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2013. G.P Putnam's Sons (imprint of Penguin)
They came way before, nestling into the quiet brains of the sleeping, waiting and biding their time.... Eighteen years later, they showed themselves, their ship hovering like a giant green eye in the sky, silent. Everyone watched it for ten days, hoping for some kind of communication or sign. Their unease grew, but if these aliens were trying to kill, wouldn't they have done it by now?
On the tenth day, the attack began. Electricity and power shut down by a massive EMP. At first people were thinking that it would be restored in a few hours, but it didn't happen. The mayhem grew, causing worldwide panic, and few died.
Then the second wave hit. This was planned methodically and with precision. The result were giant tsunamis taking out cities, countries, entire chunks of the earth as we knew it. Millions died, and without any electricity there was no hope of rescue. But they weren't done yet.
The third wave was the most deadly. They used nature to attack humanity, spreading a deadly virus that killed. If the second wave didn't kill you, this one would. Millions more were killed in this wave, with a few who lived through it because of resistance to the virus. Humans became an endangered species.
The fourth wave was the first direct assault from the aliens. The silencers...tracking down humanity and killing them point blank, no questions asked. They used drones and foot soldiers to locate colonies and wipe them out. No mercy. Whatever you called them, they were the enemy.
Cassie saw her family die, and now alone, she struggles to survive, holding the last remnants of her old life, a teddy bear her little brother loved. Beside the bear is her protector, an M-16. Cassie knows survival depends only on yourself, never any other person. One will make you invisible, two will make you a target.
Little did she know that there was a 5th wave, the deadliest of all...
Told in four teen perspectives, Yancy writes an incredibly in-depth dystopian novel that is noticeably more sophisticated. The reader walks beside Cassie, a tough kick-A girl who knows the reality even when it frightens her; her little brother Sam, an innocent kid who wants protection but becomes the ultimate pawn; Ben, a popular athletic boy who finds himself defending his life and those of others as a soldier; and Evan, who escaped attacks through isolation and ingenuity. Although it is the characters that capture the readers' attention,it is the psychology behind the attacks and how it affects survivors that gives this novel an edge, pulling the reader through the story until realization dawns on them about what exactly is happening. The pace is fast and the writing is spot on for anyone wanting hardcore dystopian science fiction. You had better buy not two copies, but three or four because they will be quickly checked out and on demand. The book trailers are equally compelling (found on
http://www.rickyancey.com/ ). HIGHLY recommended!!
Sever. Lauren DeStefano. 2013. Simon & Schuster. 371 pages.
Sever was certainly an intense read. If I had to describe it in just one word, I'd say it was bittersweet. This is the final book in the trilogy which perhaps explains why to a certain degree.
The novel opens with Rhine recovering, Linden and Cecily are determined to care for her. Linden may not believe the "outrageous" claims about his own father that Rhine is sharing with him and his oh-so-young wife. But. He still cares what happens to her. And since Rhine is so unwilling to go back to the mansion, and since she isn't strong enough to leave on her own, he comes up with an alternative arrangement. He has a mysterious uncle, an uncle that his first love, Rose, adored; Rhine can go to stay with him until she's ready to leave. Rhine is still determined to find her twin brother.
This allows Rhine time to contemplate how she feels about Linden, to decide if she really wants to annul her marriage with him, to make plans on how to find her brother and possibly stop him from traveling down a dark and dangerous path. While there she begins to learn more about who she is, who her brother is, who her parents were. Her parents apparently have a reputation in the scientific world--a legacy. And some of what she learns changes her...
The world Rhine has lived in has always been ugly...and Sever is a balance between hope and despair.
Read Sever
- If you have read the first two in the series (Wither; Fever)
- If you enjoy dystopian thrillers
- If romance isn't the most important element in your science fiction!
© 2013 Becky Laney of
Becky's Book Reviews
By:
Becky Laney,
on 3/29/2013
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Orleans. Sherri L. Smith. 2013. Penguin. 336 pages.
Orleans is intense and I suspect unforgettable. The novel is set after the Delta and/or the Gulf Coast have been cut off from the rest of the United States. (There being an actual wall to prevent people from entering/exiting.) The reason is simple: Delta Fever is too contagious and there isn't a cure. Everyone is infected with the fever, but each blood type responds differently to the disease or virus. This separates everyone into groups or tribes according to blood type.
Fen, our heroine, is O positive. But soon after the novel begins, her tribe is attacked. Her chieftain, Lydia, goes into premature labor because of the attack. The baby survives, she doesn't. Fen and the baby are what is left of this tribe, and Fen is desperate to provide a better life for this baby. Her goal is ambitious and dangerous. She wants to find a way to smuggle the baby out before it catches the fever. She wants to reach the wall.
Sometimes helping, sometimes hindering, Fen's ambitions is a young scientist named Daniel. Daniel dreams big too. He is desperate to find a cure. That is why he is there illegally.
Orleans is incredibly intense and impossible to put down. If you enjoy disaster and/or survivor fiction, then this one is a must read! It is extremely creepy in places, which I think will definitely appeal to some readers! But even if you don't like horror elements, you may find yourself hooked.
