Girl in the Arena

October 12, 2009
Haines's first book for teens offers an altered version of the modern world, with a public hungry for violent, on-camera combat. Lyn, the “daughter of seven gladiators,” has grown up in Glad culture with a mother who has made a career out of being a Glad wife—she is resigned to public life and the way TV audiences relish making sport out of her family's many tragedies. When Lyn's seventh stepfather is killed in the arena, rules dictate that she be betrothed to her father's murderer, the gladiator Uber. The spotlight turns on Lyn as cameras follow this unlikely, staged courtship, as well as Lyn's eventual trip into the arena to face her fiancé. The novel's present-day Boston setting and pop culture references (designers like Galliano and Jean Paul Gaultier dress the gladiators) feel off, pulling readers out of the story. Haines's neo-Gladiator world hangs on readers' ability to reimagine today's celebrity-obsessed culture accommodating gruesome, televised fights to the death, and shaky world-building makes this a tall order. Ages 14–up.

November 1, 2009
Gr 9 Up-In a not-too-distant future Boston, 18-year-old Lyn has come of age in the male-dominated, corporate-controlled culture of the neo-gladiator lifestyle. All seven of her fathers were champion Glads, trained warriors in the style of their ancient Roman predecessors. Lyn's mother knows how to be the perfect Glad wife in order to provide a comfortable life for her daughter and for eight-year-old Thad. Then, Lyn's last father dies in combat, and her family will be abandoned by the Gladiator Sports Association unless she marries Uber, the fighter who killed him. Her mother is not permitted to marry again. What follows is Lyn's journey to autonomy and a new life for herself and Thad after her mother commits suicide. Pop-culture references make Lyn's world seem familiar to readers, and clever new technologies make the story plausible without taking it too far into science fiction. Haines's protagonist is street-smart, socially conscious, and wise all the way through, even when she begins to have feelings for Uber. Readers will appreciate that her victory comes from life on her own terms and not merely romance."Jennifer Miskec, Longwood University, Farmville, VA"

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