When Adelina was a child the blood fever swept across the land killing many and leaving others marked. Adelina, like many other survivors is a Malfetto. She lost her left eye to the fever, her skin bears strange markings, and her hair and eyelashes turned from brown to silvery white.
The Malfettos are are outcasts in Kenettra. Many people believe they are demons from the underworld. While the Malfettos are scorned, some of them have new abilities. These young Elites each have some kind of ability to control the natural world.
Adelina has always been a Malfetto, hated and cruelly treated by her father. When her father decides to sell her to an older man, she runs away, and for the first time, she realizes she too is an Elite.
Adelina has the power to create illusions. She could become a powerful asset to the Daggers, a group of Elites who take her in. But many of the Daggers are wary of Adelina's power and the growing darkness in her heart. As she struggles to control her powers, the darkness grows within her.
Everyone wants Adelina for a purpose, and she is caught in the middle of a dangerous game with enemies on all sides. There are many who want to use her power, but does anyone want Adelina for herself?
Marie Lu's new series opener was a thrilling read. I'm still trying to decide how I feel about it. This is no straight forward tale, but a story of darkness and betrayal. Recommended for fans of anti-heroes.
Rio has lived her entire life below in Atlantia. Many years ago when the above became too polluted, humanity found a solution. They built the underwater city of Atlantia, and some were chosen to live there to increase humanity's chances of survival. Some where chosen to stay above to live in the polluted world and send food and supplies below.
Rio has always dreamed of going above, but when her mother died she promised her sister, Bay, she would stay below with her. But Rio is shocked when Bay chooses to go above and leave her sister alone in Atlantia. It is at this moment that Rio reveals her secret. She is a siren. Her true voice can bend people to her will, but she has kept this power a secret all her life to stay out of the hands of the council and those who would use her for their own ends.
It is only after Bay is gone that Rio begins to explore more of Atlantia where she comes in contact with her Aunt Mer, a powerful siren. Rio isn't sure she can trust her aunt or the disturbing truths she learns about Atlantia.
One thing is for certain. Rio will find a way to get above even if her feelings get more confused every day. Atlantia is more dangerous than she ever imagined especially for a siren living in the shadows. But she is also in danger of losing her heart to True, the clever boy who wants to protect her.
Ally Condie's new book has a similar feel to the Matched trilogy, and you will definitely enjoy Atlantia if you liked the first series.
Velvet lives in a world of monsters. She used to think all that horror movie stuff was a joke, but that was before the first wave, before thousands of people suddenly turned into mindlessly violent creatures. Connies--short for contaminated.
ThinPro protein water was the most popular diet drink in the country. People were drinking it everywhere. It wasn't until after the second wave when Connies were rounded up to be experimented on that scientists discovered the truth. The protein in the water was contaminated causing a mad cow effect on humans. Many people know someone contaminated.
For Velvet it's both her parents, and now she is left to take care of her little sister, make ends meet, and try to finish high school. Add to that the stress of the unaccounted for Connies still living in some remote areas.
Most of the Connies have been rounded up and neutralized with collars that send shocks to their brains to control their violent urges. These Connies live in kennels like animals waiting for family members to claim them. Most don't. Even though they aren't violent anymore, they are like dementia patients. They can't talk, they need help going to the bathroom and feeding themselves, and they have to be tied up to keep them from wandering off.
But Velvet is different. When she finally finds her mother, she brings her home where she faces violence and prejudice. But Velvet is convinced her mom is different. If she can just get her back into a familiar routine, maybe her mom's brain will be able to repair itself.
Even as Velvet is struggling with all the responsibility of caring for her family, more contaminated are starting to appear. Is this the beginning of a new wave? And how will she be able to protect her family and survive in a world gone mad?
This is was a great sci-fi thriller. There are plenty of dystopian elements with just enough horror to keep you on edge! Read Em Garner's new book for a new take on zombies. I already ordered the sequel!
It's graduation day for Cia, and all she can think about being chosen for Testing. If she doesn't make the cut, she will have no choices for further education. She will simply have to chose a job and stick with it.
So when she hears the news that she has been chosen, she is overjoyed. If she passes all the tests, she will get to study at the university just like her father did. The night before she is to leave, her father takes her aside and gives her a vague warning. He can't really remember anything about his testing, but he does have nightmare of blood and violence. The only help he can offer is to be careful.