Read Orleans
- If you enjoy great world-building
- If you enjoy meeting strong heroines
- If you enjoy survivor or disaster novels
- If you enjoy dystopian or post-apocalyptic fiction
- If you like darker stories with some horror elements
© 2013 Becky Laney of
Becky's Book Reviews
Putnam, 2011
The year is 2130, and the Republic with its Primo Elector is now in control. The citizens of the different parts of the new Los Angeles must fight against two fronts – the colonies trying to destroy the regime and the terrible sickness that decimates the poorer sectors of this new nation.
June doesn’t know about this struggle. She and her brother Matias live in a high rise, literally above all the chaos the Republic tries to hide. She and Matias are some of the precious few to receive the vaccinations to ensure their health. Although her parents died when she was little, Matias takes more than excellent care of her. In fact, June is the only one to go through the Trial with a perfect score, leading her into the ranks of those loyal to the Republic.
Day lives a life of theft, deceit and invisibility. Lurking in the shadows of the poor sectors, he sees the lack of food and healthcare take the population into despair. The only way he knows how to alter the situation is to fight against the Republic and steal what should be shared with all citizens – the vaccinations needed against this new outbreak. The Republic knows about him, but his elusiveness has created a shadow figure for them. They know he’s there, but not what he looks like, where he lives, or how he manages to do the things he does.
June and Day’s lives will emerge one fateful night that will send them both on a quest for revenge…
Marie Lu writes an excellent dystopia novels that fans of this genre will fly through. Her characters are colorful and jump out of the page, but it’s the future of the world as we knew it that permeates the reader’s emotional response. Told in two voices, the reader gets to intimately know both sides of society as well as be privy to each character’s thoughts and personal lives. If you have readers who clamor for more dystopia titles, hand them this one....
Fiewel and Friends, 2012
Radley remembers her parents dropping her off at the airport so she help with relief work for the children of Haiti. It’s a passion of hers and has decidedly changed her life, but not as much as when she returns back to the United States.
Upon arrival, she knows something is wrong. First of all her parents are nowhere to be found. Secondly, the way the soldiers treat her after she lands is beyond the typical TSA thing most passengers coming back from overseas deal with. There’s a sense of urgency, danger. Radley returns to a different United States than when she left.
The American’s People’s Party has taken over the country. With the assassination of the President, the United States is left in turmoil with a renegade government trying to take control through force. Radley realizes this right away. Now there are curfews, bank accounts are drains, and travel restrictions are tight. There are also APPs everywhere, catching those that break the rules and beating them.
All Radley wants is to go home and find her parents. But her path leads to even more devastation, both emotional and physical. Everyone is desperate, and personal survival above others is dominant. Little food, roaming soldiers, broken homes. Radley has heard Canada is a place of safekeeping, so that is where she begins her trek…and also where she encounters people and places that will change her life.
Karen Hesse is a beautiful writer and this is more than apparent in this YA dystopia novel. Her words blend with the personal photographs she uses that are scattered throughout the book. This book is also unique in its genre. Hesse centers her book around the journey and how the main character changes emotionally through it from the people she meets and the places she stays. While other dystopian books have a flair of action-packed situations with daring and fearless characters, Hesse’s book takes a gentle approach, looking more at the weakness of her character and how she becomes stronger. It will take a different reader who can adjust to this change in genre to enjoy this pictorial novel with a nearly poetic flair.
Greenwillow, 2012.
It's dangerous to go outside. The land is barren, the weather can be savage, and only those brave or wealthy enough even think about venturing into this vast wilderness. But they stay close to the Pod. If not, they face a cruel death...
The Pod. A city encased with a protective shield. But it contains something that you won't find outside...oxygen. It comes at a cost, but it keeps the citizens alive. A company called Breathe was the first to generate artificial oxygen to keep humanity alive when nature failed. It keeps the Pod's oxygen at a minimally survivable level, but there are limitations. No one can walk more than three mph (unless you have a tank). Everyone has a certain allotment, and if you want more, the cost is high. And like all cities, there exists a hierarchy.
Zone One is closest to the outside, where the Premiums live. Quinn is a part of this society, but more than that, his father is the CEO of Breathe. Quinn lives a life of privilege, and although he sports the Premium tattoo, he doesn't truly live the lifestyle. He wants to be known for who he is and separate himself from his father's shadow. It can be tough...
Zone Two is the second tier where the Auxiliaries live. They work hard and do all they can to transcend their societal level and live more comfortably. Bea understand this all too well. Why? Because her best friend is a Premium, and although Quinn doesn't know it, she's crossed the line between friendship and love...
Zone Three is the inner city, rife with poverty, stealing, and danger. Alina has dedicated herself to stealing. Anything she can find to help out the resistance is a challenge she's willing to take. She knows the consequences, but she also knows some tricks about living in a world where oxygen is kept at a bare minimum. Her training and stealth allows her to go beyond what Auxiliaries have and what Premiums believe is their right...
Their lives will meet and their survival is at stake. Trust is tantamount, but will their prejudices keep them from aligning themselves and can they truly cross this boundary with each other?
