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Surface Tension
After witnessing an act of domestic terrorism while training on his bike, Jake is found near death, with a serious head injury and unable to remember the plane crash or the aftermath that landed him in the hospital.
A terrorist leader’s teenage daughter, Betsy, is sent to kill Jake and eliminate him as a possible witness. When Jake’s mother blames his head injury for his tales of attempted murder, he has to rely on his girlfriend, Laurissa, to help him escape the killers and the law enforcement agents convinced that Jake himself had a role in the crash.
Mike Mullin, author of the Ashfall series, delivers a gripping story with memorable characters and all-too-real scenarios.
A terrorist leader’s teenage daughter, Betsy, is sent to kill Jake and eliminate him as a possible witness. When Jake’s mother blames his head injury for his tales of attempted murder, he has to rely on his girlfriend, Laurissa, to help him escape the killers and the law enforcement agents convinced that Jake himself had a role in the crash.
Mike Mullin, author of the Ashfall series, delivers a gripping story with memorable characters and all-too-real scenarios.
350 pages, ebook
First published May 8, 2018
18 people are currently reading
1809 people want to read
About the author
Mike Mullin
19 books1,673 followersMike Mullin’s first job was scraping the gum off the undersides of desks at his high school. From there, things went steadily downhill. He almost got fired by the owner of a bookstore due to his poor taste in earrings. He worked at a place that showed slides of poopy diapers during lunch (it did cut down on the cafeteria budget). The hazing process at the next company included eating live termites raised by the resident entomologist, so that didn’t last long either. For a while Mike juggled bottles at a wine shop, sometimes to disastrous effect. Oh, and then there was the job where swarms of wasps occasionally tried to chase him off ladders. So he’s really hoping this writing thing works out.
Mike holds a black belt in Songahm Taekwondo. He lives in Indianapolis with his wife and her three cats. ASHFALL is his first novel.
Mike holds a black belt in Songahm Taekwondo. He lives in Indianapolis with his wife and her three cats. ASHFALL is his first novel.
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November 5, 2019
paperback release for this book is MAY 21, and there's A GIVEAWAY FOR IT RIGHT NOW!! BE A WINNER!
https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/sh...
MIKE MULLIN HAS A NEW SERIES!
although this book has ZERO supervolcanoes, it is in many respects similar to his superb Ashfall series (WHEN IS BOOK FOUR COMING OUT, MIKE MULLIN???), particularly in the way he writes his characters. they feel familiar in the best way possible - dependable, rather than predictable - a comforting reminder of “oh yeah, this is what he’s so good at.”
his characters always have a refreshing lack of bullshit to them -they are level-headed, practical, quick-thinking, resourceful, and they don’t do emo or histrionics. it's not that they're miniature adults - there’s plenty of dorky teen dialogue and awkwardness, but they are always very smart teens, capable and impressive while still staying within reasonable standards of teenage abilities.
this one is slightly less-so, because the specialized skills in Ashfall & co were mostly connected to wilderness survival and rebuilding in the aftermath of a profoundly destructive natural disaster, and kids knowing how to fix stuff and build stuff and grow stuff is all perfectly believable and age-appropriate knowledge for eagle scouts, rural teens, outdoorsy types and really any intellectually curious teen with a library card.
Surface Tension is more of a tom clancy/james patterson-type thriller for teens - a genre in which you tacitly agree to suspend your disbelief when you choose to read it, because it’s much more fun to get swept up in the action than to nitpick plausibility, and this book is at least twice as realistic as Scandal - and much more consistent - and Scandal is a boatload of fun:
speaking of histrionics…
and even within the context of a domestic terrorism thriller with teenage assassins and an amnesia element, where teens navigate complex life-or-death situations without a great deal of adult supervision or even presence, where jake sustains and guts out enough injuries that it made me ache just to read about them, and where the authorities are - for the most part - inept, corrupt, or bullying if not flat-out murderous, there’s still so much realism; so much that was clearly researched - details and flourishes that make the dodging bullets and thwarting villainous plots parts if not always 100% plausible, at least not the only thing to look at. there are a lot of cool little nerdy sciency details, but obviously the best one is the “how to replicate the bermuda triangle in your own backyard” part. spoiler alert - you need to have really specific connections/resources/access which you likely do not have. stick to baking soda volcanoes. baking soda SUPERVOLCANOES!
i keep coming back to character, but it's because they are so winning. laurissa is formidable. whether she’s saving jake’s life or cleaning up his wounds afterwards, sweet-talking salespeople or scheming out intel, she's just a wonderfully no-nonsense heroine who's maybe more accomplished in the car chase/jumping out of windows department than your average teen, but the fact that she's also great at taking charge in real-world settings somehow makes it all seem more realistic - she's competent across the board, and honestly, the scene where she's calling her credit card company and the dmv &etc is, to me, her most impressive and heroic moment. i go limp when i have to deal with that stuff - it just flattens me and she's just like beep beep boop gettin' it done.
and while we're on character - which we never truly left, but whatever - since the current trend is to simultaneously blast YA authors for “not enough diversity” and also blast them for cultural appropriation or lack of authenticity when they try to be representative, lemme just say that i think mike mullin, grown-ass white man, does just fine writing a teenage, female, african american character. i'm only qualified to weigh in on half of that (2/3 if you count the fact that once i was a teenager), but he's always written fantastic teengirl characters with a healthy "gender roles - who needs ‘em!" attitude, and the fact that he doesn't write flimsy skinny flustered girls of any race is worth celebrating.
plus, he writes excellent boyfriends. as geeky as they are, jake and alex are what girls really want. pretty vampires and brooding bad boys are fine for fantasies, but a respectful, attentive boy who accepts boundaries without hesitation and isn't too proud to let his lady save the day? that's a keeper.
special bonus points for kindly librarians!
but damn, that cliffhanger...
come to my blog!
April 28, 2018
If the spirit of young adults facing unbelievable odds is something that draws you in, Mike Mullin’s SURFACE TENSION is exactly what you need! Geared to a young adult audience, the main character, Jake and his girlfriend, Laurissa are average teens who become incredible survivors against all odds. Even the anti-heroine, Betsy is a great character, especially once her life is revealed.
Jake was in the wrong place at the wrong time and it could cost him his life as both terrorists and the government are hot on his tail. His one goal was to get on the USA cycling team, and that’s what put him on that deserted road, among semi-trucks when a commercial airliner was blown from the sky.
Captured by the terrorists and in a moment of daring, he escapes a moving truck. When he awakes days later in the hospital, his memory is almost non-existent, his dreams of cycling greatness are gone and someone is trying to kill him. When the FBI needs a confession for a crime he didn’t commit, he has nowhere to turn.
Only the quick thinking of his girlfriend, Laurissa and her family’s wealth and power give him any sense of hope in the legal arena, but first he must survive the further attempts on both his life and the lives of those he loves by the terrorists and an unscrupulous FBI agent.
Mike Mullin provides high velocity tension, giving readers a gut-clenching and wild ride from start to finish! With a cast of incredible characters that feel lifelike, a seemingly insurmountable stack of odds against them and some pretty contemporary events, Mr. Mullin has created a tale that is riveting from that first page until the very end.
Perfect pacing, action and crazy-scary events make for a perfect young adult read, (no matter how old your birth certificate says you are!)
I received a complimentary ARC edition from Tanglewood Publishing!
Publisher: Tanglewood (May 8, 2018)
Publication Date: May 8, 2018
Genre: YA Suspense
Print Length: 424 pages
Available from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
For Reviews, Giveaways, Fabulous Book News: http://tometender.blogspot.com
Jake was in the wrong place at the wrong time and it could cost him his life as both terrorists and the government are hot on his tail. His one goal was to get on the USA cycling team, and that’s what put him on that deserted road, among semi-trucks when a commercial airliner was blown from the sky.
Captured by the terrorists and in a moment of daring, he escapes a moving truck. When he awakes days later in the hospital, his memory is almost non-existent, his dreams of cycling greatness are gone and someone is trying to kill him. When the FBI needs a confession for a crime he didn’t commit, he has nowhere to turn.
