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Zeroes

(Zeroes #1)

Scott Westerfeld (Goodreads Author),

Margo Lanagan (Goodreads Author),

Deborah Biancotti (Goodreads Author)

3.76 · Rating details · 9,241 ratings · 1,443 reviews

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 b ...more

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Paperback, 546 pages

Published September 24th 2015 by Simon & Schuster Childrens Books (first published September 23rd 2015)

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Jul 09, 2015 Chantal rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: paranormal, young-adult, best-reads-of-2015, arc, urban-fantasy, published-2015

It’s always a great experience when you go into a book with no expectations and it turns out you really enjoy it. That’s what happened to me with Zeroes . I hadn’t read a single review beforehand, hadn’t read anything by Scott Westerfeld (though I think I will remedy that now) and have never even heard of the other two authors.

The reason I picked up this book was the premise. I read the summary on Goodreads and was immediately intrigued. I read the tagline and I was even more convinced. If ther ...more

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Jul 10, 2015 Evelyn (devours and digests words) rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: writing-i-would-love-to-imitate, young-adult, urban-fantasy, cover-beauts, great-characterization, science-fiction-and-aliens, favourites, in-love-with-the-guys, series-i-actually-like, super-powers-and-heroics

“These things we have, they aren’t mental issues; they’re powers. Like superheroes have.”

“You think?”

“Sure. We just suck at them right now.”

It is not everyday that you come across a great book without its usual YA tropes plaguing every pages.

Follow by the textbook, Zeroes did not. Instead what these three authors do is turn the tables around, thrash all the methodical/formulaic shit there is out there and laugh in the face of clichés and tropes. The end product? It’s this. A story so orig ...more

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Jun 24, 2015 Sarah Elizabeth rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: netgalley-edelweiss, fantasy, r2r-complete, read-2015, read-with-abbie, contemporary, young-adult, sci-fi, as, paranormal

(Source: I received a digital copy of this book for free on a read-to-review basis. Thanks to Simon and Schuster UK Children's and NetGalley.)

“The Zeroes, they’d called themselves as a joke. Like heroes, but not.”

free glitter text and family website at FamilyLobby.com

free glitter text and family website at FamilyLobby.com

This was a bit of an unconventional story, about some kids with superpowers.

There were several characters in this, although the story was told in third person. I didn’t really like Ethan, he really was a bit of a con-artist and I didn’t like that, but I did like Kelsey, especially t ...more

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Feb 05, 2015 Tatiana rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: 2015, ya, 1, aus-nz, starred-2015

The reason I wanted to read this book - Margo Lanagan is a co-author. Unfortunately, I didn't find Lanagan's distinct voice anywhere in Zeroes. Three people had written this novel (although Westerfeld's name is in a much bigger font, why is that?), but all parts of it sounded remarkably similar.

Did I like it overall? It was OK. It's a story about teen heroes with moderately interesting super powers. A lot of action, some romance. Not a bad book, but with not much of a crossover appeal, IMO. Remi ...more

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Jul 28, 2015 joey (thoughts and afterthoughts) rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: arc-review, physical-arc

[See the full review at thoughts and afterthoughts.]

I am jello.

Thank you, Bilanafeld...? Westerlanacotti…? (this sounds like manicotti or biscotti--WHATEVER, IT'S NOT THE POINT)--for curing my half a year reading slump. This is my attempt at a ship name for this wonderful trio much like how you gave my favourite ship a name in this book. I also require the sequel. Now would be nice.

Rating: 4/5
Should this book be picked up? the tl;dr spoiler-less review:
— The superpowers in this story aren’t ...more

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Dec 24, 2015 Taylor Knight rated it liked it · review of another edition

I wasn't sure what to expect with this book but when I read the publisher's description, I got really pumped. "Filled with high-stakes action and drama" really caught my attention. I shouldn't have got my hopes high but I did. And I was left disappointed.
I really like the concept of this book and the writing was pretty good but what really got me was all the different perspectives and how long it took to set up each character. It jumped from character to character and nothing really set them apa ...more

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Jul 30, 2015 Cora Tea Party Princess rated it liked it · review of another edition

5 Words: powers, friends, family, attraction, saving-the-world.

This was an OK read.

