Scored

The concept behind McLaughlin’s third novel is strong: a hypervigilant 1984- style society that assigns its citizens scores upon which their entire future depends. Imani LeMonde is a high school senior whose every action has been taken with that score in mind—from the friends she makes to the grades she maintains and even the thoughts she has about “lowbies” and the “unscored,” since Score Corp’s cameras can read lips and analyze facial expressions. However, when her association with a rebellious childhood friend sends Imani’s score plummeting, and an unscored classmate, Diego, wants to collaborate on a school project, she begins to question the system. McLaughlin (Cycler) tries hard to incorporate big themes into Imani’s story: the power of individuals versus groups, injustice and oppression, the human tendency to follow authority. But the story bogs down when the author—through Imani—focuses too much on those issues instead of on building romantic tension between Imani and Diego, as well as her conflict with the manipulative school principal. The story feels more like a lecture in human psychology than a satisfying journey. Ages 12–up. (Oct.)