Ruse

Cindy Pon

Mar 2019 · Sold by Simon and Schuster

About this ebook

In near-future Shanghai, a group of teens have their world turned upside down when one of their own is kidnapped in this action-packed follow-up to the “positively chilling” (The New York Times) sci-fi thriller Want.

Jason Zhou, his friends, and Daiyu are still recovering from the aftermath of bombing Jin Corp headquarters. But Jin, ruthless billionaire and Daiyu’s father, is out for blood. When Lingyi goes to Shanghai to help Jany Tsai, a childhood acquaintance in trouble, she doesn’t expect Jin to be involved. And when Jin has Jany murdered and steals the tech she had refused to sell him, Lingyi is the only one who has access to the encrypted info, putting her own life in jeopardy.

Zhou doesn’t hesitate to fly to China to help Iris find Lingyi, even though he’s been estranged from his friends for months. But when Iris tells him he can’t tell Daiyu or trust her, he balks. The reunited group play a treacherous cat and mouse game in the labyrinthine streets of Shanghai, determined on taking back what Jin had stolen.

When Daiyu appears in Shanghai, Zhou is uncertain if it’s to confront him or in support of her father. Jin has proudly announced Daiyu will be by his side for the opening ceremony of Jin Tower, his first “vertical city.” And as hard as Zhou and his friends fight, Jin always gains the upper hand. Is this a game they can survive, much less win?

Ratings and reviews

Ruse picks up a few months later after the events of Want - and extends the commentary that was raised in the first book, about privilege and capitalism. Zhou is living with Daiyu among the meis, and is sort of estranged from his friends. They all have been deeply affected by their friend's death, and have become wary of fighting power. A friend of Lingyi's asks her help in protecting her invention, leading first her and the rest of them to Shanghai, where they must, once again, fight Jin industries who have stolen the invention, which is a low-cost filter that would ease the air pollution. The tension between Zhou and his friends stems from his association with Daiyu. While they appreciated her help in the previous book, they don't entirely trust that she has broken off from her father. And while she has been working to raise money for environmental causes, Daiyu is still very much entangled with Jin industries, and her father tries to use her image to save his company. The plot is high-stakes, much like the previous book, but there is also a heightened sense of danger and grief that drives their actions in this book. As a sequel and a finale in the duology, it wraps up the story arc quite well.

About the author

Cindy Pon is the author of Silver Phoenix, which was named one of the Top Ten Fantasy and Science Fiction Books for Youth by Booklist, and one of 2009’s Best Fantasy, Science Fiction, and Horror by VOYA. Serpentine and Sacrifice were both Junior Library Guild selections and received starred reviews from School Library Journal and Kirkus Reviews, respectively. She also wrote Want, which is a Freeman Book Award Honorable Mention and Ruse. She is the cofounder of Diversity in YA with Malinda Lo and on the advisory board of We Need Diverse Books. Cindy is also a Chinese brush painting student of over a decade. Learn more about her books and art at CindyPon.com.