Gabrielle Zevin revisits 2083 New York and the world of 17-year-old Anya Balanchine in her strong sequel to All These Things I've Done. In Anya's world, chocolate is an illegal substance, and she has the misfortune to be a Russian mafia chocolate princess struggling to find her place in the world.
Anya's challenges continue: to balance guardianship of her siblings, school, her impossible love for the district attorney's son, Win, and a criminal record. Then there's her extended criminal family who may want her dead. Anya is fed up with the challenges posed by her heritage, exclaiming, "I can't honestly understand why anyone bothers with the stuff. If I woke up tomorrow and the world had no chocolate in it, I would be a happier person." Death threats drive Anya to take refuge in Mexico on a cacao plantation, where she learns the truth about this mysterious substance, and here she decides what its influence on her future will be.
Zevin's literary touches will resonate with fans of classic authors. She litters the text with asides to the "Reader" à la Charlotte Bronte, which creates the intimacy of a confessional diary, and each chapter head doubles as a Dickensian epigraph, e.g., "I Have Doubts." Zevin's writing will have broad appeal, and although some graphic violence may be too intense for younger teens (car bombings, shootings and a hand cut off with a machete), many will be fighting to be the first to read this one. --Jessica Bushore, former public librarian and freelance writer