Stone Rider - Softcover

David Hofmeyr

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0141354437 ISBN 13: 9780141354439

Publisher: Penguin Books, 2015

Synopsis

The Hunger Games meets The Road in a stunning debut novel from a powerful new voice in YA fiction.
*Shortlisted for the Branford Boase award 2016*


Adam Stone wants freedom and peace.
He wants a chance to escape Blackwater, the dust-bowl desert town he grew up in. Most of all, he wants the beautiful Sadie Blood.

Alongside Sadie and the dangerous outsider, Kane, Adam will ride the Blackwater Trail in a brutal race that will test them all, body and soul. Only the strongest will survive.

The prize? A one-way ticket to Sky-Base and unimaginable luxury.


And for a chance at this new life, Adam will risk everything . . .


' Pacy and gripping, with echoes of Mad Max and a dash of Brave New World .' Sally Green, author of Half Bad

About this title

About the Author

DAVID HOFMEYR was born in South Africa and lives in London and Paris. In 2012 he was a finalist in the SCBWI Undiscovered Voices competition and in 2013 he graduated with distinction from Bath Spa University with an MA in Writing for Young People. He works as a Planner for Ogilvy & Mather in the UK. Stone Rider is David Hofmeyr’s first novel. He also wrote the companion novel, Blood Rider.

Visit him online at davidhofmeyr.com. Follow David on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Tumblr.

From School Library Journal

Gr 9 Up—Fifteen-year-old Adam Stone inherited his biomechanical bike from his brother, who inherited it from his father. His family has escaped working in the mines by riding the race circuit, providing entertainment for the Watchers. The Blackwater Trail will be his first race, and unlike most of the other racers who ride with fellow gang members, Adam plans to do it alone. It is a vicious race over treacherous terrain, riddled with deadly booby traps and fellow competitors who'll stop at nothing to be among the first three across the finish line. The grand prize is a one-way ticket to Sky Base, the only refuge from the toxic planet they call home. Second and third place win cash and points toward buying their way into the sky. Shortly into the race, Adam is joined by three unlikely allies, whose presence helps and hinders his progress. From the privileged Watchers, who place bets on race participants to the catchphrase spoken to start the race, "May you live to see the sky," there are numerous undeniable parallels to Suzanne Collins's "The Hunger Games" (Scholastic). But there is also the feel of the old Westerns, but with bikes instead of horses, slingshots instead of guns, vigilante justice, and, of course, a beautiful girl. The gritty, nonstop action and violence will appeal especially to reluctant readers. VERDICT A dystopian title that is worth adding to already packed shelves.—Cary Frostick, formerly at Mary Riley Styles Public Library, Falls Church, VA

Edition details

• Publisher: Penguin Books
• Publication date: 2015
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0141354437
• ISBN 13: 9780141354439
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 336