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In our universe, science is the law and magic is nonsense. What if it were the other way around? What if witches were revered while scientists were hunted and destroyed? Josephine Angelini takes the world and changes everything you thought was true and right in Trial by Fire.
Lily Proctor has always been sickly. Her body runs at temps that baffle doctors, and her frequent fevers take her to heat levels no body should be able to survive. But she still clings to life, or whatever semblance of life she can with a body that hates everything you do and has an allergic reaction to everything around you. But she has always had Tristan, the boy whose dating life is the stuff of legends, and her faithful sister. When she and Tristan decide to take their relationship past the friend stage and into uncharted territory, she finally feels happy about something in her life. But she should have known better. A guy like Tristan doesn't change overnight. And with his tongue down the throat of an obnoxious underclassman, Lily begs for a change. What she didn't expect was to be ripped out of her universe and planted in a parallel one where everything she knew is different.
In this world, people keep calling her Lillian and are surprised to see her wandering around the city alone. Then she meets the real Lillian. Her other self, the one who lives in, and runs, this world, is a witch. The head witch of this city, in fact. And she is the one who brought Lily here. Lily wants nothing to do with this woman, or her plans for Lily, but when she escapes, she walks right into the hands of the one man who trusts Lillian least, Rowan. Rowan was Lillian's chief mechanic until he severed his tie to her, and now, faced with Lily, the pain of Lillian's betrayal is almost too much to take. But his partner, Tristan, can see the difference between Lily and Lillian. This world, however, is full of dangers, like the Woven, horrible magical mistakes that tear apart anyone who dares to live outside the wall. Like it or not, Rowan has to help protect Lily since she would never survive without help. As he does, he sees her for who she truly is: Lily. Not Lillian. And she might be the key to saving Rowan's world.
I feel like I can't do this book justice with any kind of description because it is so different, interesting, and thought-provoking. The plot itself is fast-paced but detailed enough to keep you reading at a break-neck pace, and I couldn't get enough it. Lily's transformation throughout the story was my favorite part of the story. She went from a sick girl who barely eked out a life to an all-powerful witch who had the potential to surpass her own counter part. But she was flawed. She was more grounded than Lillian because her humble life in her own universe had left her without a lifetime of greed and hunger for power, but that hunger is still deep down inside her psyche. As she connects to Rowan and her power is amplified, she struggles to keep herself from devouring his energy and hurting him because it really is all she wants to do. For a girl who couldn't even have a sip of beer at a keg party without having a seizure, the power she has now is intoxicating. This is why I loved Lily so much. She was flawed. She was greedy and hungry for power, but she was also a good enough person to stop herself and to sacrifice herself to protect others. It made her the better version of herself even though she still possessed those flaws. She is a dynamic character, and Angelini left me still reeling even days after I finished the story!
Angelini's skill in this book didn't end with character building. Her world-building was so in tune, it left me feeling like I knew this world of magic and witches. I could see the terrifying Woven over the wall, could imagine the terrifying way the people produce their food (might make you go vegetarian), and could see the desperation in people's faces as they fought for their beliefs... in science. Imagine a world powered by witches' magics where scientists are persecuted. The scientists don't want to rely on the witches for power, but are their solutions all that much better? "Elemental science" that creates a byproduct rife with danger and instability? If there was a magical solution to our own world's energy problem, how would that be received by the scientists who believe in nuclear power despite its terrifying byproducts? This book was full of these questions, and I really believe it would get any reader to contemplate the deep, dark questions of our own universe, and to accomplish that even with witches and magic, Angelini has got to be a mad scientist herself! Or a witch! Either way, she was pretty darned brilliant, and I am dying for the next book in the series!
When the monsters are trying to save the world from other monsters, you know the world has gone to hell in a handbag. In the stunning conclusion to Julie Kagawa's Blood of Eden series, The Forever Song, the very monsters who were responsible for the end of the world are trying to save the world.
Allie and her sire, Kanin, and her brother, Jackal, are going to kill a Master Vampire. Sarren has created a plague that will completely destroy the world, even more so than Rabidism did. In his sick mind, Sarren thinks he is doing the world a favor by ridding it of all humans and vampires alike. While the illness must be stopped, the trail of carnage Sarren is leaving in his wake just to torment Allie, Jackal, and Kanin is all the more reason to destroy him. He doesn't just kill people for food, he likes to play with his food.