Crossan writes a dystopic novel not only about survival but also about political intrigue, rebellion, and human rights. The subject in this book is new, and the reader gets to live vicariously in a completely different dystopian society uncommon in this genre. Written in three distinct voices, Crossan allows the reader to see multiple points of view as well as in the minds of each character, making them all too real. This is an excellent literary device, which potentially creates character bias and favoritism which is the reader's choice. The rich characterization paired with a fast-paced plot make this another book to place in the hands of those craving more dystopia teen lit. Recommended.
Reached. Ally Condie. 2012. Penguin. 512 pages.
Reached is the third in the Matched trilogy. (The books are Matched, Crossed, and Reached.) I liked Crossed more than Matched, and I think I like Reached even more than Crossed. I can easily say that I LOVED both Crossed and Reached. The world-building continues in Reached, readers get to see more, learn more. It is narrated by Xander, Cassia, and Ky. New characters continue to be introduced as well. (Lei, Leyna, Anna, Oker, etc.) The time for the Rising has come. The big, big sign of the Rising's coming was the appearance of the plague. When Xander, a medic, sees a toddler with the plague, he knows the time has come, that the Pilot will start the rebellion quickly. He knows that everyone who is a part of the rebellion are all waiting to hear the Pilot's voice. Ky and Cassia aren't aware of the coming Plague and the danger that poses to everyone who isn't immune, but, they are both eager to see the Society brought down. So Reached is essentially a compelling novel about the breakdown of a society. The plague is supposedly "helping" the cause (the rebellion) for it is the Rising who holds enough of the Cure for the public, the Rising that can provide immunizations for those not yet sick. But the plague has a mind of its own not really caring about either side, and the mutations from the original plague mean the Rising is in big, big trouble for they have no cure yet to offer the public. And no cure means people dying, a lot of people dying as they wait for the scientists and doctors and researchers to find something--anything--to find a cure.
Reached is definitely the MOST exciting of the trilogy. I loved, loved, loved reading Xander's narrative. And I love seeing the characters through his eyes. I liked Ky's narrative too, especially at the beginning because it gave readers a way to stay in touch with Indie. And Cassia is still Cassia.
I enjoyed reading a trilogy series where my love and appreciation grew with each book. As much as I enjoyed Hunger Games, I can't say that I loved the other books in the trilogy to the same degree. Especially the last book in the trilogy. Read Reached
- If you like dystopias
- If you like YA romance
- If you like love triangles
- If you enjoy reading about epidemic diseases
© 2012 Becky Laney of
Becky's Book Reviews
By: Rebecca (Becky) Fjelland Davis,
on 12/10/2012
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Have you seen GASLAND?
I finally watched it last night. The documentary had been on my "to watch" list since I heard about it. School and other obligations have kept me from watching a single movie for a long time.
Holy smoke. I want EVERYBODY in the country to watch this movie. The destruction of water systems, drinking water, livelihoods, farmland, human health to say nothing of ANIMAL health, is devastating. And the oil and gas companies don't seem to care because they're making soooo much money.
While I was watching the movie, I kept thinking, this is the new dystopia. We are creating the world we've seen in the Dystopian stories. It's like the world from "The Road" or from "Hunger Games." Frack enough of our countryside, and it looks possible.
I wish I were kidding.
And the new Matt Damon movie,
Promised Land will be in Theaters everywhere January 4. We all better see it if we want to keep our country.
On a BRIGHTER NOTE, my short story "Mars at Night" is part of "Girl Meets Boy" and Kirkus Review named it one of "
Best Teen Books"!! Whooeeee! (Scroll to the bottom).
Do the two tie together? Yes...actually, the characters in my story "Mars at Night" live on. Some reviewers said they "need their own novel." Well, I've shifted and twisted them, and moved them from rural Iowa to rural Minnesota, and they have new names, but essentially, I think they will live on...and instead of fighting the invasion of hog factories ("Mars at Night") which is a moot point--it has happened; big factory farms have won except in small range-free and organic farms; what Maddie and Ben have to fight: Fracking and Frac-sand plants. Stay tuned.
By:
Hannah,
on 11/30/2012
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Before Thanksgiving we had a great chat on Twitter with some of the contributing authors from our new dystopian anthology, Diverse Energies. Authors Cindy Pon, Malinda Lo, Ken Liu, Rahul Kanakia, Rajan Khanna, and K. Tempest Bradford joined us to answer some questions about their stories, dystopia, world-building, and more:
In one or two sentences, can you describe the dystopian worlds you’ve written about in Diverse Energies?
Malinda Lo: “The dystopian world in my story ‘Good Girl’ is a postapocalyptic NYC that politically resembles Communist China.”
Rahul Kanakia: “My story is set in a world where wealthy people have retreated into virtual reality and allowed the world to collapse. Also, there are pesticide-resistant bedbugs.”
Cindy Pon: “‘How had we drifted so far on what it meant to be human?‘ from my story sort of encapsulates it, in a world divided.”
Rajan Khanna: “Mine takes place in a world where an empire similar to the British Empire at its height uses child labor for mining.”
Ken Liu: “‘Pattern Recognition’ is about a school where children are safe. But only later do the children find out its real purpose.”
How did you decide on the specific settings where your stories take place?
Ken Liu: “My story took inspiration from a paper on human-powered computing & news about labor practices of Taiwanese manufacturers.”
