By Julie Sara Porter
Bookworm Reviews
Spoilers: Jessica Grace Vargas’ The Evolver is a familiar topic this year of “High School Aged Kid Discovers That Have Super Powers and Become a Hero.” However, this search goes from a Science Fiction novel about a girl discovering her abilities but also trying to learn about her family and her own place in the world, or worlds.
Kennedy Neff feels like a freak in Tucson. She doesn't get along with her single mother, Roberta, or her vapid sister, Audrey. Most of the other kids think she's weird except Reddick Vincent, a senior who tries to befriend her. She also has unusual powers like telekinesis and astral projection. An incident in which she uses her abilities is observed by Reddick and Zuele Zuniz who reveal that they are part of an alien race that are members of an intergalactic defense team called the Evolvers. Oh and they want Kennedy to join them. Oh yeah and she's half human and her missing father isn't from Earth. Kennedy is stunned, amazed, and excited about this new adventure. While she is looking forward to the adventure, there is another more important reason. She has been trying to find out information about her father, even basic things like his name or where he lives. Maybe since he isn't from Earth, she can go with them and find out the truth.
The Evolver has some tropes that are standard on these types of books but there is enough attention to world building and characterization that makes it stand out as a better than average standard for the genre.
There are some standards that are to be found in typical YA novels. There is the fish out of water meeting her new friends. One who is the smart scholarly one that provides the much needed exposition and. The other is a plucky but good natured comic relief/trouble maker. There is the snooty rival who fights the protagonist for academic success and the love interest’s attention. Then there is the obligatory love interest who seems detached but later shows that they loved the newcomer all along. All present and all here and frankly doesn't add anything new.
What The Evolver excels in is world building. Zuele goes into the history of the Evolvers and the intergalactic conflicts between planets. We also get some insights about the various issues within the planets like how Zuele’s home world has a dubious reputation which causes its citizens like her to downplay their origins. We also get inside looks at the various topographies and socio political structure of the planets.
The Evolvers’ abilities and origins are elaborated to provide interesting context to who has those powers and how they contribute to their society. One gets the feeling that Vargas did not only do a thorough job on creating her fictional world, but that what we are told is less than a third of what she knows about it.
The other aspect that makes The Evolver a well written work is its attention to the themes of identity and belonging. Kennedy's primary motive for becoming an Evolver is so she can locate her father. She searched the Internet but came up short. All that she has to go on is a strange tattoo on his forearm. She follows the lead and questions other characters. Many know about her search and tell her that she is better off not knowing. This only continues to fuel her curiosity.
Mostly, Kennedy wants to find her father to answer questions about who she is, why she feels like an outsider, and where she belongs. This search could fill in the missing parts to her life and give her a full picture. The book presents two possibilities, one more positive than the other but both still rely on deceit, secrecy, betrayal, and unclear motives.
Kennedy thinks that she needs to reunite with her father to belong. She doesn't realize until it's almost too late that she has finally found a place to belong and be accepted all along. In searching for her birth family, she created a new one with the people around her.
