Description
It's Black Friday - and the apocalypse is on sale!
Ever since the world filled with portals to hell and bloodthirsty demons started popping out on the reg, Jasper's life has gotten worse and worse. A teenage nobody with no friends or family, he is plagued by the life he can't remember and the person he's sure he's supposed to be.
Jasper spends his days working as a checkout clerk at the Here for You discount mart, where a hell portal in aisle nine means danger every shift. But at least here he can be near the girl he's crushing on - Kyle Kuan, a junior member of the monster-fighting Vanguard - who seems to hate Jasper for reasons he can't remember or understand.
But when Jasper and Kyle learn they both share a frightening vision of the impending apocalypse, they're forced to team up and uncover the uncomfortable truth about the hell portals and the demons that haunt the world. Because the true monsters are not always what they seem, the past is not always what we wish, and like it or not, on Black Friday, all hell will break loose starting in aisle nine. Perfect for fans of Grasshopper Jungle or The Last of Us comes Aisle Nine, the debut young adult novel from rising YA star Ian X. Cho.
Review
Debut Australian author Ian X. Cho brings us an exciting new apocalyptic novel where the good guys are not always obvious.
Set two years after portals opened up all around the world, as monsters keep emerging, wreaking havoc on humanity. Jasper works in a discount department store, but an accident some months ago has given him amnesia, and he has no memory of his family or life before. Although he doesn’t remember a life before the monster spewing portals, he knows that the large one in Aisle Nine in their store is not to be messed with. The Vanguard corporation have kept the people safe and are basically now controlling everyone’s life, but are they really as altruistic as they seem?
When Jasper gains a connection with Kyle, a junior Vanguard employee, he realises that they may have a past and she may be able to help him remember who he was before. But when they are contacted by the underground organisation called Suckerpunch - who are determined to reveal the truth about the portals and Vanguard - they realise that they must get involved. The deadline is the impending huge Black Friday sale that nobody will miss. Can they help save the world from the all-powerful monsters that are set to attack?
This is a terrific novel that contains themes of facing evil, not allowing corporations to control the world, a pending apocalypse and fulfilling your potential. It is a compelling debut novel that, given the language content, will best suit readers aged 14 and older.