Malinda Lo: “I wanted to write a story in a Big City that could be isolated in a disaster, and NYC fit well. As events have shown!”
Rajan Khanna: “I was inspired partly by a story about young kids in South Asia who ruin their bodies to make soccer balls.”
Cindy Pon: “The idea of setting it in Taipei came immediately. I was born there but left at age 6. So many memories are sensory based of Taipei. The city comes at all senses all the time.”
True or false: We are living in a dystopia.
Ken Liu: “I think far more of this planet’s population lives in a dystopia than most of us in the US are willing to acknowledge.”
Rajan Khanna: “I think from a teen standpoint, the world can often seem like a dystopia.”
K. Tempest Bradford: “Some people live in what others would see as a dystopia. It’s often a matter of perspective.”
Are oppressive governments a key part of dystopias?
Rajan Khanna: “For me, I associate that kind of oppression with dystopias. And I think that restriction of freedoms works as a YA theme.”
Malinda Lo: “My idea of ‘dystopian’ is firmly rooted in family stories/experience. I always think of oppressive governments first.”
Ken Liu: “I try to make my dystopias not about the government. I think other things are far more frightening than governments. . . . I think governments are often merely a symptom, not a cause. At least, not the cause.”
If not, are there elements that every dystopia needs?
Since these are short stories, any tips on how to build a world in very few pages?
Malinda Lo: “I think in short stories, world building must be done with some shorthand tricks. Can be hard. Shorthand tricks I like for worldbuilding in stories: food, names, twist on real-world setting that’s easily recognized. I cheated in the story by setting it in post-apoc NYC. Easy to “get”!”
Rahul Kanakia: “Most SF takes place in archetypical worlds: the Orwellian world; the gritty Blade Runner world, etc. The trick is knowing what mental image your reader starts the story with, and knowing how to deviate from that image. Most stories aren’t building worlds; they’re combining worlds that the readers have already ‘seen.’”
What is your favorite short story?
K. Tempest Bradford: “‘Even the Queen’ by Connie Willis. Far future story about menstruation (or lack thereof).”
Rajan Khanna: “‘There Will Come Soft Rains’ by Ray Bradbury.”
Rahul Kanakia: “Jorge Luis Borges’ ‘Library of Babel.’ Not sure the Diverse Energies readers will like it; when I made my students read it, they hated it. More apt example: ‘The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas,’ by Le Guin.”
Malinda Lo: “Probably ‘The Bloody Chamber’ by Angela Carter.”
Cindy Pon: “Oh gosh. One of Stephen King’s I’m sure.”
You can read the whole chat on Storify.
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The Bar Code Tattoo. Suzanne Weyn. 2004/2012. Scholastic. 256 pages.
The Bar Code Tattoo is a quick read that I ultimately found disappointing. Kayla is weeks away from turning seventeen, in just a few weeks she'll have to choose whether she wants to conform or rebel against society and the government. The tattoo is relatively new--at least to the United States, having been tested first in Europe and Asia. And the tattoo is changing lives, for better or worse. For some who receive it, their lives improve dramatically: new opportunities at work, pay increases, etc. For others, it ruins them almost completely. Some lose their jobs, their homes, their credit or money no longer being "good" enough to be accepted anywhere. Not that any of this is being publicized, not really. Those who speak out against the tattoo are in the minority--or so it seems. And while there are rebel groups out there, well, they don't have the power to change things. At least not yet. Kayla's mind is made up almost from the time of her father's death. She blames--and her mother blames--his suicide to the tattoo. He has NOT been the same since receiving it, the changes coming slowly but surely over a month or two. Kayla joins a group she learns about at school, and so her rebellion begins. It may not seem like much of a commitment at first, but Kayla will ultimately have to make some tough choices.
It is a quick read, very fast-paced, very plot-driven. It started off promising enough, but by the end I was disappointed. The last few chapters were odd. Read The Bar Code Tattoo
- If you're looking for a light, quick read
- If you're looking for a futuristic (2025 or so?) read featuring conspiring evil governments, societies, scientists, corporations, etc.
© 2012 Becky Laney of
Becky's Book Reviews
Son. Lois Lowry. 2012. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 400 pages.
I found SON to be an amazing read!!!! I just loved, loved, loved it! Definitely a book I read in one sitting. In fact, I read The Messenger and Son the same evening. The book focuses on two characters: Claire and Gabe.
When Claire was twelve, she was assigned to be a birthmother. Barely two years later, she gives birth to her first (and only) child. Birthmothers never raise their own children, never care for their own young, not even that first year before it is placed into an adopting family. Because #36's arrival was complicated, Claire is dismissed from her (original) assignment and reassigned to the fish hatchery. Perhaps she should have stopped thinking about the baby she gave birth to, the baby she never even caught a glimpse of. But she happens to have an acquaintance assigned to the Nurturers, and she happens to learn the number of her child. And she learns he was a boy. She takes risks, perhaps, and decides to volunteer--unofficially if she must. Over the course of a year or so, she has the chance to bond with her son. She doesn't know his name, not really. And it's not as if there is a way for her to get her happily ever after, but, she has to make those few precious stolen moments count.
