Prendergast est une auteure pour jeunes pas comme les autres,
qui a signé une paire de romans en vers, un roman qui flirte avec la
science-fiction et des livres qui explorent la réalité multiculturelle de
l’Amérique du Nord. Cette fois, elle amorce une série qui s’inscrit
franchement dans la veine du post-apo. L’histoire commence
avec l’invasion de la Terre par de mystérieuses créatures qui sont
baptisées les Nahx par les Terriens. Ce sont de redoutables fantassins en armure, qui tirent des fléchettes enlevant la vie aux
humains qu’elles atteignent, et qui écrasent en quelques semaines
toutes les tentatives de résistance des forces militaires terriennes.
Leurs objectifs restent vagues, mais ils n’occupent en définitive que
les territoires à plus d’un kilomètre en altitude.

Raven est une adolescente qui échappe d’abord au pire parce
qu’elle se trouve dans un camp de vacances isolé en pleine forêt,
dans les contreforts des montagnes Rocheuses, en compagnie de
quelques autres moniteurs qui avaient prévu d’enseigner les rudiments de la survie à des jeunes. L’exercice n’est plus uniquement
théorique et le petit groupe choisit d’abord de se terrer sur place en
surveillant l’évolution de la situation. Lorsque son ami de cœur est
tué par des Nahx en patrouille, Raven
et ses compagnons décident de quitter le
camp à court de vivres. S’ils arrivent à se
réfugier dans une base secrète avec d’autres
survivants, ce ne sera pas sans mal. Et la
ville d’origine de Raven, Calgary, est dans
la zone abandonnée aux Nahx par les gouvernements terriens.

Huitième est un Nahx qui va croiser
Raven dans des circonstances dramatiques et se rendre compte qu’il a un problème
d’obéissance. Attiré par Raven, Huitième va finir par lui sauver la vie et
ils vont s’apprivoiser mutuellement. Leur étrange relation est compliquée
par des révélations qui poussent Raven dans ses ultimes retranchements.
En dernier recours, elle risque néanmoins sa vie pour sauver à son tour
celle du Nahx.

Le récit alterne les points de vue de Raven et Nahx d’une manière
plutôt réussie. Les deux personnages sont des oiseaux rares : Raven est la
fille d’un père blanc, qui a disparu du portrait, et d’une mère noire qui
s’est remariée avec un Métis albertain qui parle le michif. L’évolution de
Raven, rebelle et délinquante au début, que la catastrophe met en face de
ses responsabilités, est un peu moins prenante que celle de Huitième, qui
doit se défaire de son conditionnement pour acquérir une personnalité
propre. Comme les deux protagonistes sont adolescents, leurs
décisions ne sont pas toujours entièrement raisonnables et l’affection,
voire l’amour, embrouille encore plus les choses.

Toutefois, il manque au roman une tension dominante, car Raven et
les siens ne se fixent que des objectifs à court terme, si bien que l’action a
besoin d’être relancée à intervalles réguliers. La conclusion laisse le lecteur
sur un suspense indéniable tout en lui réservant des révélations choc
dont la clé ne sera fournie que par un volume ultérieur. Dans le
contexte d’une invasion qui a peut-être fait des millions de victimes,
il ne faut pas se surprendre que la violence des rebondissements soit
sans concession, mais l’intensité de la narration déconcerte un peu
dans un roman pour jeunes et dessert l’intrigue sentimentale qui se
met en place dans la seconde moitié du roman.

In: Brins d'Éternité (Fall 2017), pp. 92-93.

I unfortunately didn't connect with the voices of either main characters. Just not for me I guess, so I'll rate a neutral 3 stars.

I tried several times to get into this book but it's just not for me. It's not that the writing or story is bad, it just felt a little familiar and slow to me and I couldn't connect to the characters.

Zero Repeat Forever by Gabrielle S. Prendergast was really good! A Canadian Scifi book that takes place in the Calgary area, I’ve never read anything like it and I’m glad I picked it up.

TRIGGER WARNING: Heavy talk of death/suicide.

I really enjoyed the depth of the characters and even though it was sometimes very heavy, it was hopeful at the same time. And that ending left me wanting for more.

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an ebook copy.