This puts her on edge, but once a student has been chosen, she must follow through. Besides, Cia still wants the chance to learn more.
The initial phase of testing seems normal enough, but soon things become deadly, and the candidates turn on one another. Who can Cia trust as tries to survive the most dangerous test of her life?
Cia knows the government is just trying to find the best leaders for the future, but each test leads her to question the system even more, and she has a terrible feeling that failure is not an option.
Fans of The Hunger Games and Divergent will enjoy Joelle Charbonneau's fast-paced dystopian thriller.
OK, I confess I'm a bad librarian, and I just now read The Maze Runner for the first time, and I was motivated by the movie. The important thing is that I finally did read it, and it was a great twisty ride. If you haven't read this series by James Dashner, what are you waiting for? You only have a few more months until the movie comes out!
When Thomas wakes up in dark elevator car, he can't remember anything but his name. He has no idea where he came from or where he is, but he quickly learns he is in The Glade, a large open area surrounded by the heavy stone walls of a shifting maze. The other gladers, all boys, have jobs to keep the society moving, and there is definitely a power structure. Thomas feels inexplicably drawn to the maze.
He wants to be one of the runners who go out every day to explore and map the maze. It's a difficult job with a time limit. Every night the walls of the maze slide shut keeping the gladers out and the grievers in. Grievers are large creatures with stingers and metallic arms. Occasionally, they will get a glader outside the maze. Their sting is incredibly painful and deadly if not treated immediately.
Soon after Thomas's arrival, something strange happens. A girl arrives. She comes with a message that everything is about to change, and then falls into a coma.
Some of the boys have been suspicious of Thomas from the start, and the arrival of the girl only makes things worse. His urgency to get into the maze only increases. He believes there is a way to escape even if the others insist they've tried everything.
As the action heats up, the world of the glade gets more dangerous, and Thomas's compulsion to escape the maze intensifies. It's clear that they must escape, but no one knows how many gladers will die in the process.
Morgan has lived all her life on Internment, a floating city from which no one can escape. There are those who've tried--jumpers who are left permanently damaged by the attempt, like her older brother Lex. Even though Morgan sometimes dreams of the ground and what life might be like there, she feels safe on Internment. But the discovery of a murdered girl will change the way she sees her city forever, and when the king announces the girl's betrothed as her killer, Morgan is horrified.
The people of Internment are matched from birth to each other. The city is small and can't support unlimited population growth, so new children can only be born when adults die. And two children, a boy and a girl, are always approved together. This way they can grow and learn as a pair, creating a bond that will eventually result in marriage. Morgan is lucky; she loves Basil. Not everyone is so perfectly matched, but Morgan is horrified by the thought that one part of a betrothed couple could murder the other.
The more she considers this, the more she begins to really examine her world and doubt the things around her. Her secret fear is that she too will become irrational and try to jump or something equally horrifying. Would Basil still love her if he knew the truth?
The more Morgan questions, the more the world around seems to unravel. Internment is hiding more secrets than Morgan ever considered, and she may be in more danger than she ever thought possible.
Lauren DeStefano's first book in the new Internment Chronicles series is lush, romantic, and dangerous with a cliff-hanger ending that will leave you hungry for the next installment!
In book three of the Unwind dystology, Connor and Lev are on the run after the destruction of the Graveyard, but for the first time since that fateful day in Akron, Ohio, they are not just running away from unwinding but running toward answers they hope will make in a difference in the battle against unwinding. Even though he has taken on the role of revolutionary, he still sometimes longs for the days when he and Risa could be together every day.
Cam, the rewind, has turned against Proactive Citizenry. He's just biding his time until he can escape and take down the people who made him. If he can do this, he hopes Risa will take him seriously.
Risa is now hiding from everyone. The Juvenile Authority and parts pirates have always been a threat, but everyone is against her since her forced public support of unwinding. No one knows the truth, that she was blackmailed into that support to save the Whollies at the graveyard. Even while she struggles for survival, she longs to see Connor again, but she fears he died in the graveyard.
Starkey is still at large with his gang of Storks that grows larger every day, and if there's one kid who shouldn't have worship and adoration, it's him. The more power he gets, the more he craves, and his violent tendencies grow out of control.
As always, Neal Shusterman peppers this exhilarating and disturbing tale with real life news reports that only add to the reader's unease. This is a fast paced thriller of a tale that takes the story even deeper. With each revelation, the plot and the conspiracy thickens. I can't wait for book four!
