Away

 

by Megan Freeman

At the end of Alone, while the story wraps up nicely, we are left without knowing what really happened to the world Maddie lives in. Freeman could have left us with that, and it would have been fine, but when I saw that there was a follow up, I had to have it. 

The story starts the same place Alone starts, but from the perspective of the people who made it onto the transport vans, including Ashanti, Maddie's sleepover buddy. We also meet Grandin, a country boy whose dad refused to get on the transport, Harmony, an aspiring journalist, and Teddy, who loves movies and film. These four are thrown together when the transports arrive at the "camps." As life settles down and time passes, and the people are still not told what existential threat the outside world is facing, these kids aim to get to the bottom of the mystery. When all was revealed, I found the answer to be completely plausible.

I did find it to be a little less compulsively readable than Alone, simply due to all the jumping around in formatting. Ashanti writes in verse, Harmony writes via letters to her aunt, and Teddy's sections read like a screenplay. A neat idea, but it made it a little harder to follow for me.

All in all, a very worthy follow-up to Alone with a satisfying and believable ending!

Alone

by Megan E. Freeman

Maddie and her friends have the Best. Plan. Ever. Maddie tells her mom she's at her dad's. And tells her dad she's at her mom's. And her friends hatch a similar plan with their parents. But really, they're going to Maddie's grandparents' condo. They're only in town in the summer. It's the perfect plan, until Ashanti gets sick, and the whole thing gets called off. Maddie has already bought all the snacks, though, so she goes ahead and has the party by herself. She falls asleep with her phone on silent, and when she wakes up, she's... alone. Everyone has been evacuated for an unknown reason, and Maddie has to figure out what's going on and how to survive. I absolutely loved this tense, super suspenseful novel in verse!

 

Sweet

by Emmy Laybourne

Laurel is nervously excited about getting to go on a celebrity cruise paid for by her wealthy friend's dad. Nervous because it's a cruise designed to promote a new weight-loss product, and because her childhood tv crush is hosting the footage of the trip, Ryan Seacrest-style. The product, Solu, is a sugar substitute touted to bring on rapid weight loss, and it works. Laurel, due to an extreme bout of sea-sickness, doesn't partake. Neither does Tom, her celebrity crush, because he's already in great shape and doesn't want to mess up his process. These two, and the few other cruisers who don't take the product, very quickly see that there's something a little off about Solu, and things take a dark and dramatic turn.

The characters in this book are a little shallow and one-dimensional, but the story is so fun you won't really care. And endings to books like this are hard to do right--this one is total greatness, down to the very last line. Lots of fun!

Dry

by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman

Alyssa has been living under water restrictions in Southern California ever since she can remember, but then one day, the taps actually go dry. FEMA is more concerned about a different natural disaster on the other side of the country, so government help is coming in slow. It doesn't take long for the true nature of Alyssa's neighbors to come out as everyone is struggling to just stay alive for one more day. What's scary about this book is how fast the characters reach a critical situation. Within a matter of days people are dying, and not just from dehydration. The domino effect of having no water and how the Shustermans play that out is interesting. Unfortunately the multiple point of view technique didn't really work here. I had a hard time distinguishing between characters, often having to go back to the beginning of each chapter to remind myself who was talking. Interesting, and a quick read, but not Shusterman's best.

Thunderhead

by Neal Shusterman

Wow! It's very rare that a sequel measures up to the first in a series, and it almost NEVER surpasses it, but this one most definitely did. So much so that it almost feels like Scythe is truly just a set up so that he could tell this part of the story. I'll steer clear of plot summaries to avoid Scythe spoilers. I'll just say that if you liked Scythe even a little bit, you have to add this one to the list.

Scythe

by Neal Shusterman

In the future, no one dies. Disease has been eliminated, and bodies mangled in accidents can be fixed with a short hospital stay. But there's not enough room for everyone on this planet, so somebody has to go. Enter the Scythes, people trained to kill at random for the good of the world. They are mysterious, feared and respected, almost god-like. When Citra and Rowan are chosen to be a Scythe's apprentice, they are both reluctant to take the job, but know that it would be best for their families. As they learn "the art of taking a life," they also learn that the "perfect" world in which they live is actually far from it. Lots of twists and turns and exciting action make this a winner!

Nemesis

by Brendan Reichs

Every other year, on her birthday, Min is murdered by a man in a black suit. It's always a horrible, painful death, but each time, she wakes up unscathed. She takes crazy pills, goes to therapy, and tries to overcome the fact that no one seems to believe this is really happening to her. But then she realizes that she might not be the only one suffering from this strange experience. As she digs deeper, she begins to uncover long-buried secrets that might get her killed. For real this time.

This is a fast-paced thriller with lots going for it. You'll really want to know what's going on with Black Suit. Min is a fun character--much more believable than a lot of female protagonists in this type of YA fiction these days.