Only the quick thinking of his girlfriend, Laurissa and her family’s wealth and power give him any sense of hope in the legal arena, but first he must survive the further attempts on both his life and the lives of those he loves by the terrorists and an unscrupulous FBI agent.
Mike Mullin provides high velocity tension, giving readers a gut-clenching and wild ride from start to finish! With a cast of incredible characters that feel lifelike, a seemingly insurmountable stack of odds against them and some pretty contemporary events, Mr. Mullin has created a tale that is riveting from that first page until the very end.
Perfect pacing, action and crazy-scary events make for a perfect young adult read, (no matter how old your birth certificate says you are!)
I received a complimentary ARC edition from Tanglewood Publishing!
Publisher: Tanglewood (May 8, 2018)
Publication Date: May 8, 2018
Genre: YA Suspense
Print Length: 424 pages
Available from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
For Reviews, Giveaways, Fabulous Book News: http://tometender.blogspot.com
Read
May 10, 2018Long distance high-school-aged Jake is doing his usual long distance riding exercise when he stumbles into a weird scenario on a deserted road, passing a bunch of semi-trucks giving off a nasty smell. After an explosion, he finds himself not rescued, but captured by guys who apparently want to kill him.
He manages to escape from a moving truck. When he wakens days later, he’s in the hospital, his memory is as battered as his body. His goal of joining the US cycling team is blown to smithereens . . . but he gradually discovers that his dreams are only a small part of what blew up.
And. There’s someone is trying to kill him.
We switch to the would-be killer, a girl named Betsey, who at first has pejoratives for everyone not in her father’s secret society, the Sons of Paine. She’s a testbook case of brainwashing, but she keeps remembering her mother, who had misgivings about the group’s plans.
Betsey is ordered to try again, or she’s going to be in deep trouble with her very, very scary father.
Meanwhile Jake, who is trying to reacquaint himself with his girlfriend Laurissa, finds himself tangling with the FBI, whose agents need a confession for a crime he didn’t commit, he has nowhere to turn.
Mike Mullin provides high velocity tension by showing the readers both sides of the conflict. What Jake and Laurissa don’t know jacks the tension up might higher, I think, than if they were constantly encountering these dangerous jolts along with the reader.
I loved Jake, Laurissa, and even Betsey, who I think deserves her own book. The kids are smart, believable, and have sound moral cores, which is such a relief to read, especially these days when the news is full of powerful criminals and con men doing their best to wreck the world.
Great pacing makes this a terrific summer read.
Copy provided by NetGalley
He manages to escape from a moving truck. When he wakens days later, he’s in the hospital, his memory is as battered as his body. His goal of joining the US cycling team is blown to smithereens . . . but he gradually discovers that his dreams are only a small part of what blew up.
And. There’s someone is trying to kill him.
We switch to the would-be killer, a girl named Betsey, who at first has pejoratives for everyone not in her father’s secret society, the Sons of Paine. She’s a testbook case of brainwashing, but she keeps remembering her mother, who had misgivings about the group’s plans.
Betsey is ordered to try again, or she’s going to be in deep trouble with her very, very scary father.
Meanwhile Jake, who is trying to reacquaint himself with his girlfriend Laurissa, finds himself tangling with the FBI, whose agents need a confession for a crime he didn’t commit, he has nowhere to turn.
Mike Mullin provides high velocity tension by showing the readers both sides of the conflict. What Jake and Laurissa don’t know jacks the tension up might higher, I think, than if they were constantly encountering these dangerous jolts along with the reader.
I loved Jake, Laurissa, and even Betsey, who I think deserves her own book. The kids are smart, believable, and have sound moral cores, which is such a relief to read, especially these days when the news is full of powerful criminals and con men doing their best to wreck the world.
Great pacing makes this a terrific summer read.
Copy provided by NetGalley
April 28, 2019
Mike Mullin's Ashfall is a good trilogy—if less electrifying than some post-apocalypse novels—but Surface Tension is so intense it triggers a visceral stress response in the reader as seventeen-year-old Jake Solley navigates the Kafkaesque distortion his life has become. The narrative takes nearly two hundred pages to get going, but once it does, watch out: Jake's plight is maddening as he's victimized by powerful people on both sides of the law who think nothing of ripping apart his life. Surface Tension starts with a mystery girl named Betsy calmly waiting in an airport boarding zone. She knows a plane crash is about to occur that investigators won't find a cause for. Betsy is part of a terrorist group that engineered the attack to murder a congressman because of his Muslim faith. The Sons of Paine, dedicated to inflaming Islamic-American relations in hopes of causing war, boasts many influential members, including Betsy's father. Betsy coolly watches Flight 117 rise into the sky, then plunge almost gracefully back to earth just out of range for the sound to reach the airport. The next mission for the Sons of Paine is ready to commence.
Jake isn't politically minded, he just wants to compete in bike races against the circuit's top athletes. Intensive training is key, and Jake puts in the hours of hard work. He's biking on a back road quite a distance from his mother's house when he spots at least a dozen tanker trunks by the roadside; the next thing he knows he's waking up in a semi-truck beside two men discussing killing him. The candle of his life burns short, so Jake risks flinging himself from the speeding vehicle. He regains consciousness wracked with pain in a hospital, his memory blank. Not even the sight of his distraught mother rings a bell.
Betsy has unfinished business left over from the plane crash she supervised. The boy's body is broken, and he's scarcely conscious; Betsy can sneak in and out and no one will realize his death was murder. This is her chance to show her father she's indispensable to the Sons of Paine. Betsy's fake ID that claims she's Jake's girlfriend, Laurissa Davis, gets her into his room, but once she mounts him in the hospital bed she finds she can't go through with the slaying. Betsy scurries off to take the punishment from her father at home, and Jake's mother dismisses his wild-eyed claim that a teenager calling herself Laurissa attempted to crush his chest. Jake sustained a severe concussion in his biking accident, his mother reminds him; his memory is returning in bits and pieces, but hallucinations are expected. Jake can't swear his murderer girlfriend was real, but he's glad to meet the genuine Laurissa again. She doesn't care that he's white and she's black, that he's middle-class and her father owns one of the biggest restaurant chains in the Indianapolis area. She's also gentler with him than the Laurissa of his nightmares. Jake is ready to heal and resume his life.
The Sons of Paine have no intention of letting him. What Jake witnessed by the roadside on June 11, the day Flight 117 crashed, threatens the Sons of Paine and the spread of their anti-Muslim ideology. If Jake recalls the circumstances leading to his accident, powerful individuals could be sent to prison for life. Two operatives are sent to finish the job Betsy botched, but Laurissa and a still-fragile Jake evade the spray of bullets and flee to the authorities. They've yet to connect Jake to Flight 117's fate, but the evidence is there if investigators can think outside the box. Why are hit men dogging Jake, and are Laurissa's father's pockets deep enough to counteract the resources of the people who want Jake dead?
Here's where the world erupts in a fireball of mayhem. Acting on a tip from an anonymous trusted source, the FBI detains Jake as a suspect in the Flight 117 terror attack. Agent Tapper assumes Jake was coerced into partaking in the plot, meaning he won't bear culpability for what ensued, but he must name his contact person or Tapper will put the screws to him in ways that would appall most ordinary law enforcement personnel. Jake is bewildered and terrified; how did Tapper get the idea that an application on his phone is responsible for Flight 117? Jake barely remembers his bicycle crash, let alone an interaction with a stranger that never happened. Jake's mother doesn't believe what he tells her about Tapper threatening Laurissa if he won't cooperate with the FBI; she ascribes it to hallucinations from lingering brain trauma. Laurissa isn't sure what to believe, but her father forbids Jake from seeing her.