Taemon's world is divided. Those with psi live in Deliverance where everything is done with telekinetic ability. The duds, those without psi, live in the colony, ostracized from the city and all it's wonders. Following an accident, Taemon loses his psi.
He is terrified that people will discover his secret. Because they know he will be sent away if anyone discovers the truth, Taemon's parents try to cover for him when possible, but it's hard to live without psi in a world where no one uses their hands--not even to eat! Even Taemon's bullying older brother tries to hide the truth because his doesn't want the stain of a dud brother.
It's not until Taemon is banished to the colony that he begins to see things in a new light. Maybe being psiless isn't so bad, but maybe he isn't as psiless as he thinks. Everything has always believed about his life and his people will come into question, and it will be up to him, a freakling, to prevent a war and countless deaths.
Can Taemon save himself and everyone else? Read Lana Krumwiede's debut novel to find out!
Here is the official first trailer for Divergent! Kate Winslet is in this movie?! What?! If you haven't read the books yet, get busy! Here is my review of Divergent and Insurgent.Allegiant is available for checkout in the library, but I haven't read it yet.
Kyla is 16 years old, but she might as well be a baby for all she knows about the world. Her lifetime experience started when she woke up in the hospital a few months ago. Now it's time for her to leave the hospital and meet her new family.
Kyla has been slated. In the near future teenage criminals get one more chance, one last option. Slateds have been erased, their memories, their identities. They are now clean slates like Kyla and the other slateds.
But something is wrong. Kyla is not like the others. She doesn't wear a happy grin and overlook unpleasantness. From the beginning, she's had terrible nightmares that bring her dangerously close to the edge. Like all slated, Kyla wears a Levo which monitors her emotions. If you get too upset, unhappy, or angry, you risk seizure. Try to remove it, and you risk death.
Unlike the others, Kyla questions the problems she sees around her and worries about the other slateds, especially Ben. It isn't long before she realizes that slating isn't just used on criminals, and it doesn't always happen through official channels. The more truth Kyla and Ben discover, the more they put themselves at risk. Can they survive discovering the truth?
Read Teri Terry's debut novel to find out! Fans of dystopia like The Hunger Games, Divergent, and Legend will enjoy this book.
If you haven't read Legend yet, STOP READING NOW, find a copy, read it, and then return! I really liked Legend, so I've been looking forward to reading the sequel since it came out earlier this year. I hoped it would be good, and I was not disappointed. It is awesome! Prodigy is the perfect blend of action and character development. The plot never lags, and the characters become even more developed and refined.
June and Day are on the run from the Republic after Day's supposed execution at the end of Legend. Day is suffering from an extreme leg injury which makes their journey to Vegas even more difficult. If they can make it, they'll join up with the Patriots and do whatever it takes to get Day's little brother, Eden, back.
But is June prepared to do what the Patriots want? The Elector Primo is dead, and his son, Ander, is now in power. The Patriots have a plot to assassinate the new Elector and start a revolution. June will have to become a double agent to lure the new Elector into the Patriots trap. She's willing to do it for Day.
Day has no problem with the assassination plot. He hates the Elector, the Republic, and the entire elite class for all they've taken from him. Besides, the Patriots have promised to help him get Eden back when all this is over. Then they can all escape to the Colonies.
Both Day and June had to face revelations and question realities in Legend, but now the world seems to fall apart and reorganize at every turn. Who can they trust in this world falling apart? The Patriots? The Colonies? Each other?
One positive to come of this week of sickness is that I decided to read UnWholly to ease my misery. I've been putting it off for since the book's release because I had so many other things I "needed" to read, but I decided to find release from my suffering in the pages of a much anticipated book. And Neal Shusterman does not disappoint! As much as I loved Unwind, I think UnWholly is even better. It is the kind of story that weaves in and around until finally the connections are made, and the reader's mind is blown. If you haven't read Unwind yet, please do, so you can also read this fabulous sequel.
Conner is trying to be a leader for the kids in the Graveyard, but he feels things slipping away. To make matters worse, he still struggles with accepting the "gift" he discovered after the Happy Jack explosion: Roland's arm. The arm feels angry and out of control, like Roland but also like the kid Conner used to be. No matter how much he loves Risa, this fear forces him to push her away.
Risa is still working as a medic and still a paraplegic. Even though she is at peace with her decision to remain herself and not take the spine of an Unwind, there is a part of her that fears she is holding Conner back.
