Cut Off

Starred review from August 15, 2015
A teen classical guitar prodigy finds new fame as an Internet blogger until cyberaddiction nearly kills him in this coming-of-age novel. Indio McCracken, half Canadian, half Mayan, leads what appears to be a privileged life as the son of the owner of a gold mine. But behind the 10-foot wall and armed guards of his family's Guatemalan home, Indio leads a lonely, isolated life dominated by hours of guitar practice dictated by his overbearing father. When Indio discovers the computer lab at school and begins blogging about his guitar playing, he quickly develops a following-and a dependence on the attention. The gold mine's exploitation of the indigenous Mayans brings trouble and forces the family back to Canada-a place Indio knows nothing about. He stops playing guitar and falls into a depression that is only cured by his mother's gift of an iPhone. He invents a new persona, Ian-a true blue Canadian-and begins another blog. Soon, blogging takes over his life. Indio's narration is completely believable throughout as he wrestles with identity and belonging. Bastedo gives readers who may be inclined to scoff at the addictive-cyberdevice premise the space to assess Indio's actions and reasoning and reach their own conclusions, all the while keeping the tension and pace high. A first-rate adventure with a powerful message. (author Q&A) (Fiction. 12-17)

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September 1, 2015

Gr 7 Up-Indio McCracken is half Canadian and half Mayan and lives in Guatemala with his Scottish father, Native mother, and red-headed sister. From the outside, it seems as though Indio's life is pretty great. He is lauded as a classical guitar prodigy who, through a video uploaded by his father, becomes an overnight online sensation. However, behind closed doors, the life Indio leads is one of isolation and loneliness; he is a prisoner to his father in the practice space that has been created for him. Unlike his followers and peers, Indio is not awarded the same freedoms of online internet access. Soon, Indio's dream does come true, and he is given the freedom to attend school, where he endlessly blogs about his life and his guitar. Indio quickly becomes addicted to his new online presence, but then his family is forced to move to Canada, away from the life they knew and from his newfound freedom. Indio is distraught and stops playing his guitar and becomes increasingly depressed. When his mother gives him a new iPhone, Indio falls back into his online addiction. Bastedo shows readers how easy it can be to fall into the world of cyber addiction and how difficult it is to draw the line between the real and virtual worlds-without sounding preachy. Overall, the primary and secondary characters are multifaceted and teens will easily connect with Indio. VERDICT A smartly written title about the dangers of cyber addiction.-Caitlin Wilson, Brooklyn Public Library

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