When they get to Jackal's old city, they are in for a surprise none of them could have predicted. Allie is still grieving the loss of Zeke, and she will only start to heal when she sees Sarren beheaded. When they enter old Chicago, Allie was more surprised than anyone to see what Sarren left her: Zeke, fully vamped and with a mind as warped as Sarren's. Meanwhile, Sarren is headed to the sanctuary, Eden, to fulfill his deepest desires in the most twisted way possible. They know what they have to do, but doing it before Sarren leaves more bloody corpses in his wake is unlikely.
Allie has always been an amazing character, and her grief over the loss of Zeke was palpable. It made her hunt for Sarren so much deeper and darker, that this story certainly had a different feel to it. When she found him and Sarren had made him into a monster, I have to say it was predictable, but I was still stunned by it. I knew it was coming (and I am usually easily duped by plot twists), but somehow that just didn't matter. I think that has a lot to do with Kagawa writes. Allie was so upset and devastated that you couldn't help but understand how she was feeling. And it really solidified how deeply psychotic Sarren was, making the hunt for him all that more important.
This was such a different kind of vampire story, that I think the preteen Twilight fans would have a tough time liking it at first, because they would be expecting Edward and Bella and instead get a little more Sid and Nancy. This is darker and creepier, but the characters and the story are so well-crafted, I hope they would eventually get over their preconceived notions and get sucked into this story. It is certainly more gruesome and bloody, so choose your audience accordingly. Kagawa is quite the master of her craft, so I can't wait to read the new series, Talon!
In a world where we are already terrorized by swine flu and avian flu, the idea of those viruses infecting people with the animal genetics they carry is the next step we hope could never happen. In Kat Fall's Inhuman brings that terrorizing thought to life as the humans hide behind the walls and the animals roam around the outside.
Everything from the east of the Mississippi river is abandoned as the Feral Zone. When a biological disaster allowed animal DNA to mutate a human through a bite or contact with blood, the rest of the country realized quickly they had to abandon the East Coast in order to preserve what was left of the humans on the other side. Meanwhile, scientists worked on a cure, but the sheer amount of animal DNA in the human population makes a cure or even a treatment impossible without samples from every mutation. When a human is bitten by an infected human, the first stage of the Farae virus is a high fever that hits them immediately. Then, they begin stage two: mutation. The second stage can last for years, if someone is lucky. As they physically transform into the animal, they still retain human conscience and reasoning. These manimals are still feared by the untouched population, but on the other side of the wall, the lines aren't so black and white. When an infected person finally enters the third stage of the virus, they turn into a Feral. The final change can be so abrupt, they can turn on their loved ones, which is why people are so skeptical of the manimals. But when it is your mother, father, brother, child, or spouse, kicking them out when they get bitten isn't so easy. Now thousands of ferals roam the East and even more people are infected by the virus. Meanwhile their families teeter on the balance of love and self-preservation in small civilizations that scrape by a living.
On the other side of the wall, life is different. It isn't necessarily easy, but it also isn't survival driven like life in the east. Lane is fascinated by the Feral Zone, but terrified by it at the same time. When her father, who usually travels for work and leaves her to fend for herself, is revealed by the government to be a "fetch", she can't believe her ears. Fetches go into the Feral Zone to bring back items for people on the other side of the wall, but their very existence is highly illegal and can result in their execution. Lane always knew her father was an art dealer, but she had no idea he spent his life getting on the other side of the wall to collect abandoned art. Now Director Spurling needs her father to fetch something personal. She is offering full immunity for Lane's father, but first Lane has to find him and get him to do the fetch. But finding someone on the Feral side of the wall isn't easy. In fact, it is the most dangerous thing Lane has ever tried to do... until she realizes she has to do the fetch for her father.
Wow! This was such a fast, fun science fiction novel, I couldn't get enough of it! The story behind the virus was as fascinating as the story of what happens to the people it infects. I loved the contrast between the safe zone behind the wall, the intact humans in the Feral Zone, and the manimals. It really demonstrated a class hierarchy that could rival communities existing today. And the descriptions of the manimals and the ferals is so terrifying and creepy, you can just visuals these animal/humans perfectly! It made the story so graphic and vivid, I couldn't get enough of it!