What I loved about Claire's story is that it offers readers an opportunity to revisit The Giver, to see it from another point of view. Readers get a chance to meet Jonas's father, to get to know him, in a way, over a series of encounters throughout the year. Readers also get a chance to explore different sides of the community. Claire is a fascinating heroine, in my opinion. I'm not sure that she's more fascinating than Jonas in The Giver, but, she's an observant, emotional heroine. And I connected with her from the start.
The novel covers many years, and only the first section is set in the same community as The Giver...
The other narrator of Son is Gabriel. Readers get a chance to revisit the community first introduced in Messenger. It gets VERY exciting and dramatic... Read Son
- If you're a fan of Lois Lowry
- If THE GIVER is one of your favorite books and you really want to revisit it and learn more about this chilling community
- If you've read the The Giver, Gathering Blue, and Messenger and want a conclusion to a great series
- If you enjoy dystopias and middle grade science fiction
© 2012 Becky Laney of
Becky's Book Reviews
Messenger. Lois Lowry. 2004/2012. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. 169 pages.
In anticipation of reading Son, I decided to reread the Giver trilogy. Messenger is the third book, and it is a companion to The Giver and Gathering Blue. The hero of Messenger is Matt, a character first introduced in Gathering Blue. Several years have passed between the two books, and Matt is living with Kira's (blind) father. At one time, both found their village completely ideal. It was a community that celebrated morality: kindness, mercy, tolerance. It was a community that celebrated second chances. Open hearts, open borders, education for all. But times are changing slowly but surely and some are beginning to notice the differences. The Forest is also changing...
At one time Matt felt comfortable entering the Forest. He traveled from community to community. Not everyone COULD enter the Forest, not everyone wanted to enter the Forest. The Forest had a way of letting a person know if he/she were welcome. For those not welcome, it would seem to maliciously attack you.
Matt has ONE HUGE MESSAGE to deliver when the Forest begins to become unfriendly...will he leave the forest alive?
This one stars Matt and Kira (and Kira's father), but also mentions THE LEADER and a certain sled.
This one is definitely a darker novel, and a more symbolic novel.Read The Messenger- If you enjoyed The Giver and Gathering Blue and want to continue on in the series
- If you are a fan of Lois Lowry
- If you enjoy mysteries and dystopias
© 2012 Becky Laney of
Becky's Book Reviews
With a little creativity, it can happen! My library aide is Tris from Divergent and this is how you make the t-shirt:
1. Must be a black t-shirt
2. Using a cutout, she made the letters and fire using cardstock
3. Place these on the shirt and spritz with a spray bottle of 1/2 bleach, 1/2 water
4. To make the ring around the fire, put a lid from a cup around the fire and dip a Q-tip with bleach water and trace around it.
And there you go! Accessorize with some dystopian boots, belt, and jacket with accoutrements, and you're ready to rock and roll!
By:
Becky Laney,
on 10/24/2012
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The Giver. Lois Lowry. 1993. Houghton Mifflin. 180 pages.
It was almost December, and Jonas was beginning to be frightened. No. Wrong word, Jonas thought. Frightened meant that deep, sickening feeling of something terrible about to happen. Frightened was the way he had felt a year ago when an unidentified aircraft had overflown the community twice. He had seen it both times. Squinting toward the sky, he had seen the sleek jet, almost a blur at its high speed, go past, and a second later heard the blast of sound that followed. Then one more time, a moment later, from the opposite direction, the same plane. This is my third blog review for The Giver. (
My first review.
My second review.)
I decided to reread The Giver in anticipation of Lois Lowry's newest book, Son. While there have been two companion books to The Giver--Gathering Blue and Messenger--Son will be the sequel to The Giver. I knew I would need to reread the three previous books in order to fully, fully appreciate and enjoy Son.
I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE The Giver. It is one of my favorite, favorite books. No matter how many times I read it, I just continue to love it and think it is one of the best books ever. The same conversations get me every time. I just think it's a book EVERYONE should try.
It's a quick read, but a memorable one. The world Lowry has created in haunting and unique. I've read a handful of dystopian novels lately--including Yesterday, Bar Code Tattoo, The Forsaken, Once, Eleventh Plague, Rootless, etc. just to mention the ones I've read this past month or so--and while many dystopias are good, there's something almost magical about this one. The WAY she has written the story. There's not too much telling and not enough showing. To me, it doesn't feel forced or unnatural. It isn't too didactic. The characters feel authentic to the world, and fully developed. That is why it is so chilling, so horrific, so wonderfully haunting.
Read The Giver- If you're a fan of Lois Lowry
- If you want to read one of the best, best books ever written
- If you're looking for a timeless, classic dystopian novel
- If you enjoy science fiction, dystopias
- If you enjoy children's literature
- If you're looking for a Newbery
© 2012 Becky Laney of
Becky's Book Reviews
By:
Becky Laney,
on 10/4/2012
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Rootless. Chris Howard. 2012. Scholastic. 336 pages.
They figured me too young for a tree builder. I could see it in their eyes.Rootless is a great example of a not-for-me book. I was not the right audience for this one, but you might be. If you enjoy dark horror stories, then this one may be just right for you. Banyan, our narrator, is a young man struggling to survive. Like his father before him, he is a tree builder; he builds artificial trees, artificial forests.