With terrorists trying to kill him, the FBI on his leg like a rabid dog, and friends and family disregarding his claims as post-concussion syndrome, the nightmare of Jake's life gets darker by the hour. His mother takes action to put him in a psychiatric facility, so he leaves home for the streets. Leads are few, but Jake and Laurissa came up with a few scant details about Betsy before the FBI arrested him. If he can somehow contact Betsy, maybe he can obtain the info Tapper wants before the FBI man employs extreme tactics to extract it from Jake. Every shadow on a street corner could be an assassin, every computer glitch an FBI override shutting down Jake's last-ditch attempts to prove himself innocent, every call on his cell phone the announcement that Jake's mother or Laurissa were murdered because Jake couldn't satisfy the demands of his tormentors. We feel as desperate as Jake for a glimmer of hope, but are the hearty people in his inner circle enough to stave off predatory FBI agents and an obscenely wealthy terrorist network?
Surface Tension is more action than philosophy, but the foundational questions are uncomfortable for any society that delegates its criminal justice dealings to government organizations that act without public accountability. When people charged with maintaining peace use that power on a hunch to persecute individuals who may be innocent, who are the real terrorists? Are they any better than the violent extremists who target certain demographics because they believe the people in those groups will eventually do violence? Government agents might argue they are doing the necessary dirty work so citizens can lead normal lives, but don't terrorists reason the same way? You can't get moral results from evil methods; sooner or later society collapses under the weight of its secret sins. Surface Tension inspects the root cause of terrorism and government tyranny, equal threats to any society striving to forward itself while retaining the right of individuals to disagree what progress looks like or which policies should be implemented. Mankind's greatest challenge is fashioning our future without eradicating ourselves.
I hadn't pegged Mike Mullin as a novelist who could make your heart pound and mouth go dry, but I was wrong. Surface Tension sneaks behind the reader's defenses and wreaks havoc. The offenses committed against Jake will get your temper boiling, and I'm amazed when a book can do that. Cory Doctorow's 2008 YA novel Little Brother is mentioned on page four hundred eleven, and I suspect Mike Mullin was partly inspired by it: the themes are similar, as is the narrative's claustrophobic energy. Little Brother is one of the greatest books I've read and Surface Tension doesn't rise to that level, but it provides all the drama, thrills, and potent messaging I could ask for, and I'm rating it three and a half stars. The concept is ambitious, but Mike Mullin proves he has the talent to back it up.
Jake isn't politically minded, he just wants to compete in bike races against the circuit's top athletes. Intensive training is key, and Jake puts in the hours of hard work. He's biking on a back road quite a distance from his mother's house when he spots at least a dozen tanker trunks by the roadside; the next thing he knows he's waking up in a semi-truck beside two men discussing killing him. The candle of his life burns short, so Jake risks flinging himself from the speeding vehicle. He regains consciousness wracked with pain in a hospital, his memory blank. Not even the sight of his distraught mother rings a bell.
Betsy has unfinished business left over from the plane crash she supervised. The boy's body is broken, and he's scarcely conscious; Betsy can sneak in and out and no one will realize his death was murder. This is her chance to show her father she's indispensable to the Sons of Paine. Betsy's fake ID that claims she's Jake's girlfriend, Laurissa Davis, gets her into his room, but once she mounts him in the hospital bed she finds she can't go through with the slaying. Betsy scurries off to take the punishment from her father at home, and Jake's mother dismisses his wild-eyed claim that a teenager calling herself Laurissa attempted to crush his chest. Jake sustained a severe concussion in his biking accident, his mother reminds him; his memory is returning in bits and pieces, but hallucinations are expected. Jake can't swear his murderer girlfriend was real, but he's glad to meet the genuine Laurissa again. She doesn't care that he's white and she's black, that he's middle-class and her father owns one of the biggest restaurant chains in the Indianapolis area. She's also gentler with him than the Laurissa of his nightmares. Jake is ready to heal and resume his life.
The Sons of Paine have no intention of letting him. What Jake witnessed by the roadside on June 11, the day Flight 117 crashed, threatens the Sons of Paine and the spread of their anti-Muslim ideology. If Jake recalls the circumstances leading to his accident, powerful individuals could be sent to prison for life. Two operatives are sent to finish the job Betsy botched, but Laurissa and a still-fragile Jake evade the spray of bullets and flee to the authorities. They've yet to connect Jake to Flight 117's fate, but the evidence is there if investigators can think outside the box. Why are hit men dogging Jake, and are Laurissa's father's pockets deep enough to counteract the resources of the people who want Jake dead?
Here's where the world erupts in a fireball of mayhem. Acting on a tip from an anonymous trusted source, the FBI detains Jake as a suspect in the Flight 117 terror attack. Agent Tapper assumes Jake was coerced into partaking in the plot, meaning he won't bear culpability for what ensued, but he must name his contact person or Tapper will put the screws to him in ways that would appall most ordinary law enforcement personnel. Jake is bewildered and terrified; how did Tapper get the idea that an application on his phone is responsible for Flight 117? Jake barely remembers his bicycle crash, let alone an interaction with a stranger that never happened. Jake's mother doesn't believe what he tells her about Tapper threatening Laurissa if he won't cooperate with the FBI; she ascribes it to hallucinations from lingering brain trauma. Laurissa isn't sure what to believe, but her father forbids Jake from seeing her.
With terrorists trying to kill him, the FBI on his leg like a rabid dog, and friends and family disregarding his claims as post-concussion syndrome, the nightmare of Jake's life gets darker by the hour. His mother takes action to put him in a psychiatric facility, so he leaves home for the streets. Leads are few, but Jake and Laurissa came up with a few scant details about Betsy before the FBI arrested him. If he can somehow contact Betsy, maybe he can obtain the info Tapper wants before the FBI man employs extreme tactics to extract it from Jake. Every shadow on a street corner could be an assassin, every computer glitch an FBI override shutting down Jake's last-ditch attempts to prove himself innocent, every call on his cell phone the announcement that Jake's mother or Laurissa were murdered because Jake couldn't satisfy the demands of his tormentors. We feel as desperate as Jake for a glimmer of hope, but are the hearty people in his inner circle enough to stave off predatory FBI agents and an obscenely wealthy terrorist network?
Surface Tension is more action than philosophy, but the foundational questions are uncomfortable for any society that delegates its criminal justice dealings to government organizations that act without public accountability. When people charged with maintaining peace use that power on a hunch to persecute individuals who may be innocent, who are the real terrorists? Are they any better than the violent extremists who target certain demographics because they believe the people in those groups will eventually do violence? Government agents might argue they are doing the necessary dirty work so citizens can lead normal lives, but don't terrorists reason the same way? You can't get moral results from evil methods; sooner or later society collapses under the weight of its secret sins. Surface Tension inspects the root cause of terrorism and government tyranny, equal threats to any society striving to forward itself while retaining the right of individuals to disagree what progress looks like or which policies should be implemented. Mankind's greatest challenge is fashioning our future without eradicating ourselves.
I hadn't pegged Mike Mullin as a novelist who could make your heart pound and mouth go dry, but I was wrong. Surface Tension sneaks behind the reader's defenses and wreaks havoc. The offenses committed against Jake will get your temper boiling, and I'm amazed when a book can do that. Cory Doctorow's 2008 YA novel Little Brother is mentioned on page four hundred eleven, and I suspect Mike Mullin was partly inspired by it: the themes are similar, as is the narrative's claustrophobic energy. Little Brother is one of the greatest books I've read and Surface Tension doesn't rise to that level, but it provides all the drama, thrills, and potent messaging I could ask for, and I'm rating it three and a half stars. The concept is ambitious, but Mike Mullin proves he has the talent to back it up.
August 10, 2018
A high-action suspense thriller about a 17-year-old boy, Jake, whose passions are competitive bike riding and his black girlfriend, Laurissa. While out riding, he witnesses a domestic terror attack and is nearly killed. Due to his traumatic brain injury, he cannot remember what happens and then several attempts are made on his life, which are not believed. He becomes a suspect, and is persecuted by corrupt law officials. Readers have a tough time telling the good cops from the bad ones. His wealthy and loyal girlfriend Laurissa helps him again and again. We also sympathize with Betsy, his nemesis, once we learn about her situation. Mullin does great characters, but this YA terrorist thriller is not as gos as his post-apocalyptic series, Ashfall. Please hurry and finish Blades of Spring, the next installment.