Steelheart

by Brandon Sanderson

When a new moon descends out of nowhere, certain humans begin to exhibit unusual powers and abilities. Unfortunately, most of the people, known as Epics, choose to use their new powers for evil and personal gain. At the beginning of the crisis, David's father believes that good Epics will rise up against the bad ones, and he thinks Steelheart could be the hero they're looking for. David and his dad have misfortune of being trapped in a bank that is being attacked by Epics. David's dad saves Steelheart's life, but is then killed by Steelheart. But the bullet from David's father's gun grazes Steelheart, and he bleeds. David now knows Steelheart is vulnerable. Fast forward several years, and the Epic problem is worse. David is an expert on them. He wants to kill Steelheart, and he thinks joining a group called the Reckoners will do it. But will the Reckoners want his help?

Cinder

by Marissa Meyer

We all know the general plot here, cause, obviously, it's Cinderella! Honestly, I've been avoiding this one for years. I hate the cover, and it just seemed like another cheeseball fairy tale retelling. I was wrong again! Yes, it's Cinderella, but it's so much more! It's Cinderella as a cyborg, and it's wonderful! I'm not sure how one introduces plot twists into this age-old story, but Meyer has done it. Mystery, suspense, a frightening dystopian future, and a stepmother even more evil than the original all team up to make this one fun read. Sure, there a few annoying plot holes every now and then, but not enough to really distract from the experience. The middle school girls love this series--I need to be better about trusting my readers. So glad I finally picked this one up!

Enclave

by Ann Aguirre

Deuce lives in College Enclave, an underground society that has formed in what's left of New York City's subway system in a dismal future. Life expectancy caps out at around 25 due to poor nutrition and the great likelihood of disease. People have specific functions: breeders produce and care for children, and the hunters provide the meat (most likely rats). They also protect the others from the Freaks--humanoid creatures with sharp claws and teeth that eat human flesh. For years those in the Enclave have survived this way, but the Freaks, once mindless eaters, seem to be getting smarter. The Enclavers can no longer feel safe in the tunnels. When an unfortunate event forces Deuce topside, she begins to see there's a world outside of what she's always known, but it's not much safer than the one she hails from.

This is the first in a trilogy, and I haven't decided yet if I'll go on, which I guess means I probably won't. The first half of this story was awesome. I loved the underground world-building. But once she took us topside, the plot lost steam, and the world was not nearly as well thought out. A fun read that I think a lot of you guys will like, but there are far better out there in this overcrowded genre.

In the End

by Demitria Lunetta

Most of this story takes place at Fort Black. Amy arrives there, and again, draws unnecessary attention to herself and finds danger around every corner. She meets a young man named Jacks. She's required by this society to fall under the protection of a man, which we all know Amy doesn't need. (First of all, she's "Guardian trained," AND she has the synth suit. Which apparently just whisks away all moisture, mostly negating the need for a shower, which is mentioned many, many, times. Ew. But I digress.) So Jacks is starting to fall in love with her, but she still has mixed feelings about Rice. She's searching for Ken, Kay's brother, but hasn't had much luck. In the After had this sort of building tension that made all of the plot flaws and kind of annoying moments worth it. This wasn't terrible, and I was glad that everything wrapped up in just two books, but it was a bit of a let down.

Ship Breaker

by Paolo Bacigalupi

It's the future, and the world is not in a good way. Nailer is a ship breaker--one of a group of people living at the poverty line, trying hard to eek out a living (and maybe strike it rich) by scavenging for oil and copper off of wrecked and abandoned ships. The people form communities called crews. They swear blood oaths to defend and protect one another. When Nailer encounters a beautiful, almost dead rich girl on a wrecked clipper, he is faced with a huge decision--finish her off and be set for life, or nurse her to health with the chance of making a completely new life with her and her people. His decision leads him on a harrowing, nail-biter of a journey.

Dark Life

by Kat Falls

It's the future, and the world as we know it has fallen apart. It's so bad that living underwater has become an option, and some brave "pioneers" have chosen to set up their lives there. They farm on the ocean floor, and raise fish that they they send "topside." Ty and his family live below, and he loves his life under the sea. Everything was going swimmingly until the Seablite gang showed up and began terrorizing the settlers. The topside government charges the settlers with capturing the gang, and Ty wants to help. Meanwhile, he meets a very cute topsider named Gemma. She's an orphan, looking for her older brother, and she thinks he might be below. Ty and Gemma have to work together to solve the mystery of her missing brother, and save the colony from the evil gangsters.

I think this is a great book for guys, especially for the ones who enjoy fast-paced adventures like the 39 Clues series.

A Matter of Days

by Amber Kizer

The Bluestar virus has wiped out the world as we know it. Nadia and her little brother Rabbit were given a super-secret vaccine by their Special Forces uncle, so they are the only people they know who survived. Their Uncle Bean gave them specific instructions to try to get their mom to take the vaccine (she was too stubborn to take it, and therefore croaked pretty quickly) and then try to get to West Virginia. He claims he'll be there waiting for them with their Pappy, whom they've never met. Since they're starting in Seattle, this turns into a quite a trip. They meet a few other survivors along the way, who happened to have a natural immunity to the virus.