It was interesting, but the pace fluctuated too much for me. It didn't keep me hooked, I feel that it peaked too soon.

I didn't really click with any of the characters, I didn't get on with them. And I found that I didn't want to.

And I so badly wanted the author to be brave and kill off certain characters, it would have made this book so much stronger. But it's going to be part of a series, so obviously there can't ...more

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Oct 15, 2015 Christina rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: dnf-didn-t-care-for-skimmed-through

DNF @ 33%

This was my first Scott Westerfeld novel. That being said, I'm not in too much of a hurry to try out his others. The idea for the novel really caught my attention.

Six California teens that have powers that set them apart from everyone else:

Scam- the voice inside him says whatever you want to hear
Crash- brings technology to its knees
Flicker- can see through anyone's eyes but her own
Anonymous- out of sight, out of mind
Bellwether- Focuses the energy of the group on one goal
and the sixth - ...more

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Feb 06, 2015 Figgy rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: format-proof-copy, review-copy, reviewed, arc-or-netgalley, ya

LINK UPDATED

Within these pages you will meet six unique teens.

Nate/Bellwether (aka Glorious Leader) has the ability to bend the will of crowds, to make them follow him.

Chizara/Crash can crash anything electronic, hence the name. But the downside to her power is that even being near electronics hurts her to her very bones, makes her brain itch.

Riley/Flicker is blind, but can see through the eyes of others.

Thibault/Anonymous finds it incredibly easy to disappear, but the flip side o ...more

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Sep 21, 2015 Rebecca rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: read-in-2015, loveozya, genre-fantasy, young-adult, disability

Damn that was an enjoyable ride!

The Zeroes are six not-so-normal teenagers, all born in the year 2000, all with some social-related super power. There are way too many main characters for me to talk about them in minute detail, so instead here are some brief dot points:

- Nate (a.k.a. Bellwether, a.k.a. Glorious Leader) has the ability to bend crowds to his will. He can make them focus in on him, believe him, trust him. Comes in handy considering his aspirations to become a politician.

- Ethan (a ...more

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Nov 29, 2015 Megan rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: meh, reviewed, ya, teen

First things first I love superheroes. I adore them. So when I heard that Scott Westerfield had co-written a nearly 600 page book about kids with super powers I was down. I was so down. Young Avengers and Teen Titans is my jam.

Unfortunately, Zeroes is not my jam. It is not my peanut butter either.

I’ve read a lot of Scott Westerfeld. Back in Junior High I went through a bit of a phase where I just read everything of his, so when I saw his name splashed across the cover I was sure I’d like Zeroes. First things first I love superheroes. I adore them. So when I heard that Scott Westerfield had co-written a nearly 600 page book about kids with super powers I was down. I was so down. Young Avengers and Teen Titans is my jam.

Unfortunately, Zeroes is not my jam. It is not my peanut butter either.

I’ve read a lot of Scott Westerfeld. Back in Junior High I went through a bit of a phase where I just read everything of his, so when I saw his name splashed across the cover I was sure I’d like Zeroes. Maybe I should re-read some past Westerfeld works and see if they really were worth all that noise because Zeroes is just...meh.

Zeroes is okay. For me it was a solid 2.5/5 stars and that’s it. It doesn't feel special, it's your typical action movie/superhero plot except none of the bad guys have powers and the characters never come across as being in actual danger. Throw in some cliche romance (in the book’s defense, the romance was barely there) and I am done.

At times the plot felt like it was moving along too fast. Just 2 days and Anonymous and Scam are BFF’s? Flicker takes one look at Anonymous (tall, dark, handsome), decides he’s the most beautiful boy she’s ever seen and decides she’ll stalk him back to his house? It's little forced (after a while their little romance felt kind of cute but still... annoying)

I don't understand why the Zeroes completely broke up in the first place, either. A group of super-powered teenagers find each other and then split over some cruel words? It feels weak.