When Lane started off on her journey accompanied by a green line guard named Everson and a scampish guy named Rafe who makes his living stealing from the guards to deliver to the towns in the zone, I was a little disappointed to see yet another love triangle when I really wanted the action of the story to be the focus. But it actually turned out to be the least offensive and least annoying love triangle I have every encountered! In fact, there was even a point when Rafe outright said, "Ok, I am taking myself out of this silly love triangle!" It was like breaking down the fourth wall for television- if the characters acknowledge the silliness, it makes it not-so-silly! Meanwhile, Everson's "by the book" attitude contrasted with Rafe's "anything goes" attitude perfectly. I loved how they came together to help Lane, protected her, but still did so in wildly different ways. I loved both these boys for very different reasons, and I can't wait to get more of them in the second book. But beware- this ends in a serious cliffhanger, so if you can't wait for the rest of the story, you should hold off until the next book comes out to read this one! This is a good series for strong middle readers through young adult readers. The violence in the Feral Zone is expected, and some of the creature mutations are downright terrifying (I am now having nightmares about weevlings and chimpacabras, Ms. Falls. Thanks for that!), but it is so fast-paced and exciting, it will hold anyone's attention!
As the waters receded, New Orleans picked itself up by its bootstraps and flipped Hurricane Katrina a rude finger gesture as she tucked tail and ran. But what would happen if Katrina was only the first in a long line of increasingly more severe storms? Could our beloved N'Orleans and the surrounding delta survive? In Sherri L. Smith's Orleans, we get a terrifying glimpse of a world that we pray doesn't resemble our future.
Fen survives in the Delta like everyone else. They have no choice. After hurricane after worsening hurricane battered the area into total submission, Delta Fever took over. Delta Fever was unstoppable and the rest of the country had no choice. They built the wall. They separated themselves from the Delta region, and left it to fend for itself. Now, decades later, inside the wall is assumed to be a wasteland with few survivors. Daniel wants to find a cure to Delta Fever, but his closest attempt only made the virus worse. Instead of giving up, he heads to Orleans to gather data that is unavailable outside the wall.
Once inside, though, he is shocked to find a thriving, albeit bloodthirsty, way of life. Fen, a teenaged O-Pos girl lives that life well. Everyone survives better in a tribe, but when her tribe is brutally murdered and she is left with an infant from the tribes leader, she can only think of taking care of Baby. Although Daniel is a liability, he also helped her and Baby escape the Blood Farm, so she owes him. While she doesn't think she can give him want he is looking for, especially in the lawless city of Orleans, she can certainly guide him there. But there is a lot more waiting for innocent, unsuspecting kids than just Delta Fever. Orleans is full of shadows.
This was a really interesting post-apocalyptic story. It was terrifying to see how quickly the region spiraled downwards, and how the rest of the country was totally willing to quarantine the area with Delta Fever unrelenting and incurable. I have family who lived through Hurricane Sandy in New Jersey, and it was until I saw the actual destruction a hurricane can cause, I didn't truly understand what a city like New Orleans has lived through. Sandy may have caused a lot of monetary damage that crippled a lot of people, but Katrina crippled a culture. Although they bounced back, as is the nature of those fierce Cajuns, Katrina will always be a part of their culture now, for better or for worse. The idea of shutting out a whole part of the country and calling it quits was terrifying, but how far would we really go if we couldn't control a deadly virus?
The book is a little confusing sometimes because it is told in Fen's first-person perspective with a mild dialect (perfectly readable, and easy to get used to, but a grammatically incorrect dialect nonetheless), and Daniel's third-person perfect English. The chapter heads weren't marked, so sometimes it took me a minute to realize who I was reading from. This might confuse a weaker reader, so be careful who you give the story to. Still, it is a good enough stand-alone story for any young adult reader. The virus is a little odd in how it affects different blood types in different ways (hence the blood typed tribes), but if you just went with the story, you would certainly enjoy it. I look forward to more from Smith int he future!
When the plague took over, humans did everything they could to stop it... even if it meant using vampires like lab rats to develop a cure. When that cure turned out to be the cause of Rabidism, a mutated vampiric virus that made humans into unstoppable monsters, the humans now needed the vampires to protect them. In The Eternity Cure by Julie Kagawa, the tables have turned once again.