May 15, 2018
I love Mullin's Ashfall series and I was intrigued when I heard he was writing a thriller. I was curious to see how Mullins handled a thriller and he didn't disappoint. "Surface Tension" was a wild ride, fast paced and high on action.
"Surface Tension" starts with a bang and never lets up. Jake is a high school student and a serious cyclist. While out training for a bike race, he sees a plane crash, then is injured and wakes up in the hospital. The details he remembers don't align with that people are telling him, the police are suspicious, and then someone tries to kill him.
Jake, Laurissa, and Betsy are vivid, memorable, strong characters. They are strong, resourceful, smart, sometimes cocky, sometimes impulsive, but ultimately believable and enjoyable. They felt like real teens and not a cleaned up version suitable for adults. Jake made mistakes but most of the time his intentions were good. He's in a race to save his life and top stop the terrorists from doing more damage. The police believe he's involved with the terrorists and treat him accordingly. Federal agencies are involved also and I absolutely loathed one of the agents. He was no better than the terrorists, just working for the US, sadly. He was every bit as fanatical and unethical as the people he was fighting.
While "Surface Tension" had some unbelievable moments, much of it was frighteningly plausible and possible. I read it in one sitting, gobbling it up, and later had to go back and re-read to catch some of the details I had missed the first time around. "Surface Tension" combined memorable characters, tight plotting, thorough research (a trademark trait of Mullin's), a (mostly) realistic story line, and made for an utterly engaging story.
I received an egalley from the publisher for review.
"Surface Tension" starts with a bang and never lets up. Jake is a high school student and a serious cyclist. While out training for a bike race, he sees a plane crash, then is injured and wakes up in the hospital. The details he remembers don't align with that people are telling him, the police are suspicious, and then someone tries to kill him.
Jake, Laurissa, and Betsy are vivid, memorable, strong characters. They are strong, resourceful, smart, sometimes cocky, sometimes impulsive, but ultimately believable and enjoyable. They felt like real teens and not a cleaned up version suitable for adults. Jake made mistakes but most of the time his intentions were good. He's in a race to save his life and top stop the terrorists from doing more damage. The police believe he's involved with the terrorists and treat him accordingly. Federal agencies are involved also and I absolutely loathed one of the agents. He was no better than the terrorists, just working for the US, sadly. He was every bit as fanatical and unethical as the people he was fighting.
While "Surface Tension" had some unbelievable moments, much of it was frighteningly plausible and possible. I read it in one sitting, gobbling it up, and later had to go back and re-read to catch some of the details I had missed the first time around. "Surface Tension" combined memorable characters, tight plotting, thorough research (a trademark trait of Mullin's), a (mostly) realistic story line, and made for an utterly engaging story.
I received an egalley from the publisher for review.
April 10, 2020
10/31/2017 ** Jake is a bike rider training to become a member of the USA cycling team. He sees a group of people crashing a plane from the ground and they want him dead.
The book has a strong supporting cast of Jake's girl friend, Laurissa, and the alternate narrator, Betsy. They are all everyday kids thrust into a life and death situation, and their story helps us see how we can each step up to be a hero if necessary. This book is primarily a thriller, with a fast-paced plot and several twists. However, it also explores issues of race and class through the relationship between Jake (white, working class) and Laurissa (African-American, wealthy). Likewise, through Betsy's eyes, we see what it might be like to be raised in a racist, xenophobic household and what it might be like to shift one's perspective and become more open-minded about others.
Fans of the Ashfall series (also by Mike Mullin) will not be disappointed. Likewise, readers who enjoy James Patterson will want to try this book.
Note: I am the wife of the author and have read numerous drafts of this manuscript.
The book has a strong supporting cast of Jake's girl friend, Laurissa, and the alternate narrator, Betsy. They are all everyday kids thrust into a life and death situation, and their story helps us see how we can each step up to be a hero if necessary. This book is primarily a thriller, with a fast-paced plot and several twists. However, it also explores issues of race and class through the relationship between Jake (white, working class) and Laurissa (African-American, wealthy). Likewise, through Betsy's eyes, we see what it might be like to be raised in a racist, xenophobic household and what it might be like to shift one's perspective and become more open-minded about others.
Fans of the Ashfall series (also by Mike Mullin) will not be disappointed. Likewise, readers who enjoy James Patterson will want to try this book.
Note: I am the wife of the author and have read numerous drafts of this manuscript.
May 10, 2018
I was SO excited to enter a new world created by Mike Mullin. His Ashfall series ranks among my all time favorites and is on a shortlist of books I have reread multiple times. When an ARC came my way, I dropped what I was reading and started on it right away. Unfortunately this book didn't strike a chord for me. I understand that some stories come with a heavy dose of suspension of belief, but when you get to a point in a story where you start saying phrases aloud like, "Are you FREAKING kidding me?!" "This is absolutely ridiculous!" and the like, it has crossed the acceptable level of that suspension. This overkill actually made me angry. I learned the meaning of #RageReading thanks to this book. I did finish it and there were a few plot twists that I found intriguing, so if you like thrillers maybe you'll want to give it a shot. Be prepared though, you do have to have a HIGH threshold for crazy crap happening.
August 27, 2019
2 Stars!
This book follows a teenager named Jake who was abducted after witnessing a domestic terrorist attack that caused a plane to crash with 157 people on board. In attempt to escape his captives, he jumps out of the moving vehicle and ends up in the hospital with a severe head injury. Jake wakes up about a month after the plane crash with the inability to remember anyone or anything that happened before his accident. The terrorist group wants to try and get rid of Jake so he won’t be able to talk to the police if he regains his memory. On top of all of this, Jake has been framed for the plane crash, and he and his girlfriend end up chasing down the terrorist group (yes completely on their own) to clear his name.
Although this sounds like a great suspense book with an interesting plot, this wasn’t the right book for me. The entire book was incredibly unrealistic, but the target audience of teenagers might not mind these plot holes like I did. One example, the professional terrorist group couldn’t assassinate a teenage boy after 2 attempts, or 3 attempts, or even after 4 attempts! The absolute far-fetched story arc made the book almost frustrating and uninteresting instead of feeling suspenseful and thrilling. I know going into YA books that the characters are going to make horrible decisions, but these characters and their decision making skills made me want to stop reading this book completely by the half-way point. (And if it weren’t for a reading challenge, I probably would not have finished this book)
The author’s attempt of talking point themes, such as: politics, mixed-race relationships, class differences, terrorism, anti-immigration, alt-right views, non-trusting law enforcement, etc. were completely overlooked due to the crazy amount of unbelievable twists. The book was too long, and I can see the page count being a turnoff for young teenagers, but that seems to be the target audience for this book. The book spans about 3 days, but it’s over 400 pages…It felt incredibly too long.
There were parts that were kind of interesting and some twists that will make the reader not sure who to trust, but overall this book was mediocre at best.
This book follows a teenager named Jake who was abducted after witnessing a domestic terrorist attack that caused a plane to crash with 157 people on board. In attempt to escape his captives, he jumps out of the moving vehicle and ends up in the hospital with a severe head injury. Jake wakes up about a month after the plane crash with the inability to remember anyone or anything that happened before his accident. The terrorist group wants to try and get rid of Jake so he won’t be able to talk to the police if he regains his memory. On top of all of this, Jake has been framed for the plane crash, and he and his girlfriend end up chasing down the terrorist group (yes completely on their own) to clear his name.
Although this sounds like a great suspense book with an interesting plot, this wasn’t the right book for me. The entire book was incredibly unrealistic, but the target audience of teenagers might not mind these plot holes like I did. One example, the professional terrorist group couldn’t assassinate a teenage boy after 2 attempts, or 3 attempts, or even after 4 attempts! The absolute far-fetched story arc made the book almost frustrating and uninteresting instead of feeling suspenseful and thrilling. I know going into YA books that the characters are going to make horrible decisions, but these characters and their decision making skills made me want to stop reading this book completely by the half-way point. (And if it weren’t for a reading challenge, I probably would not have finished this book)
The author’s attempt of talking point themes, such as: politics, mixed-race relationships, class differences, terrorism, anti-immigration, alt-right views, non-trusting law enforcement, etc. were completely overlooked due to the crazy amount of unbelievable twists. The book was too long, and I can see the page count being a turnoff for young teenagers, but that seems to be the target audience for this book. The book spans about 3 days, but it’s over 400 pages…It felt incredibly too long.
