Entangled

Book review by Andrea Beach, Common Sense Media
Entangled Poster Image

Common Sense says

age 13+

Entertaining space-travel adventure fine for young teens.

Amy Rose Capetta Science Fiction 2013
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Parents say

age 12+

Based on 1 review

Kids say

age 9+

Based on 3 reviews

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A Lot or a Little?

The parents' guide to what's in this book.

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What Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Entangled is a space-travel adventure that may get kids curious about quantum theory. Heroine Cade starts out as a nightclub performer and sees drinking and sexual behavior in a negative light. Action sequences involve brief descriptions of hand-to-hand fighting and no blood. Very rare use of strong language ("hell," "bastard," "piss"). There are two kisses, but neither is described in detail. Other aspects of sexuality are briefly mentioned or discussed, but saving the day takes top priority here.

Community Reviews

eden1
eden1 Adult
October 7, 2014
age 12+

Highly Recommended!

This is exactly what I've been wanting from YA Science Fiction. With a deliciously unique flavor and a fantastically written narrative, ENTANGLED is setting the bar high for teen sci-fi. What I loved: Cade. She is such a fascinating protagonist. From her troubled upbringing to living off her music, her rocker style to her no-nonsense attitude, Cade is one hell of a girl. She also has flaws, makes mistakes, and can't make up her mind. Despite Cade being a super-special human with super-special abilities she isn't annoying, whiny, or entitled. Her quirky voice, interesting slang, and authentic outlook on life kept me turning the pages. I also loved: The romance. Or should I say, lack thereof? Don't get me wrong, there is romance in this story. It is tertiary to the two more important plot points - Cade finding and rescuing Xan, and Cade's own journey of self-discovery. The romance is extra. It's delightful, and a little weird, and completely tantalizing, but it's not that big of a deal. And I really respect that in a YA novel. And even more love for: The sci-fi elements! Quantum mechanics can often seem wonky or cliched in fiction, but it was not that way here. Big, fancy, sciency words weren't just thrown around to sound cool - the author knows what she's doing. Spaceships and aliens, quantum entanglement and telepathy, holograms and spacesickness. The science in this fiction is delightful. I wanted more: Everything! Which I shall receive in the upcoming sequel. Recommended: Highly! To all fans of science fiction and fantasy, aliens and spaceships, music and friendship.

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Great role models
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What's the Story?

At 16 or 17 years old, Cade lives alone on an alien planet sometime in the 3120s. Earth was destroyed long ago, and the human race is scattered around the universe. Cade receives a holographic message explaining that instead of being an orphan as she always thought, she was created in a lab as part of an experiment to save the human race. There, she was entangled at the quantum level with another baby, a boy named Xan. Xan has been in a coma for 15 years, but now that he's awake Cade immediately senses their bond. To save Xan from the Unmakers, who want to destroy all the survivors of the quantum experiment, Cade has to enlist the help of a motley spaceship crew who become her loyal allies. The future of humanity depends on what will happen when, and if, Cade and Xan can be reunited.

Is It Any Good?

With ENTANGLED, author Amy Rose Capetta creates realistic characters in a believable, far-future world without bogging the story down in the quantum-theory backdrop. Capetta's able narrative skills keep the world feeling alien but not alienating. Readers new to the genre will have no difficulty understanding the wheres and whys of the universe heroine Cade inhabits, and sci-fi fans will feel at home with many classic elements. The solid debut is paced well with a few action or peril sequences punctuating the space-travel adventure.

Readers are kept firmly in their seats by a mission that's not about saving an endangered human race as much as it's about hoping to unite humanity someday in the future. Heroine Cade's slow journey away from self-absorption make her hard to really root for, but the well-developed secondary characters are entertaining. The ending satisfies while leaving room for the planned sequel, Unmade.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about science fiction. Why is it so popular now? What can sci-fi stories tell us about who we are and where we're headed?

  • Do you think the future envisioned in Entangled is realistic? Will humans end up scattered throughout the universe with no Earth to return to?

  • Why do you think the author included definitons at the beginning of each chapter? Did they help you understand the story, or were they confusing?

Book Details

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