Kanin turned Alli into a vampire, the one creature she detested most. But when the choice is vampire or death, it is amazing what we will become to save our own lives. But Alli wasn't your typical vampire. She may have battled the Hunger like other vampires, but she didn't want to hurt anyone. And a boy she met by chance was the closest connection to her human side. Unfortunately, once he found out she was a vampire, it didn't matter that she was the one who protected him and his family and delivered them to Eden, the vampire-free sanctuary. She was the vampire who endangered Zeke's family by bringing another vampire after them.
But Kanin has been kidnapped by the crazy Master vampire, Sarren, and Alli feels she owes it to him to save him from whatever Sarren plans to do. Along her travels, she stumbles upon Jackal, another of Kanin's children, who is also concerned about Sarren, but for a very different reason. Sarren is thought to be searching for the labs that created Rabidism. At first, they are convinced he planned to destroy any hope for a cure, but then their realization of his true intentions comes to light... and it is even scarier that the lack of a cure. Now Alli and Jackal must find a way to work together to hunt for Sarren, recover Kanin, and stop the Mad Hatter of vampires from total annihilation of the world. Because there is only one thing worse than the Rabidism virus: a bigger, badder virus.
If anyone tells you there are no more original vampire stories out there, tell them to check out Kagawa and Fukuda. If they don't think those are fabulously unique, fresh stories, you tell them they are just trying to be difficult. The Blood of Eden series is not only a great vampire story, it is an awesome story all the way around. Not only do you have truly deep characters like Alli, Zeke, and Jackal, you also have a plot that grabs you by the unmentionables and doesn't let go! For me, Alli is a fabulous character, not just because she is still holding onto her humanity (which others see as naive), but because she wants that humanity to define her. She doesn't want to become a cold, heartless vampire, and her will to hang onto her humanity is hard to deny. In fact, it changes everyone around her. I love this character's will to be a "good person" and the effect it has on the other characters. In a desolate wasteland, people should only be thinking about survival, but she sparks something deeper in even the worst of the worst, even in Jackal. A character like this is a great role model for a reader. While they might only be thinking about the vampires and the battles, there is something deeper that is unconsciously internalized- we are who we want to be. I love that lesson, especially for teens who struggle to find their place in the world for years.
But the story is too fabulous to take a back burner. It is so incredibly exciting, and I could barely put it down. There are twists and turns so novel, I have to go back and reread to be sure I got it right! It is hard to make a story of hope in a barren wasteland patrolled by monsters, but Kagawa does with her magical storytelling. She knows how to craft a story that will hold you in rapt attention and spit you out on the other side, rumpled and tired from reading all night. So don't be afraid to give this to a student who needs an exciting story to hold their attention, or even an adult reader who is looking for an exciting story. This series has it all in spades. It has a brilliant and it will keep you chomping at the bit to get the next book (cheesy pun totally intended!!).
When survival is your primary focus, it is hard to think about the things you can't control. But when your boys are Heisted, it makes life particularly difficult to deal with. In Erin Bowman's dystopia, Taken, life in Claysoot isn't enough for Gray, especially when his Heist looms so close.
In Claysoot, all boys are Heisted when they turn 18. The citizens of the town have no control over the Heist, but they know they lose their boys before they have the opportunity to become men. When Gray watches his brother, Blaine, be Heisted, he refuses to accept the loss of his brother and his own impending Heist. Although he is slated to the one girl he can see himself with forever, he knows forever isn't an option in Claysoot. The boys must be active before their Heist in order to keep the population going. And Emma isn't interested in keeping the population going when all that they have to look forward to is grief and loss. But Gray refuses to just accept their fate. He wants to see what is over the wall despite the charred bodies that always come back. But he expected to go alone.
When Emma follows Gray over the wall, he is mad at her for risking her life at first, but then he realizes how lucky he is to have her with him. They don't know what to expect from over the wall, but it certainly wasn't what they found- another civilization. A domed city full of people and run by a man trying to save the people of Claysoot is more than Gray and Emma could have ever hoped for, but their story isn't that simple. There is more to Frank, the leader of the dome, than he cares to share with them. Emma and Gray's skepticism is what will keep them alive, but it is also what will put them in danger. With layers and layers of deceit and lies surrounding their lives, Gray feels like the unraveling of one layer only leads him to more confusion. But he will get to the truth, even if it means risking everything he has ever cared for.