On the upside, their powers are original and interesting. It’s hard to find a comic / book that doesn’t recycle the same “special abilities” over and over again. The character cast is diverse (racially, economically,and disability wise). I felt for Anonymous and wanted to know more about him. Scam on the other hand was an absolute idiot. Just completely. Despite that I couldn’t bring myself to hate him, I even feel sorry for him. At least dye your hair dude! Wear some sunglasses! Maybe a hat! You literally have gangsters after you some self-preservation would be nice.

Plot: 2/5
Characters: 2.5/5
Writing: 3/5
Pacing: 2.5/5 ...more

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Jan 23, 2016 Anna rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

"Wisdom tells me I am nothing. Love tells me I am everything."

One of the best books I've read all year. Well written, fast-paced, and a heck of a plot. The writing was sharp and beautiful.

I feel like super-heroes are big right now, so much so that it's hard to differentiate between them and get excited about another superhero story. But this book offered a lot. Great descriptive lines, and highly imaginative.

Highly recommend! ...more

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May 05, 2016 Pinky rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: books-i-want-to-own

It took me awhile to read this but it was amazing! I loved it so much, it was a lot of fun to read. There was so much action and I couldn't stop reading, even though I was interrupted a bunch of times. :( The struggles of being a reader! Anyway, I am so glad I picked this up, I was at the library and saw this and grabbed it!

“Wisdom tells me I'm nothing, love tells me I'm everything.”

This book follows 6 teenagers who have a life that is nothing near ordinary. They all have a power, but ea ...more

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May 18, 2015 TheBookSmugglers rated it liked it · review of another edition

Zeroes is the first in a new YA superhero trilogy written by heavy-hitters Scott Westerfeld, Margo Lanagan and Deborah Biancotti.

In it, six teenagers, all born in the same year of 2000, have superpowers. They are the “zeroes”, brought together by their Glorious Leader Nate (or “Bellwether”), an ambitious young man who has a vision for the group and had been trying to train and develop their abilities. Then, one year before the story starts, Ethan/”Scam” torn them apart with the truths no one dar Zeroes is the first in a new YA superhero trilogy written by heavy-hitters Scott Westerfeld, Margo Lanagan and Deborah Biancotti.

In it, six teenagers, all born in the same year of 2000, have superpowers. They are the “zeroes”, brought together by their Glorious Leader Nate (or “Bellwether”), an ambitious young man who has a vision for the group and had been trying to train and develop their abilities. Then, one year before the story starts, Ethan/”Scam” torn them apart with the truths no one dared to say out loud. Now Scam is in trouble: the “voice” that speaks on his behalf once more speaks truths but this time, to the wrong people. With both criminals and the police after him, he has no one to turn to but the zeroes. And they come to the rescue. Like a well-oiled machine they get him out and to safety but when doing so, start a chain events that could prove fatal.

And then they find another unknown zero out there.

Zeroes is a character piece: the characters’ motivations and inner conflict move the story along and the chapters alternate, with viewpoints from all six characters. I understand that each author is responsible for two out of six (but no one knows who writes who). An aside: it’s difficult to differentiate each of the characters’ voices and I’d be hard press to even start guessing who wrote what. I wonder: does this mean the book is seamlessly edited? Or that it is far too edited to make each individual voice sound pretty much the same?

Digression aside, Zeroes deals with superpowers that are less flashy and cool and more… subtle, double-edged, inconvenient and often downright awful. Take for example Anonymous: who can disappear so easily that everybody has problems remembering him – even his own family. Mob, who can control the feeling and moods of a crowd but also be overwhelmed by them and when negative feelings are enhanced, things can definitely turn to worse. Crash, who can literally crash all electronics but who finds it hard to control her power and could potentially destroy entire communication nets – not to mention the ill-feeling she has whenever near that “noise”. Or Flicker who is blind but can see through everybody’s eyes (apart from Anonymous’ for some reason): if you think this is a disgusting invasion of privacy: YOU ARE CORRECT.

