatural ability in this inventive debut that doesn't quite live up to its premise. Seventeen-year-old Ade Patience sees the future every time he's knocked unconscious. Ade feeds the high every way he can, from leaping in front of cars to jumping off the roof of his school. His doctors are exasperated, his friends are frustrated, and his classmates are disgusted; meanwhile, Ade's mother analyzes the visions for signs of the Rapture. Then Ade finally meets Vauxhall, a girl he saw in a vision two years earlier, and they fall in love, just like he predicted. But she has a secret of her own, as does Jimi, her dangerous kinda-boyfriend, and the overlap of powers and mysteries points to an unavoidable tragedy. This psychic love story has an offbeat appeal, but memorable characters and a superhero comic sensibility don't soften the leap required to believe that Ade's actions don't result in more aggressive intervention. The book's brutality underscores a clear message about destructive behavior as Ade indulges in self-abuse until finding a reason to go clean. Ages 12–up. (Apr.)