I actually thought this was a really good dystopia. With so many books in the genre popping up, it is hard to weed out the bad from the fabulous, but this book is firmly in the pretty good section. There was a point when I had a difficult time keeping all the different layers of lies and deceit together, but you just have to read each new pack explanations with skepticism, the same way Gray did. Trust no one, and you might have a chance. I also liked that the story didn't end perfectly. There were some great sacrifices and some realistic situations (like when Emma thought Gray was dead) that made the book seem more practical for me. Those situations certainly ticked me off as I was reading the book, but in retrospect, I appreciated being surprised by such a familiar genre and not knowing what to expect next.
This is a great story for any age/grade, and it would be best for a somewhat strong reader, since there are subtle situations that might be missed with a struggling reader. It is broken into three distinct stories, which gives the book three nice breaks in the action to recoup and soldier on. I really enjoyed this story and look forward to seeing where it goes next. The story ends on a cliffhanger, but it isn't the kind of cliffhanger that leaves you fuming. It was a nice break that will have you pre-ordering the next book as soon as it is available. So overall, I thought this was a great start to a promising series and I am looking forward to seeing how it turns out!
Gaia is a strong woman who was raised to be a midwife in a land where babies were taken to supply the walled city with offspring. When everything fell apart, she left the city to take her chances in the wasteland where she happened upon a town that worshipped women and their very few offspring... a little too much. But having decided to leave Sylum with over a thousand members (mostly male) of its population, she returns to the one place that she never thought she'd see again. Caragh O'Brien's Promised concludes the dystopian trilogy with the final transition for the Gaia, the humble midwife turned leader.
Gaia has taken a huge risk leaving Sylum, and an even larger risk taking her people to Wharfton, but she doesn't have many choices, especially since "her people" includes the crims (criminals). When they arrive, the people of the Enclave are understandably on edge about their presence, but a lot has changed in Wharfton. The inability to reproduce is the least of the worries of the people inside and outside the walls as hemophilia rampages through the new generations, leaving the people as vulnerable as they were when Gaia left them... maybe even more so.
The one person greedily happy to see Gaia is the Protectorate. With his civilization on the brink of extinction, he knows Gaia and her rare DNA hold the key to survival (and the reinsurance of his reign). With her people camped out in Unlake, Gaia depends on the Protectorate to give them the water they need to settle and survive, but what she doesn't expect is how far he is willing to go to get what he deserves. And Gaia takes her position as the leader of New Sylum very seriously...
This has been such a strong dystopia, so it was bittersweet to get the final book in the mail. I wanted to read it, but I also didn't want the series to end. And after having the lovely opportunity to meet Caragh O'Brien at a local bookstore, I was mesmerized even more by this trilogy (she is a DELIGHTFUL woman!). And I have to say, this book did not disappoint. It took Gaia's story, which has had a number of transitions and transformations, and it ended in a way I couldn't imagine. I loved it!
Gaia went from a festering novice full of anger for the establishment to a strong leader who wasn't willing to give up, and it was great to watch. My one complaint was that she simply couldn't stop going back into the Enclave! She gets tortured, threatened, imprisoned, etc., and still she marches, slinks, and crawls her way back in time and time again. I wanted to smack her by third time she went in after Leon. Sure, this series has many darks corners, but its dystopic web is unmatched. I really loved this series, and this conclusion doesn't disappoint. But beware... it is going someplace you might not be ready to travel!
I like nothing better than a book who was trained to track, hunt, and fight against the will of a dominating ruler in a society where women must be escorted everywhere they go, aren't educated, and are treated like property. And C.J. Redwine takes the dystopia genre by storm with Rachel in Defiance, a girl who won't just sit back and accept her fate. A girl who fights for everyone she loves.
