Tesla (Tesla Evolution Book 1)

This book has adventure, war, and intrigue. It reminded me of Westerfeld's "Leviathan", but "Tesla" has electromagnetism and Nicolai Teslsa and cyborgs on opposite sides of a battle over one boy. Great characters and great story. I couldn't put it down and am looking forward to the next book.

Disclosure: I got this book for free through NetGalley from the publisher. I'm not required to post any positive reviews--just honest ones.
The author's note in the description of this book lost me--I don't play Assassin's Creed. Luckily, you don't have to be a fan of the game series to enjoy this book. Unlike other reviewers, I don't think the scientific explanations were too over the top. We underestimate middle grade readers if we assume those explanations would take away from their experience of the story. Even as an adult, the writing kept me engaged from start to finish. Ever time I put it down I wanted to pick it up again instead of doing grown up things like work. The irony of reading this book on a cellphone wasn't lost on me, either; I found it funny. Sebastian was very well rounded and even his companion Melanie had depth in her own way--she reminded me a lot of Toph from The Last Airbender series. Lingane did a fantastic job with the story line of this book, pacing it so we didn't feel everything was resolved too early while keeping enough action throughout the book to keep it from getting stale and boring. This would be a wonderful addition to any classroom or library, and I'd definitely get a kindle copy for myself. As for a physical copy, I'm not sure if it's something my daughter would want to read just yet. When she gets to that age it'd probably be something I suggest to her on our weekly library trips.