In some indeterminate future, Davi, of indeterminate gender, is entranced by the music of Django Conn. At a concert Davi becomes transported to another plane, both by Conn's music and seeing Anna Z, another concert-goer who is equally transported. When the two finally meet, Anna enlists Davi to help her escape from her brother who is violently obsessed with her. As the two navigate their relationship and search for safety, they share their common interest in the "alien drift," which was an abstraction I'm afraid I didn't really get. It seemed that there was so much to be inferred about astral powers that the plot was slowed down. However, I really liked that the book was comprised of 100 very short chapters, However, the love of music was very clear and will be engaging for like-minded readers. ( )

Teenage Davi, along with his sister, lives a rather strange existence on the seventh floor of the Angelus, a once grand hotel, founded by his great-grandfather. A huge fan of glam rock-god, Django Conn, at one of his concerts Davi catches a glimpse of a young girl who appears to be totally lost in the music, even transformed by it. She is completely focused on Django and her very being appears to flicker with the pulse-beat of the music. He is immediately drawn to her and feels an almost visceral compulsion to get to know her. Although he loses sight of her at the end of the concert the two do eventually meet up and it is not long before he is drawn into the mysterious world of Anna Z, with her passionate beliefs, her conspiracy theories, her belief in aliens. She believes that Django is the next stage in evolution: “homo lux” – humans made out of light and that so too are she and Davi. He is exhilarated by the new ideas she bombards him with and, in spite of warnings that she is not what she seems, that getting close to her will lead him into uncharted territory, he wants to be part of her vision for the future. He also becomes aware that she is desperate to escape from an abusive brother and so is determined to do all in his power to help to save her. Hopes for their salvation seem to be dependent on following Django on his tour of the continent, hoping to discover the secret of “Alien Drift”, a mysterious force which may hold the answers to the future of humanity.
Any story which involves sci-fi, magic realism, total immersion in the rather psychedelic world of rock music is one which would not attract my attention. However, knowing that “Meet Me in the Strange” is being published by Meerkat Press, a small publishing house which has recently introduced me to some remarkable authors, I felt confident that a treat was probably in store – a confidence which was amply rewarded! As soon as I started reading I felt drawn into the worlds of Davi and Anna Z and I couldn’t bear to put the book down until I had finished it. The story pulses with frantic, passionate, soul-felt emotion and psychic energy and is full of pain, innocence and, ultimately, hope.
Although the music described holds little personal appeal, the story powerfully evokes the power of music to move and infuse your very being and this was something I was very easily able to identify with. I also loved all the references to Frankenstein and Mary Shelley (who, like Anna Z ran away from home as a seventeen-year old virgin and then wrote her famous book!) and to the many reflections on beauty and horror. The short chapters captured the rather ethereal nature of the story and contributed to my feeling that I was joining these two young people on their journey of discovery. Whether their experiences were real or fantasy felt totally unimportant. What was important was their journey towards self-discovery and the many ways in which the author captured the passionate seriousness and single-mindedness of this age group.
I found this a very visual book (it lends itself to being made into a film!) and, for a hugely captivating few hours, felt drawn into a psychedelic fantasy world. Although it is a book which is aimed at the 12-18 age group I, several decades beyond this target group, thoroughly enjoyed being transported to a different realm! A final comment: I loved the cover, another brilliant illustration from the multi-talented Keith Rosson.

My thanks to Nudge/Library Thing for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. ( )

Goodreads Synopsis:
Davi tries to help a new friend, Anna Z, escape a cruel and controlling brother, and the teens end up running away to follow the tour of their rock idol, the otherworldly Django Conn. The story is set in a weird and wonderful retro-futuristic city of glam-girls and glister-boys and a strange phenomenon that Anna Z calls the “Alien Drift.”

My Review:
I received a copy of Meet Me In The Strange from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

First off, I love the cover for this. Usually I don't read juvenile fiction, but I just thought that the description for this book was too interesting to pass up It begins with a concert, and a flickering out of place girl.

Davi is a young boy who lives in a dorm and spends a lot of his time listening to his favourite band. He meets a girl he really likes, and she's super weird compared to everyone else, including their first encounter where she seemed like she was flickering while she was listening to the band play at a show, but that couldn't be right could it? She's into all these conspiracies and aliens and he just loves listening to her talk. She believes the singer of their favourite band is actually an alien and Davi soon starts to believe that too. When he learns about her hidden past, it changes everything. This story is crazy and a smooth ride from start to finish.

Although the chapters are only a few pages long each, this book was an enjoyable read and I'm glad I got the chance to read it.

Here's a link to the book on Amazon.

https://www.amazon.ca/Meet-Me-in-the-Strange-ebook/dp/B075SXRX4L/ref=sr_1_1?ie=U...

Thanks for reading! Check out this review and more at my blog.
(Radioactivebookreviews.wordpress.com) ( )

Django Conn is a rock god with a massive teenage following, including Davi, a young man who has lived all his life in a high-end hotel, and Anna Z, a young woman who is on the run from….someone. Davi first sees Anna Z at a Django concert and he sees how she is utterly transformed by the music; obviously, she is someone he must get to know! When he does meet her, however, he is drawn into her mysterious world - and it becomes his mission in life to help her continue life in the Strange…. I received an ARC of this YA novel from LibraryThing’s Early Reviewers program, having requested it because it’s from Meerkat Press, a publisher whose other books I have enjoyed a lot. Alas, this is not one of those. Firstly, I find it difficult to see teens of today relating to a book that spends a lot of time talking about vinyl albums and other technologies set more or less in the 1970s, and secondly, more importantly, the female lead is essentially either described as being “owned” by a man or being “saved” from that man by the male lead. That is to say, Anna Z comes across as manic and somewhat crazy, while at the same time having essentially no agency in her own life. A misfire from Meerkat, I’m afraid. ( )