Young Adult novels have the huge responsibility of catching the attention of busy, young readers. Kathryn McGee’s novel “The Thousandth Floor” does just that. The book’s futuristic setting of a thousand-story tower takes the reader to a far away place that makes the story interesting but relatable.

McGee’s book is centered around five teenagers and the web of lies that surrounds them. They live in The Tower, a thousand-story supertower that was built in Manhattan in the year 2118. At first it seems that the only thing connecting these five characters is the building, but they turn out to be considerably more entangled in each other’s lives than one might think.

“The Thousandth Floor” starts off by describing the death of a character whose name the author doesn’t provide, effectively capturing readers’ attention as they desperately want to find out who has died. The action only grows as the reader goes further along in the book.

As the characters slowly uncover each other’s secrets, the reader is pulled in even more. McGee also goes to great lengths to include futuristic gadgets in her novel that add a charm to the story and really show that it is set one hundred years in the future. This book also describes some of the social stratification that goes on within The Tower, which adds even more depth to this fantastic novel.

Additionally, the characters are teenagers dealing with burdensome struggles of their own. The problems that they face allows the reader to better relate to these characters which also helps to keep the reader engaged.

The book’s development of its characters and plot is definitely well thought out. The points of view for the five characters all line up in a way that hints to what secret the reader might uncover next. The plot and characters are also a driving force that keeps the reader interested.

While there are many awesome aspects to this book, there are some negative aspects as well. Due to the fact that there are five points of view, the story can get confusing. The one thing that this book does to counteract the changing viewpoints is that the entire book is written in the third person limited and the reader doesn’t have to worry about distinguishing between the different voices. Another downside to this book is its moderate use of profanity. Although the language is few and far between, potential readers should still be aware that it is included in this book.

With its well developed futuristic setting as well as fully developed characters, “The Thousandth Floor” is sure to capture even the most hesitant of readers.