Most powers here – especially Flicker’s, Mob’s, Scam and Bellwether’s are about controlling/affecting other people – their feelings, their mood, their eyes and their reactions. The moral and ethics of this is a recurring element for some of them but mostly, these teenagers – especially Nate – are incredibly self-centred and lacking empathy.

Zeroes, AKA Assholes.

I kid, of course. The point of the novel – and I am guessing of the entire trilogy – is that journey of moving away from being stupid idiots to worthy members of society. I love superhero stories exactly because of that: because powers are often double-edged swords that can cut both ways but we don’t see that conundrum enough. In this first book, it is Crash – whose power increases and changes and morphs more than anybody else’s that really undergoes that journey. I love that sense of moral and ethics is fuelled by her mother. It’s not for nothing that the subheading of the novel is “Every power has a price”.

Now, doesn’t this sound awesome? Add to that the fact that the cast of characters is racially diverse (Nate is a super wealthy latino, we really don’t see that a lot in books) and that there is one cute romance that develops between two unexpected characters and you have the potential for GREATNESS.

But for all of this, Zeroes is so just so very bland. There are sparks here and there: Anonymous’ narrative and very presence in the novel adds a level of unreliability because people have such a hard time remembering him and his story is by far the most emotionally engaging. The flashy side of Crash’s power increases the cool factor. But mostly, the narrative feels repetitive and overlong, going round in circles of sameness especially regarding the characters’ inner conflicts.

At the end of the day, Zeroes was an ok read – with really great, fun parts but underwhelming on the whole. Given the premise and the authors involved, I am afraid I was expecting a lot more. ...more

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Oct 14, 2016 Jeann (Happy Indulgence) rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: review-copy, young-adult, to-review

This review appears on Happy Indulgence! Check it out for more reviews.

Superheroes are my jam and Zeroes is a high octane, action-packed story about a team of teenage misfits who also happen to have powers.

Superpowers never get old for me, and I loved hearing about the different powers that each of the six teens had. Kelsie has the power of crowd control, which comes in handy in dangerous public situations. Scam has an all knowing, all seeing voice that gets him in – and out of situations in a j This review appears on Happy Indulgence! Check it out for more reviews.

Superheroes are my jam and Zeroes is a high octane, action-packed story about a team of teenage misfits who also happen to have powers.

Superpowers never get old for me, and I loved hearing about the different powers that each of the six teens had. Kelsie has the power of crowd control, which comes in handy in dangerous public situations. Scam has an all knowing, all seeing voice that gets him in – and out of situations in a jiffy without much control over what he says. Anonymous seems to fade from existence as people easily forget about him. There’s also Nate, or the Glorious Leader who can control people’s reactions to him and Flicker, the blind girl who can see from people’s eyes. Each of their powers were interesting and fun to read about, as they used them as the story unfolded.

With so many point of views, the one who I was most fascinated with was Ethan aka Scam. It was interesting how his power was compared to schizophrenia, as he doesn’t have control over the ‘voice’ that somehow knows things about people that only they know. It was fascinating seeing the shift in his demeanour – from the geeky, unconfident teenager to the confident, charismatic person while his voice was in use. It would actually be pretty freaky – and amazing – seeing that change in someone, especially when he starts manipulating siutations from his very emotions.

There isn’t much background for each of the characters, and we aren’t given how they got the powers to begin with. Is this a natural phenomenon, are they the only ones with powers, or is it some sort of hidden code between them? When it comes to the validity of the world being built, answering these questions is important, and I hope it’s addressed in the sequel, Swarm. There also isn’t much of a plot line, with most of the story focused on unfolding current events and saving Kelsie’s dad. Who are the Zeroes, what are Nate’s plans for them and what do they usually do with themselves? I have so many questions, and not enough answers.

As an action-packed superhero read, Zeroes definitely fits the bill when it comes to superpowers and fun. Each of the characters are fun and unique, especially when discovering what they have to offer the group. The book doesn’t give a lot of depth or background when it comes to the characters or where the powers came from however, so it’s best enjoyed without thinking too much about it.

I received a review copy in exchange for an honest review. ...more

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Jul 01, 2015 Emma Sea rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: dnf

Bailed at page 127, when I realized I was saddened by the thought of having to pick this up again.

