Trinity Foxx is used to her grandfather's crazy stories, so she doesn't believe the latest treasure he brought home to their failing West Texas museum is a real dragon's egg. Not until Connor Jacks, a dragon hunter from the future, tells Trinity that the world is about to be wiped out by a fiery dragon war—unless they find a way to stop it. But Connor's not the only one after the egg. His twin brother Caleb believes dragons have the power to save mankind and must be protected. Caleb has seen too many dragons destroyed in the war-scorched future—he'll do whatever it takes to save this one. As they go on the run with a host of enemies hot on her heels, Trinity must decide who to believe--Connor the brave and loyal solider? Or Caleb the cocky, angry rebel?. And who to trust with her heart. Gr 9 Up–In this preapocalyptic time-travel adventure, 16-year-old Trinity Foxx has to determine which twin from the future is lying to her, and what she should do with the dragon egg her absentminded grandfather went bankrupt to purchase. That's hard to do, though, when one twin, Connor, shows her a future world destroyed by dragon fire that can be prevented if she folllows his instructions. The other twin, Caleb, tries to convince her that dragons are harmless and that the hatchling she's bonded with will help save the world. In fact, in that future, Trinity founded an organization to protect dragons from murderous humans. Trinity also struggles with her attraction to both boys, trauma from her mother's suicide two Christmases ago, and her burgeoning feelings of responsibility for the dragon she helped rescue. The fantastical elements of this novel could be more well fleshed out (and slightly more plausible, especially with regard to the Nether, supposedly the collective unconscious of all dragons), and the suspenseful climax could be paced better, but the story is exciting and original enough to whet readers' appetites for the sequel. The writing style is not overly complex, making this appropriate for a diverse range of adolescent readers. This is a light, fun, unique take on apocalypse fiction, lacking the depth of other titles but thoroughly enjoyable.–Kyle Lukoff, Corlears School, New York Cityα(c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. When 16-year-old Trinity Foxx’s grandfather brings a dragon egg back for the family museum, he sets off a series of events that make Trinity believe she is destined to follow her mother into madness and suicide. Twin soldiers representing opposing factions from the future, Caleb the Dracken and Connor the Dragon Hunter, both show up in her world, each trying to convince her that she is the linchpin on which the future turns. The plot is highly reminiscent of the Terminator movies—which Mancusi references tongue in cheek in several places—but with bonus dragon bonding and the requisite teen love triangle. Flashbacks and alternating points of view from Trinity, Caleb, and Connor keep the action moving, and several twists at the end prevent the story from feeling cheesy. Each character is flawed and human, forced to deal with the enormity of the impossible decisions they must make. There is no true resolution; instead, Mancusi leaves the ending wide-open for the next book in this planned series. Grades 7-10. --Charli Osborne "A smoking triptych of time traveling, dubious double-crossing and enough dragons to sate the hungriest of gamers and fantasy fiends." ― Kirkus Reviews "Mancusi grabs readers and drags them into this fantastic world full of time-travel paradoxes, mythical creatures and romance. The beginning of a trilogy you won’t want to miss!" ― RT Book Reviews, 4 stars "Exciting and original . . . a light, fun, unique take on apocalypse fiction." ― School Library Journal "Flashbacks and alternating points of view from Trinity, Caleb, and Connor keep the action moving . . . Each character is flawed and human, forced to deal with the enormity of the impossible decisions they must make." ― Booklist "Fantastic, witty, fun . . . Scorched is an exhilarating, intriguing and adventure-filled fantasy. Mancusi leaves the reader hanging, even dangling, in all the right places. . . [and] answers the question, "What would the world be like if it was taken over by dragons?" with a definitive, exciting and riveting response: Well, it'd be Scorched . " ― Deseret News "An engaging YA dragon fantasy." ― Fresh Fiction, Fresh Pick "'I am really obsessed with Scorched !' says Gwen Reyes from Fresh Fiction" ― Good Morning, Texas "Dragons, mind powers, kickass heroine and hot twins? Book, you had me at hello." ― Forever Young Adult "Dragons, hot twins and a feisty heroine with red hair – SOLD!" ― Girls in the Stacks "I LOVED Scorched ! Most of all, I adored the story. That’s what rocked this book. I mean, dragons? DRAGONS!! YES! DRAGONS!...But we also have time travel and cool gadgets from the futu