Starkey refuses to give up, even when the juvies come for him in the night and drag him from the house, he lets his parents feel his contempt. The Akron AWOL is his hero, a larger than life superman who has no weaknesses, but when he comes face to face with Conner Starkey realizes his hero is not so stone-cold after all.
Lev is living with his brother under house arrest. The boy who didn't clap receives no forgiveness from the rest of his family, but he struggles to find purpose in this new and unexpected life.
Nelson's life was destroyed when Conner Lassiter tranq'd him with his own gun and escaped, but now his a merciless and single-minded parts pirate.
And Cam. No one is quite sure what Cam is yet, not even him, but his very existence will change things forever.
UnWholly is the best kind of science fiction that allows us to look at ourselves and our society through a different lens. Neal Shusterman has created not just a heart-pounding thriller but real characters who take readers on a journey through contempt, frustration, anguish, disgust, love, despair, and finally hope.
Claire was disappointed with her assignment as birthmother, and now she approaches the birth of her first newchild with anxiety. She isn't sure what to expect. The birth proves to be a painful and frightening experience, but there are complications that leave Claire with a painful recovery. She soon learns that these complications mean she can no longer be a birthmother.
As she begins her new assignment at the fish hatchery in confusion and embarrassment, she feels an unnatural attachment to the newchild, number thirty six. She soon discovers that no one else feels this way, so she hides her emotions.
This is the beginning of a story that will take Claire away from the only home she's ever known and into near fatal danger. But always she has one thought, to find her son.
Claire's son is the baby Gabriel, stolen by Jonas at the end of The Giver. This conclusion to the four part series brings back all the characters we know and love from the previous books. Of course, there are also old enemies made more tangible and frightening.
Lowry once again explores themes of love and sacrifice in this riveting book. Let me say again that you should definitely read The Giver, Gathering Blue,and Messenger first. You could probably get through Son without reading the others, but you would miss the depth of emotion.
Take everything you know about the witch trials and hunts of the past, and apply it to the modern world. Burn Mark is set in a modern day London where the Inquisition hunts, monitors, and sometimes burns witches.
Glory has been waiting for her fae all her life. She is part of the Cooper Street Coven, a gang of petty criminals led by her great aunt Angelina. Angelina isn't a powerful witch, but she reminds Cooper Street that they are the legacy of her powerful twin sisters, the Starlings, who lived a glamorous life fueled by witchcraft and crime. Now the Starling twins are long dead, and Cooper Street is nothing but a small piece of Charlie Morgan's empire.
Lucas's father is the chief prosecutor of the Inquisition. It has been his life's work to identify and bridle witches as well as prosecute those who live outside the law. Lucas is destined to follow in his father's footsteps. His future is assured until the unthinkable happens. Lucas develops fae powers. Fae does run in families, but it is unpredictable, and even a kid like Lucas with a certified witch-free pedigree can turn fae.
All of Lucas's hopes and plans are now destroyed, but he can still protect his country. He goes undercover to find the witches responsible for a string of violent attacks and becomes an unlikely member of the Cooper Street Coven where Angelina has her own reasons to spy on her own family. Now Glory and Lucas have formed a strange alliance that makes them uniquely able to uncover the truth, but will they be in time to save witchkind, the nation, and themselves.
I really liked the concept for Laura Powell's new book. It gets off to a slow start, but there are plenty of twists and turns at the end! I wanted this book to be really great, but I ended up disappointed; however, several students have read and enjoyed it, so you'll just have to read it and draw your own conclusions. :)
In this companion book to The Giver, Lois Lowry creates an alternative to Jonas's overly safe and highly technological world.
Kira's village is a cruel and hard place, and now, as Kira mourns her mother's death, she is all alone. Just a few days after her mother's death, the women of the village try to take her home by force. With her twisted, useless leg, Kira isn't sure how she will survive, let alone win this battle with these dangerous women.
She quickly realizes she has a protector who knows about her skills with threadings. Now that her mother is dead, Kira will find purpose in repairing the ancient robe worn by the singer who sings the the story of the world each year. Now she is no longer living in her mud hut with the rest of the village. She is in the council edifice with all it's little luxuries Kira's never imagined.
Soon, however, Kira comes to see beyond the veil of comfort the council offers her to see the truth about her society and the lies those in power use to control the people.