There were parts that were kind of interesting and some twists that will make the reader not sure who to trust, but overall this book was mediocre at best.
May 7, 2018
The synopsis refers to this as a "gripping story," but I'm pretty sure that's one of the biggest understatements I've ever seen. This book is insane. It's definitely unbelievable but at the same time, this would be a fantastic TV show. (I would normally say movie, but there's too much. It would have to be, like, four hours long.)
The story is mostly told from Jake's perspective, with occasional chapters from Betsy (the terrorist's daughter). I understand why it was done this way, but I wish we had gotten a little more from Betsy. (Domestic terrorists freak me out the most, because they're a much bigger threat than anything else, and yet we hear about them the least.)
But beyond that, the other freakiest part of this is how quickly Jake become a target. He didn't see very much and didn't understand what he saw. And yet, even the fact that he saw ANYTHING was enough to nearly get him killed multiple times.
One warning: there is a cliffhanger. And, according to Goodreads, no second book. (Which, you know, UNFAIR.)
Highly recommended.
The story is mostly told from Jake's perspective, with occasional chapters from Betsy (the terrorist's daughter). I understand why it was done this way, but I wish we had gotten a little more from Betsy. (Domestic terrorists freak me out the most, because they're a much bigger threat than anything else, and yet we hear about them the least.)
But beyond that, the other freakiest part of this is how quickly Jake become a target. He didn't see very much and didn't understand what he saw. And yet, even the fact that he saw ANYTHING was enough to nearly get him killed multiple times.
One warning: there is a cliffhanger. And, according to Goodreads, no second book. (Which, you know, UNFAIR.)
Highly recommended.
May 5, 2019
#FirstLine ~ Twenty-five minutes from now a plane will crash.
This book is FANTASTIC...I cannot wait for my boys to read it. I was completely engaged. It was one of those reads that caused to me take pause and escape into the thrill of the story. It has characters that were believable the daring. I love that you have to think when reading this book. It is not written in a way that demeans what kids know and can handle. You can keep track of details and are still able to get lost within the pages. What an intense, wild ride. Kids will adore it, as did I.
This book is FANTASTIC...I cannot wait for my boys to read it. I was completely engaged. It was one of those reads that caused to me take pause and escape into the thrill of the story. It has characters that were believable the daring. I love that you have to think when reading this book. It is not written in a way that demeans what kids know and can handle. You can keep track of details and are still able to get lost within the pages. What an intense, wild ride. Kids will adore it, as did I.
May 16, 2018
“Surface Tension” an action-packed thriller opens after seventeen-year-old Jake Solley a bike racer in training witnesses a domestic terrorist attack which downs a Delta flight killing the passengers onboard and leaving him hospitalized with a serious head injury. Struggling to recover and regain his memory when assassins try to kill him again, his girlfriend Laurissa helps him repel down his knotted bed sheets to safety. Knowing his life’s in danger Jake is more determined than ever to return home and take up his life once again only to discover that death is only a bike length away.
The story heats up when Jake’s life is endangered by a surprise attack on a bike trail, stops a bullet meant for Laurissa, and when an FBI agent believing he’s an accessory in the plane crash threatens to hurt those he loves. Intensity and suspense quickly escalate when Jake determined to protect Laurissa and his mother begins to hunt for the truth uncovering a traitor, his abused daughter, an extremist group and a scheme to perpetrate a second terrorist attack. Told from two perspectives tension quickly builds in Mike Mullin’s inimitable and flowing writing style. Keeping you on the edge of your seat in a thrill-ride from the first page to the last his explosive conclusion and surprising cliff hanger promises another compelling and exciting story.
Infusing this complex plot that vibrates with depth, emotion and high-energy are characters like Jake Solley, a bike racer who has grit, courage and is driven to succeed. As the story progresses he’s not only stubborn in his need to protect those he loves but shows empathy towards the abused daughter of the terrorist leader. Laurissa Davis his wealthy girlfriend is pragmatic, feisty, but headstrong when she wants her own way. Betsy haunted by the disappearance of her mother, programmed with extremist ideals and taught to fight hates killing, regretting her part in the plane crash. Smart, wary and determined she chooses to join Jake and Laurissa in thwarting another terrorist attack.
I thoroughly enjoyed “Surface Tension” with its twists and turns and realistic, unforgettable characters that make it a gripping and exciting story, not to be missed.
The story heats up when Jake’s life is endangered by a surprise attack on a bike trail, stops a bullet meant for Laurissa, and when an FBI agent believing he’s an accessory in the plane crash threatens to hurt those he loves. Intensity and suspense quickly escalate when Jake determined to protect Laurissa and his mother begins to hunt for the truth uncovering a traitor, his abused daughter, an extremist group and a scheme to perpetrate a second terrorist attack. Told from two perspectives tension quickly builds in Mike Mullin’s inimitable and flowing writing style. Keeping you on the edge of your seat in a thrill-ride from the first page to the last his explosive conclusion and surprising cliff hanger promises another compelling and exciting story.
Infusing this complex plot that vibrates with depth, emotion and high-energy are characters like Jake Solley, a bike racer who has grit, courage and is driven to succeed. As the story progresses he’s not only stubborn in his need to protect those he loves but shows empathy towards the abused daughter of the terrorist leader. Laurissa Davis his wealthy girlfriend is pragmatic, feisty, but headstrong when she wants her own way. Betsy haunted by the disappearance of her mother, programmed with extremist ideals and taught to fight hates killing, regretting her part in the plane crash. Smart, wary and determined she chooses to join Jake and Laurissa in thwarting another terrorist attack.
I thoroughly enjoyed “Surface Tension” with its twists and turns and realistic, unforgettable characters that make it a gripping and exciting story, not to be missed.
May 17, 2018
Surface Tension is a high-action suspense thriller about a 17-year-old boy, Jake, who stumbles into a domestic terror attack by accident -- but because of a traumatic brain injury and corrupt law officials, isn't believed when he tells his story. Thanks to his remarkably loyal girlfriend Laurissa, he persists in trying to uncover the truth while staying a few steps ahead of both the terrorists and the FBI agent who want to see him dead.
Meanwhile, the lead terrorist's daughter Betsy is embroiled in the attack and the follow-up attempts on Jake's life, but as she learns unpleasant truths about her father, she too realizes that he and his organization must be stopped.
Mike Mullin, who wrote the amazing Ashfall trilogy, excels at quick bursts of action and leaving the reader panting for more at the end of each chapter. This is a hard book to put down once you start. At the same time, I felt that the credibility of the plot got thinner and thinner as the story moved forward, until the climax and resolution seemed basically unbelievable. Add to that a tacked on final chapter that makes it clear that this story isn't actually over, and I wound up feeling somehow underwhelmed by the book as a whole.
It's a fast, entertaining read, but the plot doesn't really hold together in a way that makes a whole lot of sense. I stayed interested all the way through, but if there is a sequel, I won't be bothering with it.
Meanwhile, the lead terrorist's daughter Betsy is embroiled in the attack and the follow-up attempts on Jake's life, but as she learns unpleasant truths about her father, she too realizes that he and his organization must be stopped.
Mike Mullin, who wrote the amazing Ashfall trilogy, excels at quick bursts of action and leaving the reader panting for more at the end of each chapter. This is a hard book to put down once you start. At the same time, I felt that the credibility of the plot got thinner and thinner as the story moved forward, until the climax and resolution seemed basically unbelievable. Add to that a tacked on final chapter that makes it clear that this story isn't actually over, and I wound up feeling somehow underwhelmed by the book as a whole.
It's a fast, entertaining read, but the plot doesn't really hold together in a way that makes a whole lot of sense. I stayed interested all the way through, but if there is a sequel, I won't be bothering with it.