In this futuristic world, much has changed, and nothing has changed for the better. This is explored, to a certain degree, throughout the novel, as the mystery is revealed and readers come to learn about how the world is and how it came to be that way.
I would say this book is all about surviving, but, that wouldn't exactly be true. It isn't necessarily about avoiding all risks in order to survive. Banyan, our hero, even seeks out danger at times because he wants answers, he wants the truth. He has seen a picture of his father chained to a tree, a REAL tree, and he wants to know more. On his journey to "the truth" he'll meet a handful of characters, some he'll come to care about a lot. He even finds a love interest.
Rootless is incredibly dark and bleak. The world-building is strong, but it is so very haunting and violent. For some, this book may be a great read.
The back cover description:
There aren't many books left. People burned most of them to keep warm during the Darkness. And after the Darkness, there were no new books because there was no more paper. The locusts had come. And there were no more trees. Read Rootless
- If you enjoy post-apocalypse fiction
- If you enjoy survival/action/adventure stories
- If you like horror novels or thrillers
© 2012 Becky Laney of
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By:
Becky Laney,
on 10/3/2012
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The Eleventh Plague. Jeff Hirsch. 2011. Scholastic. 304 pages.
I was sitting at the edge of the clearing, trying not to stare at the body on the ground in front of me. In The Eleventh Plague, Stephen Quinn, our narrator, has to learn to trust himself--and others. Quinn's life has never been easy. He has a few happy memories of his mother, but, for the most part he's been a salvager traveling the country with his father and grandfather. His grandfather's strength and stubbornness may have kept him alive, but, it kept him from having his own voice and opinion. He never had to make a decision on his own until his grandfather's death and his father's accident. Just a day or so after they bury his grandfather, his father has an accident which leaves him in a coma. Quinn and his father are discovered by a few people from Settler's Landing. He takes a chance and goes with them, hoping that their doctor may know what to do to help his father. But he doesn't trust them exactly, and they don't trust him perfectly either. At least some in the community don't trust him. In the days ahead, Stephen Quinn experiences life as he never has before. He's never had a home before, never had the security and certainty of staying in one place. And he's certainly never been around kids his own age, never attended school, never played baseball, etc. There are so many things about this community that impress him. But the girl who intrigues him most is the one who may just lead him to make a horrible decision...
The Eleventh Plague is an interesting novel. It was a quick and often compelling read. I struggled to keep up with all the new people he was meeting. There were times I felt out of my element, which helped me to connect with the narrator. I liked this one.
Read The Eleventh Plague
- If you like dystopias OR post-apocalyptic fiction
- If you like coming of age stories
- If you like survival/adventure stories
© 2012 Becky Laney of
Becky's Book Reviews
Dystopia is a gripping, palpable force at work in some literary works of the past century, and a few of the classics that might come to mind include: Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley; Nineteen Eighty-Four, by George Orwell; Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury; and perhaps The Handmaid's Tale, by Margaret Atwood; Player Piano, by Kurt Vonnegut; The Hunger Games Trilogy, by Suzanne Collins; and various short stories by F. Kafka, and T. C. Boyle.
The particular dystopian condition that is the framework of the story might be a societal collapse, and a subsequent rise to power of an elite formed to arrest the decline, but usually at the mind-numbing expense of a majority underclass. In most of these stories the root cause of the societal collapse has been political, the culmination of brutal, catastrophic conflicts, but the collapse might also be driven by a collapse of an environment.
Powerful dystopian stories seem to be on the rise again. Can they actually be telling us something? Collins' Hunger Games is a good example of the political story. The first volume of the Hunger trilogy has already been made into a rather good Hollywood movie. Now, a new example of the environmental collapse story has been published as The Age of Miracles, by Karen Thompson Walker. In this story, the earth's rotation has inexplicably slowed, and the days are becoming increasingly longer. As days and nights lengthen, various cultivated foods can no longer be raised in the natural environment. Society separates into two groups of people: the real timers--those who order their lives by the lengths of night and day (the diurnal cycle increases to 72 hours); and the clock timers--those who attempt to work and sleep by the clock, ignoring the presence of light or dark. Other phenomena accompanying the slowing rotation include the decay of the earth's magnetism. This may be related to the mass beaching of whales on ocean shores, and flocks of birds dropping from the skies. How strong the physical correlations might be sail past us, but they seem plausible, and the reader rushes on. The story is narrated by a quiet, sensitive, twelve-yr. old girl, and all the tender, emotional details of a first romance, while she tries to navigate a troubled relationship between her parents, and all amidst this collapsing physical world, make for good, solid reading.
Ember lives in a new United States. The War ended three years ago, and the government changed. The strongest arm of the government is the Military Militia. Their role? Enforce compliance of the Moral Statutes. Rumors of mass executions, people disappearing for no reason, prison, deportation….they’re everywhere. Ember thought they were all rumors until it happened to her.
There are only five articles in the Moral Statutes that citizens need to abide by, but the laws change with the wind. Ember and her mother live a decent life. Their only act of defiance is hiding magazines and books from the old days; days Ember vaguely recalls. She has friends, but the person she misses the most is Chase. They grew up together since childhood but their friendship turned deeper. There was no denying Chase and Ember, as teenagers, were meant to be together. Now, Chase is gone, and Ember misses him. She remembers those tender moments and always hopes the best for him, wondering if he still feels the same toward her that she does toward him, wherever he may be.