I've been a giant Westerfeld fan, and, although I don't think I even made it to the second act, the setup was masterfully written. Smooth as fuck, man. I just couldn't connect with the characters. I don't know, did I grow out of YA? I'm an old, so . . . I guess so?

Sad panda. ...more

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Jan 10, 2016 Katie Grace rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: action-adventure, 2-star, skimmed-skipped

Two stars for being interested enough to finish this book... but I didn't really get the whole point of the book and the characters fell flat to me. *shrug* I like the Leviathan trilogy SO much better by this author. ...more

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Aug 27, 2015 Rashika (is tired) rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: arc, meh-romance, read-2015, bea-2015, disappointing, would-have-blown-my-mind-but, urban-fantasy, meh-characters, ya

***This review has also been posted on The Social Potato

I wanted to love this book. I really really did, but unfortunately, Zeroes didn’t blow my mind the way I had wanted it to. It’s not that I didn’t enjoy reading the book, it's just that I wanted so much from it. Scott Westerfeld is one of my favorite authors and superpowers are always incredibly fun to read about so I went in expecting to love this book. When it turned out this book wasn’t everything I had wanted it to be, I was sad and ...more

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May 24, 2015 Tehani rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: australian, ya, fantasy, awwc2015, superheroes

A fascinating ensemble cast of characters combined with a bunch of not-quite-controlled superpowers makes for a rollercoaster ride of a book. I love that this is book one of a trilogy but completely self-contained, and I can't wait for what comes next. Also, could we please have a TV series? ...more

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Dec 28, 2015 Kara Babcock rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: young-adult, science-fiction, 2015-read, from-library

I’m not sure how much of a compliment this is, what with the low opinion I have of most CW shows (Supernatural notwithstanding), but Zeroes is one of the first superhero novels I’ve read that could be a CW show. It reminds me a lot of the well-intentioned but ill-fated attempts like Alphas (which I know wasn’t the CW, but that’s neither here nor there), in that it follows the standard formula: a group of people have powers, or abilities, and come together clandestinely to tackle your everyday gr ...more

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Sep 17, 2019 Hilda rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook, young-adult, fantasy, library-or-borrow, science-fiction

Every power has a price.

It was a cute origins story. How the Zeroes, a joke on Heroes because they can’t control their powers, came to be. It took me a very long time to actually care for any of them and by the time I did the book was over. There was a lot of action and I might return for book two. Just because I’m wondering so much about their powers. For example are the powers hereditary or was it just them, all born in the year 2000? Are there more? I looked and see that in book 2 they fight ...more

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Jul 11, 2015 Amy rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: series, young-adult, fantasy, 4-stars, 2015-read, on-my-shelf

You can read this review and more @Book Enthral

First Thoughts 28/10

Such a great first instalment to the series! I loved all the POVs, everyone had such a unique presences and brought something new to the book. I loved how their superpowers seemed so mundane and yet can achieve so much! I will most certainly be keeping up with this series!
Review to come :)

Review 29/10

This was my first Scott Westerfeld book and I gotta say, he definitely lives up to the hype. Or maybe, him, Lanagan and Biancotti ...more

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Mar 04, 2018 ✨Skye✨ rated it liked it

Shelves: 3-star-was-okay

Hm. Not too sure what to say about this one. There are some things I liked, some things I didn’t, but overall I feel quite indifferent about this one. Not a bad book by any means but maybe not for me.
Zeroes follows a group of people with superpowers, who all experience a big downside to the powers they have. We follow Ethan at first, whose power is a Voice that he can manipulate to say things to suit his needs, which can say any personal information that he himself does not know. This Voice brok ...more

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Jun 25, 2015 Anthea rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I received an ARC from the publisher for an honest review.
This book is due to be published on 23rd September 2015!

I absolutely loved this book, I loved all the different powers the group had, I loved the problems they got themselves into and I loved the fact that they were just kids who had no idea how to be heroes or how to control their powers.