Lois Lowry says that after she wrote The Giver, she started to think about the different societies that could develop after a post-apocalyptic event. It seemed logical to her, that some communities would be stuck in a backwards world devoid of technology. Gathering Blue explores many of the issues Lowry raised in The Giver through a different lens.
After hearing Lois Lowry talk about Son last week, I decided I needed to reread The Giver before plunging into the new book. I am so glad I did! It had been so long since reading the first book that I really only remembered the high points (including the end) and that I loved it. Reading The Giver after more than ten years felt like a new experience, and I was on the edge of my seat, completely enthralled, just like the first time. If you haven't read this book, read it now! If it's been a while, read it again! You won't be disappointed.
It's almost time for Jonas's twelfth birthday, which will be celebrated with the rest of the children born in the same year. This is the year they will be assigned their careers and begin training. Jonas feels apprehensive because he has no idea what career the council of elders has chosen for him.
In this perfectly ordered society, there are very few choices to make. Similarities are the focus, and differences aren't tolerated. Everything seems perfect in the community; there is no pain, no discord, no crime. Jonas has never questioned his life and his community, but when he is chosen as the new Receiver at the ceremony of twelve, he begins a journey that will reveal the truth about his community and himself.
The Giver is a masterpiece of YA dystopia. Lowry presents her readers with a society free from many of the ills we lament in our own world. As Jonas undertakes his Receiver training, the veneer quickly begins to fade, and we see, along with Jonas, the terrible price for this "perfect" society.
In Beatrice Prior's future version of Chicago, the architecture and highway systems of the past are largely destroyed, and the population is divided into five factions. The Amity value peace, the Dauntless value courage, the Candor value honesty, the Erudite value intelligence, and the Abnegation, Beatrice's faction, value selflessness.
Beatrice has grown up believing that she should put everyone above herself, that to think of her own desires or wants is selfish and immoral. The abnegation don't even have mirrors in their homes; vanity is selfish. As Beatrice approaches her sixteenth birthday and the ceremony where she will choose her faction, she is uncertain.
The idea of spending her life in Abnegation doesn't appeal to Beatrice; she feels trapped and alone, but to choose another faction is to turn away from her entire family. Her new faction would become her family.
Beatrice chooses freedom over family and becomes a Dauntless initiate. This life is wilder and freer than anything she's ever known, and she will experience friendship, cruelty, and love like she never would in Abnegation.
As exhilarating as this new life is, Beatrice notices strange and frightening things happening in her society, things that most everyone else is unaware of. The danger increases, and Beatrice may lose more than she ever dreamed possible.
Read Veronica Roth's thrilling adventure to find out what happens!
SPOILER ALERT! STOP READING NOW IF YOU HAVEN'T READ DIVERGENT YET!
In the sequel to Divergent, Tris is still reeling from the death of her parents and most of her former faction. She also struggles with her own grief and horror over killing Will to save herself that horrible night when the most of the dauntless became mindless robots of the Erudite.
Now that everyone knows Tris and Tobias are Divergent, they face fear and stigma from those around them. With the Dauntless home base filled with memories of horror and surveillance cameras, the few Dauntless who are have not joined the Erudite are left to search for shelter and belonging.
Tris loves Tobias more than ever, but she she finds herself drawn to his abusive father and his teasing hints about a secret. Marcus Eaton swears that this secret is so powerful that the Erudite would do anything keep it from getting out. Tris believes him despite herself, but she feels disloyal to Tobias.
The city is becoming a battleground of faction against faction, and the thousands of disenfranchised factionless may be the deciding factor.
Tessa has never known a world without war. For longer than she or her parents have been around, the country has been at war. This has left the people depressed, poor, and struggling to survive. Tessa is happy to hear that a childhood friend and neighbor, Gideon, is winning a medal for his military service because she hopes this will inspire her community and give them something to live for.
But Gideon isn't happy about his award at all. He is filled with guilt about what he has done and determined to do something to make things right.
As Gideon, Tessa, and an orphan named Dek set out on one final mission, they begin to realize a shocking truth about this always war that has consumed everyone's lives for generations.
This is a quick read and interesting perspective on war and intelligence. The Always War will make you think about war and truth in a different way. As you read, look for place names that sound familiar but are a little off. See if you can figure out the real places Dek, Gideon, and Tessa discuss and visit. I recommend this for everyone, 6-8. Enjoy!
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