But a knock on her door changes Embers entire life. The MM (Military Militia) has come to take away Ember’s mother for breaching Article 5, which meant full prosecution by the government. What was the crime? Ember doesn’t have a father and Article 5 stipulates that she is to be “rehabilitated.” What is worse, is that Chase, the love of her life, is arresting her mother. Nothing Ember does changes Chase – not the past, not their moments together, not their friendship. He is part of the military machine, devoid of all emotions.
With her mother gone, Ember finds herself in rehab, the worst possible place to be. Torture, brain-washing, and hard manual labor are a common part of her day. Escape? Punishable by death. But it won’t stop Ember. She must get back with her mother. But can she? And who will be there to help?
Dystopia fans rejoice! Here is another book to devour through when you’ve read all the other ones. Simmons’ book paints the future into a very realistic and bleak novel. Although the main characters stand out, it’s the role of government Simmons creates as a monster character, along with the men in the Militia and how they’ve evolved. The evolution of Chase’s and Ember’s relationship takes center stage, but it’s also the minor characters and what has happened to them because of the breakdown of our future country and government that conveys the essence of this novel. Recommended.
Common core pair: primary sources of the Constitution and Preamble
By:
Hannah,
on 8/30/2012
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In honor of the upcoming release of our new YA anthology, Diverse Energies, we thought we’d put together a list of dystopias with diversity. For the purposes of this list, our definition of diversity is: 1.) A book with a main character of color (not just secondary characters), or 2.) A book written by an author of color. Of course, all types of diversity are worth celebrating, so if you know of other diverse dystopias (with, for example, LGBT diversity) please share them in the comments as well.
Note: I have not personally read all of these books, but have tried to confirm the inclusion of diverse main characters whenever possible. However, mistakes are bound to be made, so if you’ve read something and don’t think it belongs on this list, please let us know. Likewise if we’ve missed something that should be here.
If you’re a visual learner, the whole thing is on Pinterest:
And now, onward:
Above World, by Jenn Reese: (middle grade) In this dystopia, overcrowding has led humans to adapt so that they can live under the ocean or on mountains.
The Boy at the End of the World, by Greg van Eekhout: (middle grade) In this dystopia, the last boy on earth teams up with an overprotective broken robot to survive.
Battle Royale, by Koushun Takami: (YA) This novel, first published in Japan, has the same premise as The Hunger Games, and many have wondered if that book was inspired by it in some way.
Black Hole Sun, by David Macinnis Gill: (YA) A science fiction dystopia set on a terraformed Mars.
Diverse Energies, by 11 speculative fiction authors: (YA)This anthology features dystopian stories that all feature diverse main characters. Contributing authors include Paolo Bacigalupi, Malinda Lo, Cindy Pon, and Ursula K. Le Guin. Coming in September 2012.
Dualed, by Elsie Chapman: (YA) A dystopia coming in February 2013. The author is a woman of color, but I’m not sure about the main character. If you’ve read it, feel free to comment.
Extras, by Scott Westerfeld: (YA) The fourth installment in Westerfeld’s “Uglies” series takes place in what was once Japan.
The Forgetting Curve (Memento Nora #2), by Angie Smibert: (YA) Dystopia where memories can be erased with a single pill.
For the Win, by Cory Doctorow: (YA) Science fiction dystopia focused on a group of young gamers from around the world who begin to organize.
The “Galahad” Series, by Dom Testa: (YA) In this post-apocalyptic series, a crew of teens must colonize a distant planet when a virus infects all those on Earth who are over 18.
The House of the Scorpion, by Nancy Farmer: (YA) This dystopia about the struggle between science and humanity won both a Newbery Award Honor and a Printz Award Honor when it was released in 2003.
The Immortal Rules, by Julie Kagawa: (YA) This dystopia is set in a future world where vampires reign.
Legend, by Marie Lu: (YA) In this dystopia, the western US has become the Republic, a nation perpetually at war with its neighbors.
Noughts & Crosses, by Malorie Blackman: (YA) This dystopia is a look at racism and prejudice in an alternate society ruled by the Crosses, the dark-skinned ruling class.
Partials, by Dan Wells: (YA) This science fiction dystopia takes place after a weaponized virus has all but extinguished humanity. Mixed-race MC.
Rot & Ruin, by Jonathan Maberry: (YA) This post-apocalyptic zombie novel has dystopian elements, along with a main character who is half Japanese.
Shadows Cast by Stars, by Catherine Knutsson: (YA) This dystopian tale features a main character of aboriginal heritage.
Shatter Me, by Tahereh Mafi: (YA) Dystopia about a girl whose touch can kill. The author is a woman of color.
Ship Breaker, by Paolo Bacigalupi: (YA) This Printz Award-winning dystopia is set in America’s Gulf Coast region, which has been ravaged by hurricanes.
Stormdancer, by Jay Kristoff: (YA) This novel set in an alternate Japan may be more steampunk than dystopia, but has some dystopian elements as well.