I get that it's YA and there are certain expectations, but I can't stand romance subplots. It throws me right out of the story. And that's what stops me from rating this title higher. I love it as a science fiction novel, the characters were all pretty solid, but the romance subplot just threw me for a loop.

When Raven and her best friends are sent to a wilderness camp . Things go from bad to worse when an alien invasion happens . Waiting at the camp for rescue was the safest thing to do until one killed her boyfriend . The all bets were off when Raven gets hurt and Eight a drone of the aliens deserts his unit and helps out Raven . Their survival depends on each of them trusting each other . Will they survive
This is a twist on beauty and the beast with an alien twist . The characters were well written . Raven is the heroine but she isn't invincible . She shows her age a few times which endeared her to me . She was a teen ager and scared but she did what she had to do to stay alive. Eight has no name , no identity all he is programed to do is dart the earthlings and just keep going . But when he looses his partner he starts to have feelings of desertion . He is an intriguing character because he doesn't speak and everything is said internally . They are good together and they actually work good together .
This book reminds me of the 5th wave , just a little slower . The author takes us on a rollercoaster ride across Canada. Which I loved cause hardly any sci fi fantasy books are written with Canada in mind as the place where it could happen . I will say the book is slow and it takes a bit to get into it but once you do it is a good read . I was shocked that there was a cliff hanger at the end. Over all I really liked this story and the characters . This would be a great summer read for your teen . Have them check it out they won't be disappointed

Tried reading this book and I couldn't get into it. It just seemed a little too slow. Perhaps I am just distracted. Give it a try if this is your genre!

A very engrossing read. Interesting story concept and diverse characters. I hope to see more character and story building in the next book.

This felt like a low budget version of The 5th Wave. Almost nothing actually happened in the book and the characters were super irritating. It was interesting that the "alien" spoke a sort of ASL. That was pretty much the only interesting thing about this book. It also ended on a really stupid note.

Ugh, could not get through this one. I only got through the first few chapters before giving up. The cover looks amazing, but the prose was awkward and the characters weren't very interesting (at least, not in the beginning.. Maybe they become more interesting as the story progresses). I would not recommend this one--seems to follow your typical YA formulas, which is a bit tiring at this point.

Dark, heart wrenching and emotional, Zero Repeat Forever takes places in the end of the world. Aliens have attacked and almost all of the humans are dead. Darted with alien poison and left where they fall. In this world, a young teenage girl and a Nahx are alone in the world, and when their paths cross they will have to face their natures and the nature of love and loss.
I thought I would hate this novel. Right from the first chapter I found it immature, boring and depressing. I was really struggling to motivate myself to continue reading. Little did I know that the story would take such an emotionally intense switch that would hook me and leave me crying. This story is without a doubt a tragedy. It is not the happiest book you could ever read, but if you want to read about true TRUE love I totally recommend it. I found it ripped out my heart and directed the meaning of true love, and how it is shown. I also found many connections to Beauty and the Beast throughout the story. Its a lot darker, but I found I liked Zero Repeat Forever for the same reasons I love Beauty and the Beast. It showed uncontrolled and unadulterated love. I loved it. I give Zero Repeat Forever the rating of FIVE OUT OF FIVE STARS!!!

Impossible to put the book down until I completely finished. An amazing opportunity to be introduced to this author

Disclosure:
This book was provided to me by the publisher for review purposes. The opinions however are not intended to favor the book due to the fact that the publisher provided it to me at no cost.

Basically, Zero Repeat Forever is in a unique category (to me at least). I would classify it as a SciFi/Romance novel aimed at a young, mainly female audience.

Without giving too much of the plot away, a number of young people at a wilderness camping retreat are caught in the middle of what appears to be an alien invasion of Earth. The plot progresses with chapters alternating between the points of view of the two main characters: Raven, a radical young female who is at the camp as punishment; and Eighth, an alien who is part of the invading force.

A number of things bothered me while reading the book. I insist on at least plausibility in a SciFi novel and I was disturbed by a number of scenes in the book, starting with the "trailer scene". It seemed implausible for Eighth to be uncomfortable seeing Raven with "her legs askew". Why would an alien be disturbed by that? I assumed it was just pandering to the young female audience.