December 4, 2018
Very exciting and could-happen thriller for teens! The book begins with a girl posing as a Muslim in the Indianapolis airport where she signals a group to blow up a plane...meanwhile Jake, the male protagonist, is training for a cycling race along the airport's access road...he wakes up in the hospital with a terrible head wound and without his memory. Soon Jake discovers that people are trying to kills him, but no one believes him...Good enough for high school students and clean enough for middle school students...
May 11, 2018
Thank you to Netgalley, Tanglewood and Mike Mullin for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
There is nothing that Jake loves more than riding his bike. He is addicted to the speed, banking around tight turns and the feel of the wind in his face. He not only loves to ride, but to race and not only to race, but to win. He needs to win enough races so that the USA team will make him an offer to join them. Jake trains very hard and today he is annoyed that a whole bunch of tanker trucks are lined up along his special route. Jake hears the roar of a plane overhead and all of a sudden, he witnesses the trucks opening up in unison when this horrid smell causes Jake to throw up and smash into one of the open trucks. He finds himself in the front seat of a pickup truck, with two men who, instead of helping him, are trying to kill him. Next, Jake wakes up in the hospital and discovers that along with his other injuries, he has undergone brain surgery. He doesn’t remember anyone, including his own mother and has no recollection of his life, including the day of the accident.
Betsy is 17, the same age as Jake, and lives with her father. Her mother left the family a long time ago when her father was becoming radicalized. Betsy was involved in helping bring down Flight 117 but her goal is to become the first full fledged member of the organization. But she needs to complete one more task before that can happen. It is something her father has been training her for her whole life. She just has to kill Jake.
I really enjoyed the first half of this book. It was exciting and there was lots of fast paced action and Mullin did a great job with the writing. We know that there is some sort of terrorist group whose members speak Arabic and dress up as Muslims, but are just trying to place the blame of the attack onto Muslims. You always had enough information to be interested in the mystery, without the author giving too much away. The story is told in the style of alternating chapters between Jake and Betsy’s point of view and I found that it worked really well. The characters were well developed and you were invested in their well being.
And then, about two thirds of the way through, the book took a sudden shift. I don’t want to reveal any spoilers but the whole thing just became so unrealistic. The actions didn’t seem true to character, there were too many unbelievable things happening, almost like the author decided that the storyline wasn’t enough and he had to add in a bunch of extra stuff in to keep it exciting. I didn’t really respond to the ending and how the whole storyline resolved itself.
Overall I enjoyed the book, except for the wild turn and some parts of the ending. I think that YA’s might enjoy it. One thing I got out of it - Jake made me take out my bike and go for a spin!
There is nothing that Jake loves more than riding his bike. He is addicted to the speed, banking around tight turns and the feel of the wind in his face. He not only loves to ride, but to race and not only to race, but to win. He needs to win enough races so that the USA team will make him an offer to join them. Jake trains very hard and today he is annoyed that a whole bunch of tanker trucks are lined up along his special route. Jake hears the roar of a plane overhead and all of a sudden, he witnesses the trucks opening up in unison when this horrid smell causes Jake to throw up and smash into one of the open trucks. He finds himself in the front seat of a pickup truck, with two men who, instead of helping him, are trying to kill him. Next, Jake wakes up in the hospital and discovers that along with his other injuries, he has undergone brain surgery. He doesn’t remember anyone, including his own mother and has no recollection of his life, including the day of the accident.
Betsy is 17, the same age as Jake, and lives with her father. Her mother left the family a long time ago when her father was becoming radicalized. Betsy was involved in helping bring down Flight 117 but her goal is to become the first full fledged member of the organization. But she needs to complete one more task before that can happen. It is something her father has been training her for her whole life. She just has to kill Jake.
I really enjoyed the first half of this book. It was exciting and there was lots of fast paced action and Mullin did a great job with the writing. We know that there is some sort of terrorist group whose members speak Arabic and dress up as Muslims, but are just trying to place the blame of the attack onto Muslims. You always had enough information to be interested in the mystery, without the author giving too much away. The story is told in the style of alternating chapters between Jake and Betsy’s point of view and I found that it worked really well. The characters were well developed and you were invested in their well being.
And then, about two thirds of the way through, the book took a sudden shift. I don’t want to reveal any spoilers but the whole thing just became so unrealistic. The actions didn’t seem true to character, there were too many unbelievable things happening, almost like the author decided that the storyline wasn’t enough and he had to add in a bunch of extra stuff in to keep it exciting. I didn’t really respond to the ending and how the whole storyline resolved itself.
Overall I enjoyed the book, except for the wild turn and some parts of the ending. I think that YA’s might enjoy it. One thing I got out of it - Jake made me take out my bike and go for a spin!
May 26, 2018
Surface Tension alternates between the first-person narratives of Betsy and Jake. A style of writing that really puts you in the head of these two characters and makes them very memorable. Jake is an avid cyclist who on one of his training rides inadvertently witnesses a large group of tanker trucks releasing a chemical that is so horrific it leaves him bent over hurling, causing him to wreck his bike, and renders him unconscious. When Jake regains consciousness, he's inside one of the trucks where he overhears people discussing their plans for dealing with his body. Left with no other option, Jake decides to throw himself from the truck to escape. Sometime later, Jake awakens in a hospital room having lost all his memories. He has no recollection of the attack that he witnessed at the airport, and in addition to a headache and nausea, he can't remember his girlfriend or even his own mother.
Betsy is the teenage girl who's not only looking for her father's approval but also wants to be admitted into his organization, the Sons of Paine, a white nationalist group that has been disguising themselves as terrorists. On the day the airplane crashed, Betsy was at the airport on one of her missions for her father, and later she is tasked with killing Jake at the hospital. Betsy's character is slowly revealed through her relationship with her father, through her training with the Sons of Paine, online communications with a forum group of white nationalists and her current plans for the future. At first, she seems to embrace her father's ideologies, but when she finds out that he hasn't been truthful about why her mother left and becomes abusive toward her, Betsy begins to have doubts and fears what he will do to her if she can't complete her mission.
The story definitely becomes more complicated when Jake is attacked at the hospital by Betsy, pretending to be his girlfriend, and everyone chalks up the attempt on his life as just a side effect of his head injury, a hallucination. At first Jake thinks the police, doctors, and his mom are right, but once his actual girlfriend shows up for a visit, he begins to realize that someone really is out to kill him. I really liked Laurissa, Jake's girlfriend, she is one tough cookie. She's the only one who really tries to help Jake piece together what he saw and who the mysterious girl was at the hospital.
I really felt Mullin accurately portrayed the challenges of recovering from a traumatic brain injury, as well as some of the difficulties that can arise. The spotty memory, physical and balance issues, even how reading is slower to return. Jake's memories and recall of events were occasionally difficult for me to follow, he shifted in and out of them, so I wasn't always clear about whether he was speaking about the present or past. You also have to be willing to suspend belief over some of the feats and challenges that he endures while evading the killers when they're sent back to finish him off and once the FBI becomes involved in the case. However, you can tell Mullin did his research to make sure his descriptions were accurate.
Now, Betsy, she's a girl that I would've liked to understand better. She seems to have become radicalized by her father, but her reasons for not completing her mission, to kill Jake at the hospital aren't completely explained. She tries to do it but then stops part way. Why did she change her mind? She does explain why she wants another chance, even tries to make a second attempt, but again can't go through with it. While I appreciate that it wasn't because she suddenly had feelings for Jake, the shift feels a bit unresolved. It also makes them teaming up later in the story seem less believable. Despite needing a few more answers, which will hopefully come from another book in the series, Surface Tension does have all the things that you would expect in an action story. The intrigue about who's the good and bad guys. How Jake and Laurissa will be able to save themselves and how the trio can stop another planned attack. The stakes are pretty high and things end in a way that will have you hoping for more, but it's a fun ride if you can handle the tense moments.
