Zeroes - Scott Westerfeld, Margo Lanagan and Deborah Biancotti

Published by Allen & Unwin: Crows Nest NSW, Australia, 2015.

This Young-Adult book follows a group of teenagers with unusual super-powers. Ethan/Scam has a voice that can be used to reveal secrets and manipulative people but that he cannot filter or control when he is using it, Riley/Flicker is blind but can see through the eyes of nearby people, Chizara/Crash can 'feel' electronic signals in the air around her (that cause her discomfort) and can also 'crash' them, Thibault/Anonymous has the (uncontrollable) power of being forgotten and diverting attention from himself, and Nate/Bellwether (the self-appointed leader of the group) can influence people's behaviour by talking to them. The group also meet a sixth individual, Kelsie/Mob, who can influence the emotions of groups of people.

As may already be apparent, most of these powers have a downside to them. Thibault, particularly, finds friendships difficult to maintain, while Ethan's power gets him into trouble more often than it gets him out of it. At the beginning of the book, for example, Ethan's power keeps manipulating a situation until he finds himself fleeing from a drug dealer with a bag full of cash! In attempting to deposit the money in the bank, Ethan then attempts to avoid having his money taken, and escalates the situation until the robbers are shooting one another.

It is an interesting story with interesting characters, that is made slightly more interesting due to the fact that it has three different authors. I have read books that are co-written before, and I have read story collections with multiple authors each writing an individual story that might have a connecting framework (I think particularly of Mrs Lirriper), but three authors for one story is a new experience for me. As each chapter is from a different point of view, I do wonder whether the six main characters may have been split between the three different authors, but this is a bit of conjecture on my part.

Anyway, aside from a few possible plot-holes (or possibly, elements that will be further explained in a sequel), this was a book that I quite enjoyed.

On to my classroom library shelf it goes.

Completed 15 November 2025.

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