In addition, some of Raven's emotional responses seemed irrational to me. That however, may be a result of the fact that I am an adult male and the character Raven is an adolescent female. There is always that disconnect between the adult mind and a younger mind, and between male and female thoughts and emotions. Some of the disconnect was clarified on the final scenes of the book.

In the end I found the story to be engaging and well written . . . and the setup for a sequel !!

I'd recommend Zero Repeat Forever for a younger general audience, and particularly to it's intended target audience, an adolescent female SciFi audience.

3.5 stars.

I think my favourite thing about this book was that it was set in Canada. It's a dystopian novel in which the end of the world has come and the aliens (aka the Nahx) are killing off the humans. It's told from 2 POVs: an alien and a teenage girl, Raven. Raven is a Canadian POC who was getting ready to be a camp counsellor when the apocalypse struck. Now she is struggling to survive with her fellow camp counsellors and grieving over the death of her boyfriend (by an alien). The alien, known as Eighth, is following the will of his superiors when he sees Raven. He starts to question whether or not he wants to hurt the humans anymore.

When the description says this book is The 5th Wave meets Beauty and the Beast, they were not wrong. The beginning of the book is very The 5th Wave-esque and then once Raven and Eighth start interacting more frequently (aka after the first half of the book), it becomes VERY Beauty and the Beast like (meaning Stockholm-y). But it's oddly also very Edgar Allen Poe because the main female character is Raven and these characters love to say the word "nevermore". (seriously the title of this book is the two main character's way of saying nevermore in their own form of sign language)

I loved the characters, specifically the humans. I wanted to learn more about Eighth (specifically his alienness), but I feel like there's a second book for that. I also loved the setting. What I didn't like was how creepy Eighth got as the book went on. He was very Edward-Cullen-like if Edward couldn't talk. Eighth started having suicidal thoughts when Raven got mad at him or was dying and he smelled Raven's hair when she was unconscious. As the book went on, I just got more and more angry reading Eighth's parts.

Overall, if you're looking for a new Canadian author to support and you like YA sci-fi, you should check out Zero Repeat Forever. I know I'm hoping for another book!

I absolutely love dystopian/ end of the world books/ movies so that captivates me right away. The book started off a little bit slow but definitely tracked action with time. I wish I could find out more about the world's collapse and how the alien invasion happened but overall the story turned out well. I definitely look forward to reading the next book as the first one was left a on cliff hanger.

Zero Repeat Forever is an enticing science fiction novel centering about an invasion of Earth by these alien creatures dubbed the Nahx.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading Zero Repeat Forever, and I would wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone who likes action, adventure, science fiction, and even fantasy. It's a fast paced, edge of your seat thriller that's sure to make anyone fall in love.

How do you choose a book? Is it for the cover? The synopsis? If the title catches your eye? Or are you like one of my high school teachers, who insisted that you must read a book up to the 10th percent before you can tell if it will hook you in or not?
Isn't it fun when a book catches your interest in all four ways?

This is definitely the case with Zero Repeat Forever. The cover is absolutely beautiful, the synopsis catchy, and the title intriguing (I could go on and on about how this is a perfect book title, but alas, spoilers). Also, everyone can forget about the 10% rule – this book had me wrapped around its little finger after the first five chapters. The beginning gripped me in so quickly and the story just kept on getting better and better until I reached the amazing ending. There isn’t a dull moment throughout.

This is a slow burn novel of the best kind; I could call it the sci-fi Romeo and Juliet you didn’t even know you wanted to read. It’s well-paced and doesn’t rush from one scene to another, and instead develops gradually into a complete story. It is the first book in the series, so the reader won’t finish it with all the answers they are looking for, but with enough answers to feel satisfied with the end.

The format of the book is also quite interesting – the point of view flips between Raven, a spitfire heroine that reminded me a little bit of Tris from Divergent, but with a meaner streak; and Eighth, a low-ranked Nahx who is part of the destruction of the human race. Therefore, readers will not only be able to read the point of view of a human throughout an apocalypse, but also about a conflicted soldier who has been drilled to follow orders. The Nahx are very complex beings, and I know that book one only explored the surface of that race. I look forward to finding more about the Nahx and their motives through the next installments!

Go pick it up! It’s a great book from a Canadian author who wrote the first draft during NaNoWriMo – read the north, everyone!

