If you like YA stories that mix mystery, high-stakes tech paranoia, and first-crush intensity, The Missing Link hooks you fast—and keeps tightening the screws. The book opens with Matty Weber carrying something heavier than homework: trauma, grief, and the kind of guilt that won’t let you breathe. Then it drops a classic “wait…what?” catalyst into his hands: a strange wooden box delivered by a mysterious man at the worst moment of his life, plus a coded message that suggests Matty’s story isn’t over—it’s beginning. From there, the pacing turns sharp and addictive. A nationwide cyber-incident explodes onto the screens at Matty’s school—bizarre, hypnotic, and unsettling—and the adults’ responses only make it feel more wrong, not less. The principal’s warning about how vulnerable the “cloud” makes everyone feels eerily real, like a thriller that’s just one step ahead of the news. But what makes this story work as YA (not just “tech plot”) is the emotional pressure cooker: Matty’s loyalty to his best friend Gabriel, the social minefield of high school, and the sudden, confusing attention from Samantha Carter—sweet, popular, and asking questions that land like a trap: How do you delete something so nobody can ever find it? The dialogue has bite, the humor cuts the tension at just the right moments, and Matty’s POV feels raw and immediate—smart, anxious, occasionally hilarious, and always honest about how fear can distort reality. By the end, you’re not just reading to see “what happens”—you’re reading because you need to know who’s manipulating whom, what the box is really for, and what Matty is being pulled into. Perfect for readers who want: • A Stranger Things-style “something’s off” vibe with modern cyber stakes • Smart teens, coded messages, and escalating conspiracy energy • Romance and friendship under pressure—where trust is the real battlefield

BOTHERATION Part Two: Waves of Dinosaurs · Vito DiBarone · Archway Publishing (318 pp.) A school trip to Utah to dig for dinosaur bones may instead unearth a sinister plan in DiBarone’s YA sequel. Californian Matty Weber and his friends are all set for a “dig seminar” at Utah’s Dinosaur National Monument near Vernal, Utah. It’s hardly surprising that people recognize the bright, perpetually curious 17-year-old; he was only 10 when he presented a paper on how to calculate the age of dinosaur fossils more easily. However, he finds that some people he meets are a bit suspicious. One paleontologist, for example, initially lies about her name and age and claims that some bones at the monument site are fake. Famed scientist and paleontology PhD Steven David Whittle, who’s heading a tour involving several groups of children, seems to express keen interest in Matty’s past work. Soon Matty—along with his best friend, Gabriel Mason, and Matty’s romantic interest, Samantha Carter—finds himself enmeshed in a convoluted mystery. Matty eventually ends up in a situation in which he has trouble distinguishing between reality and potential hallucinations, as some people seemingly vanish and others reappear. To find the truth, he must make his way through a maze of tunnels and decide who’s been deceiving him. DiBarone’s follow-up to The Missing Link (2022) runs on a deliberately hazy narrative. Matty is just as confused as readers will be, repeatedly questioning what he’s seeing or hearing. This generates a suspenseful mystery, and the introduction of smart computers nudges the story into the techno-thriller genre. Matty’s own actions ensure things don’t spin entirely out of control, as he compiles helpful lists of the snowballing events and calms himself by mentally reciting mathematical equations. Samantha’s 10-year-old brother, Freddie, whom Matty (mostly) keeps an eye on, helps alleviate the narrative tension; he’s endearingly mischievous, as when he assertively orders Jack Daniel’s whiskey at a restaurant (“Make it a double”). Some puzzle pieces fall into place in the final act, but numerous questions linger, and the ending may leave some readers dizzy. A third series installment is in the works. Verdict: An intriguing, if relentlessly baffling, teen-oriented mystery.

This third installment of DiBarone’s YA series finds a teenage genius struggling with reality while trying to protect Earth from a viral threat. The first day of Matty Weber’s junior year at a Scotsborough, California high school is peculiar, to say the least. When lunchtime rolls around, he’s eating alone in the cafeteria. As Matty walks around the school, there’s not a student in sight. He eventually runs into his best friend, Gabriel Mason, and Gabriel’s brand-new girlfriend, Stephanie, and learns that a morning announcement has declared school canceled for a month; apparently, there’s a pandemic underway. A maybe-sentient “sort of robot” (which Matty has previously interacted with) runs a pandemic simulation at the school, but Matty inexplicably doesn’t see the same simulated images that Gabriel does. He suspects someone is altering his perceptions; sure enough, he suddenly wakes up in a room with no idea of how he got there. He’s now the “new kid” at the Stanford University Graduate School for Advanced Study, set to work on finding a vaccine for Earth’s deadly new virus. Matty earns graduate degrees in virology in record time and collects samples around the world, from Utah to Turkey to India. The situation somehow involves his biological father, his mother, and his stepfather, all of whom are estranged from each other in different ways. They prize his brilliant mind, but is it only because of the virus? Or are they harboring a secret agenda? Matty is understandably confused and often can’t be sure if he’s taking part in reality or if all of the weird developments happening around him are merely a dream.

In Botheration: Part Four – Tipping Point, Vito DiBarone delivers his most emotionally complex and narratively ambitious installment yet. Blending high-stakes science fiction with authentic coming-of-age turmoil, Tipping Point pushes protagonist Matty Weber to the edge of both personal and cosmic transformation. The novel opens with unsettling lunar imagery and quickly grounds itself in the messy reality of teenage life—rivalries, lost status, shifting friendships, and first love. DiBarone excels at this contrast. Matty’s battle with bullies, academic pressure, and the return of his antagonistic half-sister feel as urgent as the interplanetary mysteries unfolding beyond Earth. The result is a story that feels intimate and epic at the same time. The introduction of Tippi Carter is a standout achievement. She is not merely a “new girl” trope but a fully realized counterforce to Samantha, the missing girlfriend who anchors the book’s emotional mystery. Tippi’s quiet vulnerability, extraordinary talents, and emotional restraint create a beautifully calibrated tension with Matty—one that feels earned and deeply human. DiBarone’s greatest strength lies in his ability to weave scientific speculation into character-driven storytelling. Disappearing Martian moons, shadowy corporate entities, DARPA conspiracies, and suppressed superhuman abilities unfold alongside themes of trust, envy, inadequacy, and moral choice. The “trust class” sequence, built around oxytocin and emotional bonding, is especially effective—grounding the novel’s philosophical questions in both biology and social behavior. Matty’s loss of power is one of the novel’s most compelling narrative decisions. Stripped of his abilities, he must rely on intellect, vulnerability, and emotional resilience. This reframing transforms him from a gifted prodigy into a truly relatable hero. The humiliation of defeat, the ache of being overlooked, and the quiet desperation of wanting to matter are rendered with striking authenticity. The supporting cast enhances the story rather than distracting from it. Gabriel’s ambiguous success and entanglement with XPAC introduces ethical ambiguity. Chloe’s abrasive presence injects volatility into Matty’s home life. Even antagonists like Ricky Right feel grounded in recognizable human insecurity rather than caricature. By the novel’s end, the title Tipping Point reveals its full thematic weight. This is not just a moment where the plot accelerates—it is the point at which identity, loyalty, and power irreversibly shift. DiBarone positions Matty at the threshold of adulthood and destiny, forcing him to confront not only a vast conspiracy but his own evolving sense of self. Verdict: Tipping Point is an intelligently crafted YA sci-fi adventure that balances cosmic spectacle with emotional realism. Fans of character-driven speculative fiction will find it gripping, thoughtful, and deeply resonant. This installment raises the stakes of the Botheration series while enriching its emotional core—marking it as the strongest entry so far.