Betsy is the teenage girl who's not only looking for her father's approval but also wants to be admitted into his organization, the Sons of Paine, a white nationalist group that has been disguising themselves as terrorists. On the day the airplane crashed, Betsy was at the airport on one of her missions for her father, and later she is tasked with killing Jake at the hospital. Betsy's character is slowly revealed through her relationship with her father, through her training with the Sons of Paine, online communications with a forum group of white nationalists and her current plans for the future. At first, she seems to embrace her father's ideologies, but when she finds out that he hasn't been truthful about why her mother left and becomes abusive toward her, Betsy begins to have doubts and fears what he will do to her if she can't complete her mission.
The story definitely becomes more complicated when Jake is attacked at the hospital by Betsy, pretending to be his girlfriend, and everyone chalks up the attempt on his life as just a side effect of his head injury, a hallucination. At first Jake thinks the police, doctors, and his mom are right, but once his actual girlfriend shows up for a visit, he begins to realize that someone really is out to kill him. I really liked Laurissa, Jake's girlfriend, she is one tough cookie. She's the only one who really tries to help Jake piece together what he saw and who the mysterious girl was at the hospital.
I really felt Mullin accurately portrayed the challenges of recovering from a traumatic brain injury, as well as some of the difficulties that can arise. The spotty memory, physical and balance issues, even how reading is slower to return. Jake's memories and recall of events were occasionally difficult for me to follow, he shifted in and out of them, so I wasn't always clear about whether he was speaking about the present or past. You also have to be willing to suspend belief over some of the feats and challenges that he endures while evading the killers when they're sent back to finish him off and once the FBI becomes involved in the case. However, you can tell Mullin did his research to make sure his descriptions were accurate.
Now, Betsy, she's a girl that I would've liked to understand better. She seems to have become radicalized by her father, but her reasons for not completing her mission, to kill Jake at the hospital aren't completely explained. She tries to do it but then stops part way. Why did she change her mind? She does explain why she wants another chance, even tries to make a second attempt, but again can't go through with it. While I appreciate that it wasn't because she suddenly had feelings for Jake, the shift feels a bit unresolved. It also makes them teaming up later in the story seem less believable. Despite needing a few more answers, which will hopefully come from another book in the series, Surface Tension does have all the things that you would expect in an action story. The intrigue about who's the good and bad guys. How Jake and Laurissa will be able to save themselves and how the trio can stop another planned attack. The stakes are pretty high and things end in a way that will have you hoping for more, but it's a fun ride if you can handle the tense moments.
March 20, 2018
Jake: an avid cyclist becomes the only eyewitness to a domestic terrorist attack; now the terrorists want him either dead or framed for the crime.
Betsy: the terrorist's daughter; she's willing to do whatever it takes to prove her worth, even if it means murder.
Told in two voices, this is a high-stakes, action-packed thriller set in Indianapolis with an ending that will leave readers eager for another book. Hand it to older middle school and high school students who crave page-turning suspense, crime investigations, and conspiracies. Could it really happen? The science behind it has me observing my surroundings more carefully!
Betsy: the terrorist's daughter; she's willing to do whatever it takes to prove her worth, even if it means murder.
Told in two voices, this is a high-stakes, action-packed thriller set in Indianapolis with an ending that will leave readers eager for another book. Hand it to older middle school and high school students who crave page-turning suspense, crime investigations, and conspiracies. Could it really happen? The science behind it has me observing my surroundings more carefully!
May 3, 2018
If you have read Mike Mullin’s ASHFALL series, you already know a few things – 1) he doesn’t talk down to his readers; 2) he has a knack for realism; 3) he creates strong, flawed characters; and 4) he endangers those characters with glee.
Mullin’s latest novel, SURFACE TENSION, delivers on those strengths while transporting us from ASHFALL’s apocalyptic landscape to the fallout of a terrorist attack on U.S. soil.
In addition to being intelligent, taut, and engrossing, SURFACE TENSION explores complex issues without spouting easy answers. In fact, Mullin opens the novel through the eyes of an antagonist named Betsy – a risky move that pays off beautifully – and forces us to consider in-congruent human nature.
I agree with C.S. Lewis that “a children’s story which is enjoyed only by children is a bad children’s story.” The same applies to YA, and SURFACE TENSION is a book that can be enjoyed by a wide audience. Its' discussion guide also makes it a prime choice for classroom discussions, book clubs, and joint teen/parent reads.
Mullin hits the mark again and I'm excited by the last chapter's setup of a potential sequel or spin-off. I'm expecting another great story to come.
*A big thank you to Tanglewood Books for putting an ARC in my hands for an honest review.*
Mullin’s latest novel, SURFACE TENSION, delivers on those strengths while transporting us from ASHFALL’s apocalyptic landscape to the fallout of a terrorist attack on U.S. soil.
In addition to being intelligent, taut, and engrossing, SURFACE TENSION explores complex issues without spouting easy answers. In fact, Mullin opens the novel through the eyes of an antagonist named Betsy – a risky move that pays off beautifully – and forces us to consider in-congruent human nature.
I agree with C.S. Lewis that “a children’s story which is enjoyed only by children is a bad children’s story.” The same applies to YA, and SURFACE TENSION is a book that can be enjoyed by a wide audience. Its' discussion guide also makes it a prime choice for classroom discussions, book clubs, and joint teen/parent reads.
Mullin hits the mark again and I'm excited by the last chapter's setup of a potential sequel or spin-off. I'm expecting another great story to come.
*A big thank you to Tanglewood Books for putting an ARC in my hands for an honest review.*
March 3, 2018
I have conflicting feelings about Surface Tension. I really liked the overall nature of the espionage-type thriller. But I thought it was overly long (about 420 pages) and really dragged at points. I think the length of the book is going to make it a tough sell with teens.
December 24, 2017
Suspenseful and action packed. Enjoyed the two character's points of view. Another great book by author Mike Mullin.
June 22, 2018
Jake loves to race bikes. One day while training he witnesses a terrorist attack, and ends up in the hospital with no memory of the event. He thinks he was just in an accident until a young lady, claiming to be his girlfriend, shows up and tries to snuff him.
What the heck? Is his brain injury causing him to have delusions? That's what Jake's mom thinks. As his memories slowly return, the attempts on his life step up and soon he is running for his life, but without a full memory of why. His real girlfriend, Laurissa, is the only one who believes that someone is out to get him. When he is taken into custody by the FBI, Jake finds himself in deeper trouble when an agent threatens to kill Laurissa unless Jake gives up evidence about the terrorist attack. With nobody to trust, Jake and Laurissa must unravel the terrorist plot while trying to stay alive.
My Thoughts-
This was an intense read full of tension building moments and jaw dropping scenes. The threats to Jake and Laurissa are enough to keep the plot building and building, but then the unreal attitude that people seem to have, that Jake is making things up, just gets so annoying that I wanted to scream at the characters to believe him. Talk about ratcheting up the reader's emotions! Wow!
Then we have Betsy, the fake girlfriend that tried to kill Jake in the hospital. The book is told through her alternating POV. She seems totally kick butt, trained to kill and smart enough to plot things, mislead of course, but as she tries to kill Jake, she actually begins to come to an understanding of what she is involved in. She explains things from the terrorist's side, describing an American organization that wants America to start a war with Muslims. At first I found this annoying, why is it always an American that is the bad guy killing Americans to start a war? Why not just actually have radical extreme Muslim terrorists be the terrorists? But then, as I got into the story, especially the final chapter, I realized that it had to be internal so that the story could continue on as a series. And let me tell you, that final Betsy chapter was a heck of a surprise!
Now, the author points out lots of conservative views, mixes them with prejudice, and then sets the stage for violence. Many of the views are common and probably held by many Americans, but the kicker is that the author throws in the "Pure" attitude, and that's where this group heads south. They want a pure America, thinking people are sheeple that need an awakening. Anytime "pure" comes up I think, "Run Away! Danger! Bad things a comin'." That is true with this homegrown terrorist group, and they have people in every walk of life, which is why Jake has a hard time hiding.
I couldn't put this book down. And the romance between Jake and Laurissa is awesome. You just get a good feeling for how much they care about each other.I'm giving it 5 stars!
July 28, 2020
Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for this review copy of Surface Tension by Mike Mullin.