This is a pretty simple story of a journey, and focuses more on how these two survive than anything else. It was interesting, but not one I'll rave about. For you people out there who just can't get enough of the end of the world.

Graduation Day

by Joelle Charbonneau

So now Cia is set to carry out the plan that was put in place in Independent Study. Can she/will she kill to end all the killing? And who can she trust to help her?

There's a lot of Cia thinking about her moral dilemma in this one, and even more back and forth on who she can and can't trust. It's a little exhausting.

BUT... I almost never read book two in a series, much less book three. Overall, I really enjoyed this fun series.

Independent Study

by Joelle Charbonneau

Cia is at the University now. She has completed her Testing, and her memories, as feared, are gone. But when she finds the messages she recorded for herself, she has just enough information to distrust the establishment, and once again, put herself and Tomas in danger. While not quite as good as the first, Charbonneau keeps up the action and suspense in this book, and leaves us with an ending that makes it pretty much impossible to not be excited for Graduation Day.

The Testing

by Joelle Charbonneau

I have a love/hate relationship with this book. I really wanted to hate it.

Here's what it's about. So there's this girl Cia, and she lives in a messed up future version of the United States. You see, we've destroyed ourselves with war, and by not taking care of the earth, and all that good stuff. Now, the powers that be have created The Testing. Only the best and brightest get to go (have to go?) to the big city to participate. They are put through a series of ordeals in which many, many, young people die a very violent death. There's a boy, too. Tomas. He's soooo dreamy. He tells Cia he loves her, but she's not sure if she can trust him.

Sound familiar? Yeah, I thought so. And honestly, I cant' even tell you, "But wait! This is different!" Cause it's not. But for some reason, even though I rolled my eyes through the whole thing, I just kept on reading, which I don't tend to do if I'm not interested in something. I finished it. And then, there was a sample chapter for the next book in the series. I read that, too. Today, I checked out Independent Study.

I cannot explain my behavior. It just is what it is. This is the Twilight of dystopias. Stupid, cheesy, but somehow, oddly compelling.

The 5th Wave

by Rick Yancey

Maybe I'm biased, because I love me some aliens, but this book was SO. MUCH. FUN!

Basically, there's an alien apocalypse. They're wiping out the human race, but they're doing it in stages. We pick up the story at the end of the 4th wave, or, if you prefer, stage of human destruction.We meet Cassie first. She's alone, and trying to survive in this crazy new world. She's being hunted. She doesn't know who she can trust, which makes her very dangerous.

I just don't feel like I can say any more about the plot without stealing away the suspense for you!

This is definitely a thriller. A just for fun, escape from your daily life, get totally absorbed type of book. So the pages turn themselves, and it's awesome when that happens. But it's even greater because it's Rick Yancey. He can tell a killer story, but (shock and awe!) the man can also WRITE!

I hate books that set out to be a series opener, and this clearly is. However...it's so good that I forgive Mr. Yancey. Can't wait to see what happens next!

The Essence

by Kimberly Derting

In this second installment of Derting’s Pledge novels, Charlie is now the unlikely queen of Ludania, but the former, evil queen Sabara is not gone. Her spirit, or essence, resides within Charlie. The new queen, while inexperienced and uncomfortable in her role, has been able to make some sweeping changes across the country, including the banning of executions, and allowing freedom of speech. She still has much to learn, and sets off to a conference where she will meet the queens of the surrounding nations. At the conference, Sabara makes her sinister presence more and more clear. Her desires for the immortal Niko cloud Charlie’s own feelings for Max, creating a strange, and extraneous, kind of love triangle. Max, her love interest in the first novel, gets little page time, except as a foil for Charlie/Sabara’s feelings for Niko. While the majority of the story is told from Charlie’s perspective, intermittent point of view changes make the narrative choppy. Pair this with an undeterminable setting, along with too many supernatural/dystopian/fantasy elements mish-mashed together, and you’ve got a book with no real sense of direction.

Epitaph Road

by David Patneaude

In a not-so-distant future, a deadly virus strikes the entire planet. Millions die...but here's the catch. No women are affected. The virus only kills males. A small percentage, around 3%, of males are immune, but they are always greeted with suspicion. The females who now run the world see them basically as a necessary evil. They've even engineered a way to make sure that the majority of babies born are female. Fourteen year old Kellen is a male navigating this strange world. When he discovers a resurgence of the virus might be on the way, he desperately tries to warn his dad, who lives in a colony outside the city. Teaming up with two girls, the trio gets in over their heads in a political and moral dilemma that could have devastating consequences.

This story had great potential. I love the idea behind it, and the exploration of a world without men. The author explores lots of interesting ways the world might change if something like this really happened. In a world without men, how many wars do you think we would have? It's thought-provoking. Unfortunately, though, I don't feel the story really ever panned out. I lost interest about half-way through, and had to struggle to finish. Remember that every book isn't for every reader, though, so if it sounds interesting to you, give it a try!