Rachel's father has been declared dead, but she simply won't accept the news. She watches as they close up the city on the final day of wait for him and knows she will find a way to escape the city walls and find her father. But the Commander of the city must now assign her a new Protector, and she assumes it will be Oliver, the man who has been a grandfather to her all her life. When Logan, her father's apprentice and the very young man Rachel professed her undying love to and was rejected by, is named her Protector, Rachel's vehement defiance catches the terrifying eye of the Commander.
Logan tries to keep rachel under control long enough to put together a plan to find her father, but the headstrong young woman refuses to wait. In an attempt to escape over the wall, she is apprehended and has the opportunity to witness the Commander's cruelty all too close. But nothing will stop her from protecting the ones she loves, even if it means leaving the safe walls of the city to roam the Wasteland and risk being burned alive or devoured by the Cursed One.
This was a book that has it all: monsters, dystopia, human folly that gave way to an apocalyptic future, controlling rulers, and feisty ladies. I loved it! Rachel was strong, brave, and quite stubborn, and that made me like her all the more. She was like so many girls I know, love, and am related to! Rachel wouldn't take no for an answer, and her love for her father was one I am sure we can all relate to. Logan was also a very dynamic character. His background as a starving wretch who was saved by Rachel's father and Oliver added to the ferocity with which he protected his job as a courier/tracker. Add to that his loyalty to Rachel's family and burning rage toward the Commander and you have quite a match!
This is a great book not only for the kids who like dystopias, but also for those girls who need a butt-kickin' heroine to love and root for. There is some violence and the control of the Commander is pretty vile stuff. The book ends in a way that keeps you wanting more but doesn't leave you cursing the book Gods who think it is funny to cheat us of any possible resolution (jerks). So let loose your Defiant streak, ladies. It's time you had some fun!
Animals are endangered, extinct even. Plants are bulldozed for parking lots and apartment buildings. Habitats are destroyed, and humans are at war with nature. Nature isn't winning. Until the Animal Plague. When the Animal Plague turned all the animals into murderous crazed beasts hell-bent on destroying their one common enemy, humans, the humans were forced to abandon most of the world and live behind giant walled cities while the rest of the earth is poisoned to rid the planet of the hostile animals. In The Roar, by Emma Clayton, the world may not be exactly as it seems.
Ellie knows her parents think she is dead, but she hopes her twin brother Mika knows she is out there. Kidnapped and trained as a super soldier thanks to her mutations, Ellie just wants to get back to her twin brother- her other half. Mika, on the other hand, is sure Ellie is alive, even though no one believes him. He has learned to keep his thoughts to himself after everyone was convinced he was crazy. But he knows he has to find a way to get Ellie back to him.
When the government releases a new pod fighter video game, the kids can't get enough of it. They start living just to play the game, almost in a zombie-like trance. The game quickly weeds out the normal kids from the prodigies, and Mika is one of the few incredibly talented kids who gets to compete in the final rounds of the competition. What no one is aware of, however, is the terrifying levels of corruption within the government who created the game to not only weed out the talented mutants like Mika, but to control the rest of the population as well. Mika suspects there is more to this game, but he knows it is the only way back to Ellie, and for Ellie, he would risk everything.
The Roar is a pretty long book, but it reads fairly easily. I have to admit, there was a long section in the middle of the book that could have been condensed and still maintained the same effect. It was this very long part about Mika working his way through the levels of the pod fighter video game that bored me a little in the middle. But once he progressed to the further rounds, it got more exciting... and more deadly. The world that was described, these cramped walled cities, the bottom portion damp, moldy, and filled with flood water and the top reserved for the wealthy where they could ignore the poverty of the millions of people beneath them. It was a pretty terrifying world, but the level of corruption and deception beneath the actual world is the real terrifying part. You don't get to see this corruption until the very end of the book, but it will leave you anxious to start the second book, Whisper.
This is a series that reads like a middle reader story, but has some complex ideas (not really content), and could appeal to lower skilled, older readers. It is certainly long, so it might be daunting for some students. The video games as mind and population control, however, is an awesome topic to discuss with your children and students. So many kids get sucked into these video games, that it would be interesting to pose a "what if?" to them in contrast to this story. I bet they would think twice about it next time they picked up the video game... what if they are being controlled?! It would be a great conversation to have and one that affects them personally. Overall, this was an interesting story and I look forward to the second book, but it was a little younger than most dystopias or post-apocalyptic stories out there.