This was such a brilliantly written novel, fast-paced and action packed. Of course, superhero stories have been done, kids with superpowers have been ...more

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Jun 21, 2015 Alli rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Actual Rating: 3.5

This book is the first in a series by Scott Westerfeld, Margo Lanagan, and Deborah Biancotti. The novel follows six teenagers with superpowers. Except, well, there're not exactly super. These teenagers possess superpowers that basically suck. After a summer of separation due to a cause, the Zeroes are pulled back together to rescue one of their members, Ethan. Kelsey's dad went to prison because of Ethan. Now, all she seeks is a way to get her father out of trouble and sh

Actual Rating: 3.5

The Characters: So, the character's, at the beginning, weren't very developed. However, as the story progressed, Kelsey and Ethan became more living, while Nate, Thibault (tee-bo), Chizara, and Riley stayed flat. Don't get me wrong, they were emotionally developed, just not physically. I had a difficult time picturing the characters other than Kelsey, Ethan, and Thibault. Also, I had a difficult time understanding their powers until about the last 100 pages. I don't know if this was done on purpose, but the superpowers stayed mostly a mystery until the final action sequence explained them. I did experience some character growth from Chizara and was happy to see that all the Zeroes had different personalities that became more prominent when they were with their team.

The Physical Book: The color scheme of the physical book was a little surprising. Now, I've seen different versions of the cover. The one that I am currently writing this portion of my review about is the cover with the bluish-gray, light gray, and neon orange color scheme. I believe that the neon orange text was not a wise decision. It does make the book stand out, but the gray and blue scheme. However, I do like the summary. Most summaries for the book don't give away a lot, but say to little. Although this summary only covers about a quarter of what the book is actually about, I think it leads the reader to wait for the small details that happen later.

The Writing: I've never read any other book by Scott Westerfeld, but now I might. The writing was engaging. Scott Westerfeld was able to tell the reader, just by posture, weather Ethan was using his voice or not, or when Kelsey was controlling the crowd. I do feel like this book could use more world building, but I'll wait for the next novel in the series to make a judgement.

The Plot: I'm going to be honest, I think the plot was eh. It definitely picked up for the last half, but getting the Zeroes back together felt like a long time. There were many scenes where the characters ran into some stupid trouble that they could have avoided, but, of course, they didn't think the whole plan through. I don't feel like there was a whole ton of action through the novel, but when there was, it was something to take note of. Most thinks in this novel led to each other. Something that disappeared in one chapter, you might want to take note of it. Nothing was left out, or left for the reading to wonder where it went.

Overall: Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone who doesn't mind a more laid back type of novel. If you don't mind being patient to wait for the book to develop a little more, then this is the book for you.

Hey. Hey. Yeah, I'm talking to you! Thank you so much for reading my review if you made it this far! I hope this helped you get a good idea of what Zeroes is made of!

I would love to hear any recommendations you have for books I could read!

Until next time,

Happy Reading!

~Alli

...more

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Jun 23, 2015 Nicola rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: arc

I was really looking forward to reading Zeroes; the concept is cool and I really wanted to love it, but it just fell a bit flat.

We don't really get to know any of the characters in great detail because there are six of them and they each have their own point of view. This made it difficult to really care about them and become invested in their story.

The powers that the kids have are one of the more interesting elements of the book. I like that they aren't your typical superpowers and it focused ...more

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Jan 16, 2016 Emily rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: audio-books, young-adult, 2016, superheroes

4.5 stars
I didn't realize until I got to the end of this on audio (spacing out while they did the credits) that the reader was Amber Benson. Amber Benson! She did so many different voices, I never recognized hers. She did a nice job.
I seem to be hitting a lot of sideways takes on super power stories lately. I don't know if more people are writing them, or if that's just what I keep running into. This was a good one. The story's original, and the powers are different from anything I've seen. A c ...more

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Apr 10, 2015 Charlie rated it it was amazing

Shelves: young-adult, library-and-overdrive

Zeroes exceeded all of my expectations, this is what YA should be. I loved the diverse cast of characters, I didn't think I could get behind a story told from so many perspectives but each voice was so unique, it really worked.

