The Red Labyrinth

"Strong world building, realistically flawed characters, vivid imagery, great action sequences, and a twist of a climax that will leave readers wanting more." --School Library Connection "Darker shades of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and Alice's Adventures in Wonderland." -Kirkus Reviews "Tate is a solid storyteller." --Booklist "Zadie is a Blank, a person without special abilities, living in the dystopian desert town of Trinnea, which is filled with people who have powers. When the town is taken over by the Sirs and the Skilled people are enchanted, Zadie will have to brave the deadly magical labyrinth to find help. Within the labyrinth, there are magical creatures, tests of bravery, and the nightmare of the labyrinth Dex. Zadie may not have powers, but she has one strength no one expect from her: she is a survivor. This dystopian novel, the first in a new series, has much that will appeal to readersstrong world building, realistically flawed characters, vivid imagery, great action sequences, and a twist of a climax that will leave readers wanting more. The first third is focused on the world and character building. Tate provides Zadie with a level of depth that is typically lacking in main characters. Her backstory showcases her PTSD and her love of her best friend. Once in the labyrinth, the horror and action of the challenges within it are creative, physical, and emotional. The climax twists everything the reader just read with a new perspective and knowledge. This is a book for those readers who are looking for more from the dystopian genre." - Kristin Fletcher-Spear, School Library Connection "An outcast must save the boy she loves from a dangerous labyrinth.In a future world ravaged by drought and plague, the desert city of Trinnea is protected from the wastelands (and its inhabitants) by a wall and a treacherous labyrinth. Its most valued citizens have skills such as telekinesis, levitation, and invisibility. Seventeen-year-old Zadie Kalvers' dark hair and tan skin set her apart from her blonde, pale half sister, Chantry, as does her status as a Blank. Unlike Chantry, Zadie grew up in indentured servitude, and her lack of skills and the brands on her palms label her as an outcast. When Zadie's best friend (and love interest), the uber-skilled, blond-haired "Limitless" Landon Everhart, disappears after a tussle with labyrinth dweller Dex, aka the Devil of Trinnea, the town is taken over by vicious outsiders and falls under a strange spelland it's as if Landon never existed. To save him, Zadie asks Dex to guide her through the maze to ask Trinnea's immortal Great Leader for help. Even before Zadie's pitfall-studded journey, readers will likely predict that the olive-skinned Dex isn't quite a devil and that Zadie's world will inevitably be turned upside down. Darker shades of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and Alice's Adventures in Wonderland creep in, but few clues are offered about the world beyond Trinnea until the heavily revelatory finale. Overall, this type of thing has been done better. A cliffhanger ending leaves room for a sequel. Predictable. (Dystopian. 14-adult)" - Kirkus Reviews "Postapocalyptic Trinnea is a city of "blanks" (no talents) and "skilled" (one or more abilities), controlled by the Leader. Zadie, a blank, has led a tough life but has a protector in popular Limitless Landon, known for his multiple skills, from invisibility to telekinesis. Suddenly Landon is gone and Trinnea is under a spell, so Zadie enters the deadly labyrinth at the towns edge, the only way to reach the Leaders home, and she and the labyrinths infamous killer, Dex, form an unlikely partnership to try to save the people they love. This is an action story curiously reminiscent of Lewis Carrolls Alice in Wonderland, not for the tone, but for the way Zadie and Dex travel through the maze and the types of dangers they encounter there. Tate is a solid storyteller and puts her characters in danger but not seriously enough for readers to really fear for them. A subplot about appearance versus reality also rolls out as a potential love story, and the ending leaves the door open for further perils." Cindy Welch, Booklist "Tate's labyrinth is a clever, enchanted obstacle course full of surprises that will keep readers on their toes until the very last page." --Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
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Meredith Tate grew up in Concord, New Hampshire, where she fell in love with the many worlds of science fiction and fantasy. Pursuing her love of travel, Meredith spent a semester in London and then backpacked in Europe for a month before earning her master's degree in social work from the University of New Hampshire. After graduation, Meredith worked in the field in Boston for a few years before deciding to pursue her dream of telling stories. Meredith and her husband spent three wonderful years in St. Louis, Missouri. They recently moved to Zurich, Switzerland as expats. Meredith spends her days eating cheese and chocolate by the lake, and writing about characters way braver than she is.
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