Truancy Origins

The author, Isamu Fukui, is an 18 year old senior at Stuyvesant High in NYC; already he is a better writer than many professionals two and three times his age. Truancy Origins is the prequel for Fukui's first book, Truancy, which he wrote when he himself was 15. His books are a revenge commentary on plutocracies, school systems and teenage existence. Illegitimate twin boys, Umasi and Zen, are deposited on the figurative doorstep of the Mayor of Education City by their half-sister, who hates the very fact of their existence. The Mayor is paid off to raise them as his own, keep them out of the way, and out of trouble. But trouble just won't leave the brothers alone and they respond in kind. At age 15, Umasi is the bookworm whom bullies love to corner and fellow-students despise as a "suck-up." Zen is his opposite: popular, charismatic, a dangerous fighter and indifferent student. The turning point comes in Chapter 6, when Umasi challenges their teacher's pronouncements in class, after she informs her students that albino children are unsuited for academics, and therefore unfit to live. By his defiance, Umasi gains unlooked-for status with his classmates, and he begins to realize the depths of his fury with the system and the lengths he will go to in order to effect a change. Both brothers end up in full-throttle rebellion, but in opposite ways, and violence flares throughout Education City as Truant students and adult Enforcers fight turf wars to control minds and hearts.

Everybody always talks about Paolini being the most amazing teen author. I have to disagree. I believe Fukui has the most amazing ability I've ever read. His use of words pulls you in, drawing you deeper into the book. The action is detailed, the plot intricate, the feelings real. This is by far one of my favorite books, and I recommend it to everybody!