Surface Tension is a action thriller about domestic terrorism for the YA set. It is told in alternating POV’s between Jake, an innocent bystander to an act of conspiracy that brings down a plane full of innocent victims and Betsy, a teenage member of the white supremacy group.
This book is non-stop action and will keep readers turning the pages as they see if Jake can convince the people he loves (his mother and girlfriend Laurissa) that someone is trying to kill him and try to figure out who he can trust in the police department and FBI.
I’m knocking a few points off for what felt like an overly complicated plot point that involves Jake and an FBI agent. I felt like it was a distraction from the main story and didn’t feel like a genuine interaction at all. If the author could have focused more on the terrorism group and tightened the storyline around their motivations, history and goals and dedicated less pages to this one FBI agent it would have felt a little more grounded in reality.
I actually rooted for Betsy who is truly a morally gray protagonist and hoped she could find the way to the light but at the same time wanted Jake to bring down the bad guys even those are diverging goals. There is a bit at the end that makes me think this isn’t the end for Betsy and there might be a sequel in the future.
I recommend this one to readers who want a fast paced political thriller that is a little light on politics but heavy on action. There are probably more realistic and researched novels but this one is fun and will keep you rooting for the young characters. I give it 3.75 rounded to to 4 for Goodreads.
Surface Tension is a action thriller about domestic terrorism for the YA set. It is told in alternating POV’s between Jake, an innocent bystander to an act of conspiracy that brings down a plane full of innocent victims and Betsy, a teenage member of the white supremacy group.
This book is non-stop action and will keep readers turning the pages as they see if Jake can convince the people he loves (his mother and girlfriend Laurissa) that someone is trying to kill him and try to figure out who he can trust in the police department and FBI.
I’m knocking a few points off for what felt like an overly complicated plot point that involves Jake and an FBI agent. I felt like it was a distraction from the main story and didn’t feel like a genuine interaction at all. If the author could have focused more on the terrorism group and tightened the storyline around their motivations, history and goals and dedicated less pages to this one FBI agent it would have felt a little more grounded in reality.
I actually rooted for Betsy who is truly a morally gray protagonist and hoped she could find the way to the light but at the same time wanted Jake to bring down the bad guys even those are diverging goals. There is a bit at the end that makes me think this isn’t the end for Betsy and there might be a sequel in the future.
I recommend this one to readers who want a fast paced political thriller that is a little light on politics but heavy on action. There are probably more realistic and researched novels but this one is fun and will keep you rooting for the young characters. I give it 3.75 rounded to to 4 for Goodreads.
September 24, 2019
I knew a new book from Mike Mullin would be worth the wait and it was! In this thriller, Jake, a competitive bike racer, literally runs into a terrorist group who have just caused a plane crash. They capture him, but he manages to get away. When he comes to, he is in the hospital with a brain injury and is having trouble remembering the past. After the first attempt on his life, he agrees that maybe he imagined the whole thing. However, when someone attempts to kill him again, he is sure he is in danger. However, no one believes him, except for his girlfriend Laurissa. As his memories start to return, he tries warning the authorities about what happened and he is accused of being in on the plot. Betsy voices the alternate chapters and she wants more than anything to be the first female member of The Voices of Paine. Making sure Jake never tells what he has seen will ensure her place in the group. The action gears up and the tension mounts as the book rises to its conclusion. Mullin does a wonderful job of developing his characters and can write a powerful suspense story. Hopefully there will be a second book, because I am looking forward to reading more from this talented author.
Well worth the wait!
Well worth the wait!
November 25, 2020
A 2020-2021 Rosie nominee, always a promising sign!
From the Goodreads site:
"After witnessing an act of domestic terrorism while training on his bike, Jake is found near death, with a serious head injury and unable to remember the plane crash or the aftermath that landed him in the hospital.
A terrorist leader’s teenage daughter, Betsy, is sent to kill Jake and eliminate him as a possible witness. When Jake’s mother blames his head injury for his tales of attempted murder, he has to rely on his girlfriend, Laurissa, to help him escape the killers and the law enforcement agents convinced that Jake himself had a role in the crash.
Mike Mullin, author of the Ashfall series, delivers a gripping story with memorable characters and all-too-real scenarios.
Mullin's premise is riveting and timely . . . a strong action story that touches lightly on topics of grave complexity.
―Publishers Weekly
Mullin (best known for his Ashfall series) succeeds in creating an engaging and suspenseful novel that will hook readers almost immediately. This heart-pounding, high-stakes thriller engages with race relations in an all-too-relevant exploration of terrorism, xenophobia, and corruption at the highest levels."
Mike Mullins is an Indiana author, and the initial event of the story occurs at the Indianapolis airport. Good book!!
From the Goodreads site:
"After witnessing an act of domestic terrorism while training on his bike, Jake is found near death, with a serious head injury and unable to remember the plane crash or the aftermath that landed him in the hospital.
A terrorist leader’s teenage daughter, Betsy, is sent to kill Jake and eliminate him as a possible witness. When Jake’s mother blames his head injury for his tales of attempted murder, he has to rely on his girlfriend, Laurissa, to help him escape the killers and the law enforcement agents convinced that Jake himself had a role in the crash.
Mike Mullin, author of the Ashfall series, delivers a gripping story with memorable characters and all-too-real scenarios.
Mullin's premise is riveting and timely . . . a strong action story that touches lightly on topics of grave complexity.
―Publishers Weekly
Mullin (best known for his Ashfall series) succeeds in creating an engaging and suspenseful novel that will hook readers almost immediately. This heart-pounding, high-stakes thriller engages with race relations in an all-too-relevant exploration of terrorism, xenophobia, and corruption at the highest levels."
Mike Mullins is an Indiana author, and the initial event of the story occurs at the Indianapolis airport. Good book!!
September 26, 2018
The publisher provided a copy in exchange for my honest review. SURFACE TENSION is one of the most gripping teen thrillers I have ever read. The action and suspense never let up, not even in the last paragraph.
Jake is an ordinary teen obsessed with bike racing. When he ends up in the hospital after witnessing a plane crash, he has no memory about what happened. A girl tries to murder him, and the FBI believes he's involved with the crash. As Jake tries to solve the mystery of the downed plane and the identity of his assassin, he and his girlfriend end up in a race for their lives -- and to stop the next terrorist attack before it's too late.
Author Mike Mullin pulls no punches. Just when you think things can't get any worse for Jake, they do. The stakes just keep getting higher and higher. I literally could not put the book down through the entire second half. And the end left me reeling. Will there be a sequel? I sure hope so.
July 25, 2018
You really have to suspend belief for a lot of things in this book, I felt his series Ashfall was much better. I had a hard time with this one, it was okay but not great like Ashfall.
The story is good just not as realistic as I was expecting.
The story is good just not as realistic as I was expecting.
December 14, 2019
This book flips between two rival characters' perspectives of a domestic terrorist attack that happened at an airport. Jake, an avid teenager bicyclist, was out on a ride one day near the airport when the attack occurs but because of a traumatic brain injury and corrupt law officials, isn’t believed when he tells his story, and is instead framed for the attack. On the other hand, Betsy, the daughter of the terrorist leader, tries to cope with her father's anger and her own morals. This book may be a bit confusing to read all the way through to some readers, but I happened to enjoy the story all the way through until the end!
July 3, 2018
Good storytelling, fun to read the Indy setting, but the audio was distracting with loud inhalations and swallows.
July 18, 2018
Honestly in the beginning I wasn’t really feeling this book, but by the end I really enjoyed it. Obviously I have complete faith in whatever Mike Mullin writes and I am really glad this didn’t disappoint. It was fast pace, stressful, and shocking(although I am a gullible reader). Especially the end I had to read that three times I was so shocked. Overall it’s a good read.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 15, 2019
* a copy of this book was loaned to me by netgalley for an honest review *
Actually pretty interesting drama adventure book. The plot is unique and the characters stay true to who they are, which carries the story really well as the plot thickens and develops. I would recommend this book.
Actually pretty interesting drama adventure book. The plot is unique and the characters stay true to who they are, which carries the story really well as the plot thickens and develops. I would recommend this book.
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