I’d like to thank Simon & Schuster Canada for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book. I don't give 5 starts out often but this book was amazing. It intrigued me, it kept me guessing, and it was heartbreaking. Like ugly-cry-inducing, almost too depressing, heart shattering. August is the single loneliest character I think I've found in a book. It was almost painful to read this story, but that's how you know it's a good one. It's also a dual narrative, which I'm a fan of. It's also science fiction, post-apocalyptic, alien invasion, action, and a little bit of mystery (the plot twist at the end!! No spoilers, but seriously can the second book come out like next week?!). It's also takes place in Canada! Yay!

Raven, the first narrator, is a half Metis/half black teenage girl who's tough as nails and is used to being looked down on and judged. The second narrator, Eighth, is a Nahx (one of the invaders taking over the world) who actually has a heart and is made to believe he is defective because of it. As the story goes along, we find out how tangled together the lives of these two actually are. All culminating in an almost-happy-compared-to-the-rest-of-the-book-but-still-super-sad ending with a huge cliffhanger that's gonna drive me crazy until I can stop thinking about it. Don't get me wrong though, this book is totally worth the all the feelings it will make you feel.

I would also like to discuss one of lessons learned in this story, which may or may not have been the author's intention but is a very important discussion in the times we live in. That lesson is race and racism, and how easy it is to judge someone on appearances or preconceived notions without actually getting to know them. Raven experiences this throughout her life, often feeling singled out due to her race, being called a "half-breed" and feeling the need to be tough and a hard-ass to cope with it. We then see her doing the to Eighth. I get that the Nahx are blowing stuff up and taking over the world, but when one shows her that he isn't like that and wants to help, it takes her a very long time to realize that she is blaming him for the actions of others who look like him, but aren't him.

That ended up being a long, ramble-y review. If you lost interest and came to the end to see if there's a conclusion, here it is: read this book! It's unique, it's really good, and it's worth the tears!

Science Fiction
14-18
Zero Repeat Forever, by G.S. PrendergastCalgary teens Raven, her boyfriend Tucker, and Tucker’s twin Topher are all sent to do community service as camp counsellors in the Alberta foothills of the Canadian Rockies. While they are in training, aliens called Nahx invade Earth, and the teen campers are left to fend for themselves. Their only hope is to hunker down, “sheltering in place” and wait for a rescue, but weeks pass and no one comes. When a Nahx kills Tucker while he is on a hunt for food, Raven and Topher swear revenge. But are all the Nahx killers? Eighth is a Nahx who struggles against the directives to “Dart the humans. Leave them where they fall.” When Eighth uncovers Raven’s hiding place, he chooses to not dart her, but instead protects her from the other Nahx. Eighth finds himself falling hard for this delicate, weak, yet brave creature he calls Dandelion due to her light-coloured Afro. I wouldn’t call it a love story, though it is a deeply emotional tale, told in alternating points of view by Raven and Eighth. This is the second book I’ve read by Prendergast. Like Audacious, this is a coming of age story, but this one involves both protagonists who struggle with their own identity and wildly changing emotions. I can see the same star-crossed lovers theme in this novel, though again I would not describe this as a romance at all, despite the hints of it for the sequel. I am looking forward to that sequel; it will be interesting to see where Prendergast takes the story. Of particular interest is the origin of the alien invasion – there was a hint in advance of the surprise ending, but it’s definitely a cliffhanger that will leave most readers waiting impatiently for the next installment. One complaint – the use of miles instead of kilometres was just plain irritating. No Canadian kid uses miles; I’m three times Raven’s age, and even I had to mentally convert to clicks. I know the publishers are marketing to a North American-wide audience, but it’s grating to a Canadian reader. Why not celebrate the Canadian-ness of this book’s setting and let our distinctiveness stand? Okay, end rant. I do thank Simon & Schuster Canada for the advance reading copy provided through NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.
More discussion and reviews of this novel: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/28945665

I was expecting more from this book based on the synopsis because it was pitched as Beauty and the Beast meets The Fifth Wave, but I couldn't bring myself to get into it. Sci-Fi is not my usual genre, but I thought this book sounded incredible! It was too slow-paced for me I think and I didn't feel hooked at all. There was simply nothing pulling me in, so I felt no desire to finish it.