The Collar and the Cavvarach

What looks, at first blush, like a Hunger Games pastiche turns out to be anything but. First in the Krillonian Chronicles series, Lima’s novel is an uneven but gripping tale of loyalty, captivity, and redemption. In a world similar to ours technologically, but with notable differences that include emperors and the legal sale of humans, Bensin is a teenage slave whose only goal is buying freedom for his younger sister, Ellie. It’s no easy task, so Bensin hatches a series of plans that come to rather abrupt ends. After a few brushes with the law and trouble with his owner, Bensin realizes that cavvara shil, a style of martial art practiced with a specialized weapon, may be his ticket to a better life for Ellie. Though the dialogue and descriptions tend to be more functional than expressive, the multifaceted story winds through questions of social justice, ethics, and personal growth. Bensin begins the novel as a somewhat flat, single-minded everyman, but after he partners with his coach, Steene Mayvins, he develops into a more rounded, mature, and dynamic character. Ages 14–up. (BookLife)