A 5 star book to end the year on. ...more

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Mar 15, 2017 ❤Marie Gentilcore rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: giveaway-entry

I liked this book but it didn't quite measure up to Scott Westerfeld's "Uglies" series. Those books were amazing and this one was good but it was missing something that I wish I were able to explain. I think part of the problem is that there were a lot of characters and it took me a while to bond with all of the Zeroes. There are six of them and they each have an ability or super power. My favorite Zero was Anonymous. His ability was that he was forgettable; he would meet people but once he was ...more

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Jul 13, 2016 Niki Hawkes - The Obsessive Bookseller rated it liked it · review of another edition

I’ve been eyeballing this book for a while. I’m a fan of Scott Westerfeld’s Uglies series and thought the premise (teens with special abilities – a concept that never seems to get old) sounded right up my alley. And I liked it!

Before diving in, I wondered if the name Zeroes was a coincidence, or if they were trying to pay a cheeky nod to the show Heroes. I’m not sure which is the case, but there were many similarities between the two. The introduction of several gifted characters that slowly rev I’ve been eyeballing this book for a while. I’m a fan of Scott Westerfeld’s Uglies series and thought the premise (teens with special abilities – a concept that never seems to get old) sounded right up my alley. And I liked it!

Before diving in, I wondered if the name Zeroes was a coincidence, or if they were trying to pay a cheeky nod to the show Heroes. I’m not sure which is the case, but there were many similarities between the two. The introduction of several gifted characters that slowly revealed their ties to one another was the biggest common thread, although the show did this more expansively.

The beginning was great – I found myself hooked immediately. Where Heroes was broader in its conflicts, I found Zeroes more narrowly focused. Almost to the point where I wasn’t sure I cared, to be honest. All the troubles in the book were created by the characters’ actions (which felt inconsequential in the whole scheme of things). I actually thought most of the drama would come from other gifted teens on the “wrong” side of morality, which was very much not the case. In a way, it’s good that it wasn’t totally predictable, but at the same time, fixing screw ups isn’t quite as compelling as good vs. evil.

Even so, what kept me reading were the characters and how cool their powers were. I’m always drawn to the most mysterious character, so Anonymous – the Zero who people can’t remember, was my favorite. But they were all compelling in their own way. That said, I didn’t actually like all the characters. The first one introduced had an interesting power, but the more I learned about him, the more of an ass he turned out to be. There’s not really one main character in the book, but readers have a tendency to latch onto the first one introduced as an indication that their plot-line is going to be the most important. I don’t hold the entire book responsible for the dislike of one character, and actually liked the bit of antihero variety it added to the story, but at the same time if I could just punch him in the face I’d feel a lot better…

Overall, Zeroes was a decent 3 star (I liked it) book, but not the best I’ve read in the genre. That said, I’m definitely still picking up the second book and look forward to what the future holds for these interesting characters. There are so many directions the authors could take next, and I’m excited to jump on for the ride.

Via The Obsessive Bookseller at www.NikiHawkes.com

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topics	posts	views	last activity
What's the Name o...: SOLVED. YA Series where kids discover they have powers but things go poorly for them	4	28	Mar 25, 2020 08:26PM
YA Buddy Readers'...: Zeroes (Zeroes #1) by Scott Westerfeld, Margo Lanagan, and Deborah Biancotti - Restarting August 6th 2019	104	216	Aug 21, 2019 04:09AM
Goodreads Librari...: ARC Cover	3	17	Oct 07, 2018 02:52PM
YA Buddy Readers'...: Zeroes #1: Zeroes by Scott Westerfeld - Starting 22nd October	8	6	Oct 23, 2017 02:03AM

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About Scott Westerfeld

Scott Westerfeld

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Scott Westerfeld is a New York Times bestselling author of YA. He was born in the Texas and now lives in Sydney and New York City. In 2001, Westerfeld married fellow author Justine Larbalestier.

He is best known for the Uglies and Leviathan series. His next book, IMPOSTORS, returns to the world of Uglies. It comes out September 11, 2018.

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“Wisdom tells me i'm nothing, love tells me I'm everything.” — 11 likes

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