Disclosure: I received this book to review. The post contains affiliate links; the opinions shared here are 100% mine.

Remember last week when I told you about the great show Fringe that I’ve been watching?  We only have 2 episodes left; I’m already suffering the sadness that comes when we reach the end of a terrific storyline.  When I picked up the book Hacker by Ted Dekker, it was like being shoved back into Fringe.  Wow!!  This book takes a stance similar to that of Fringe and explodes it into a young adult novel.  In Hacker, young Nyah has a tenacious gift for hacking into computer firewalls.  But what happens when the firewall of time and space is cracked?  Nyah goes to great lengths to find out.

Dekker’s book made me revisit the idea of “chairness” that we explored in the Humanities program at Milligan.  I vividly remember the lecture in which Dr. Dibble required us to define reality.  He explained that our concept of a chair is based upon our plane of existence.  What happens if that philosophy is challenged?  In Hacker, Nyah explores the borders of what we consider to be true.  She’s an extremely likable character, with an independence that rivals that of any great superhero.   The book is an addictive page-turner that will leave you breathless in many parts.  It will also force you to consider what you’d risk in order to save the people you love.

There’s some rather deep imagery in this book that made me ponder the seen versus the unseen.  There’s more than meets the eye when it comes to our brains and our consciousness.   Teens will probably think it’s terribly fascinating, which it is!    There’s only one mild use of profanity in this book. Otherwise it’s very clean — well, except for the whole illegal hacking thing — and completely appropriate for middle and high school readers.  Until I read the Amazon reviews, I had no idea that this book is the third in its Outlaw Chronicles series.  It’s a fantastic standalone that makes me want to go back and read the other books!  Fringe fans, take heart.  The series may be over but this book is a worthy supplement to the sci-fi genre!