This compelling, fascinating and hauntingly believable second effort from teen writer Isamu Fukui takes you into the futuristic world of twins Zen and Umasi. Through these brothers Fukui helps readers explore the institution of education as the ultimate form of control. Reminiscent of Orson Scott Card's Ender's Shadow, Truancy Origins features streetwise adolescents with superior intelligence and tactical skills that are shaped by societal forces which help mold them into devastating weapons. For those unwilling to follow rules in a world which makes no sense, truancy (dropping out of school, which in essence means dropping out of society) is the only option for Zen. However it is the pacifist yet strong-minded Umasi who decides there must be a better way—not that of the educators or the militant truants. This is his story.

Action-packed from beginning to end, the Truancy series could potentially be to teenage boys what Twilight (also reviewed on Myshelf) is to teenage girls—an excellent trilogy to be shared with friends. There are enough twists and turns, blood and scheming to keep any teen glued to the couch and reading through the night. Truancy Origins is actually a prequel to Fukui's Truancy (also reviewed on Myshelf), written when he was only fifteen years old. A third book, Truancy City, is scheduled for release in 2010.