Tankborn, by Karen Sandler: (YA) This science fiction dystopia is set on the planet Loka, where a strict caste system separates trueborns from Genetically Engineered Non-humans.
What’s Left of Me, by Kat Zhang: (YA) A dystopia about two souls in one body. Coming in September 2012.
Parable of the Sower, by Octavia E. Butler: (adult) A dystopia about a society plagued by social chaos and violence.
Smoketown, by Tenea D. Johnson: (adult) This dystopian science fiction novel takes place in Appalachia, now a tropical environment in post-climate-change US.
The Windup Girl, by Paolo Bacigalupi: (adult) Another science fiction dystopia from the author of Ship Breaker. This one is for adults and takes place in future-Thailand.
Further Reading:
YA Science Fiction and Fantasy Novels with Protagonists of Color
Multicultural Science Fiction and Fantasy (middle grade and YA)
Diversity in YA (no longer active, but still a good resource)
More fun booklists about diversity
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Fahrenheit 451. Ray Bradbury. 1953/2003. Random House. 190 pages.
It was a pleasure to burn. Fahrenheit 451 is so wonderful, so beautiful, so amazing that it almost leaves me speechless. It is a haunting story of a bleak future. Our hero, Guy Montag, is in a loveless marriage with his wife, Mildred. He meets a young, vibrant girl, Clarisse, and they talk--talk of nothing and everything. She dares to think, to ask questions, to be curious, to be full of wonder and life, to have a spark of something that has almost been lost in society and civilization. But, her tragic end helps focus Montag's perspective. It has been coming for a while now, perhaps ever since meeting that old man, Faber, in the park, but Montag knows that he can no longer live the lie. He no longer wants to burn books, to burn houses of people who love books. He no longer wants to be a fireman. He wants to read books; he wants to learn; he wants to know what it is like to LIVE again, to think, to think critically, to think about things even if it means being sad or sorrowful or anxious and worried. He doesn't want to be mindlessly entertained by "the family" on three of his walls or a seashell in his ears. Even if there is a scary war coming. He wants to stand against the majority and face reality.
I think this is a book everyone needs to read...at least once. I could easily read it once a year! It's just a wonderful novel!!!
Favorite quotes:
Who knows who might be the target of the well-read man? Me? I won't stomach them for a minute...Remember, Montag, we're the happiness boys. We stand against the small tide of those who want to make everyone unhappy with conflicting theory and thought. (50-1)
We've started and won two atomic wars since 1990! Is it because we're having so much fun at home we've forgotten the world? Is it because we're so rich and the rest of the world's so poor and we just don't care if they are? Is that why we're hated so much? Do you know why? I don't, that's sure! Maybe the books can get us half out of the cave. God, Millie, don't you see? An hour a day, two hours, with these books, and maybe... (62)
Good God, it isn't as simple as just picking up a book you laid down half a century ago. Remember, the firemen are rarely necessary. The public itself stopped reading of its own accord. (78)
It’s been a long time. I’m not a religious man. But it’s been a long time.’ Faber turned the pages, stopping here and there to read. ‘It’s as good as I remember. Lord, how they’ve changed it in our parlors these days. Christ is one of the family now. I often wonder if God recognizes His own son the way we’ve dressed him up, or is it dressed him down? He’s a regular peppermint stick now, all
By:
Stacy Whitman,
on 6/21/2012
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Will you be at ALA in Anaheim? So will Guadalupe Garcia McCall, author of Summer of the Mariposas! 
Guadalupe will be there to celebrate her first book, Under the Mesquite, and its win of the Pura Belpre Author Award, but she’ll also be signing ARCs of Mariposas, so be sure to come by the booth. You can find the schedule on the Lee & Low blog.
Several of the contributors to Diverse Energies will also be at ALA, and though they don’t have a specific signing time, they will be dropping in to sign select copies of the book. Perhaps you might be the lucky one to win a copy in a drawing. And if you just want to read some awesome stories, signed or not, from Ursula K. Le Guin, Paolo Bacigalupi, Daniel H. Wilson, Cindy Pon, Malinda Lo, Greg van Eekhout, and more, make sure to stop by and take a look.
And whether or not you’re off to California this weekend, if you’re a reviewer or a librarian and on NetGalley (and if you’re one of those and NOT on NetGalley, check it out) our fall books are now available for you to request for review. Take a look!
Originally published at Stacy Whitman's Grimoire. You can comment here or there.
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By: alethea aka frootjoos,
on 7/1/2012
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Publication date: 24 April 2012 by Harlequin Teen
ISBN 10/13: 0373210515 | 9780373210510
Category: Young Adult Dystopian Fantasy
Format: Hardcover, ebook
Keywords: Series, Dystopian, Vampires, Zombies
Source: Netgalley
From the jacket copy:
Some days, all that drives Allie is her hatred of "them." The vampires who keep humans as blood cattle. Until the night Allie herself is attacked--and given the ultimate choice. Die...or become one of the monsters.
Alethea's Review:
I can't tell if it's partially that I'm burned out on vampires, but I did not enjoy reading The Immortal Rules as much as I did the Iron Fey series. Part of me really wanted to like it. I'm a sucker for dystopians after all--few of my friends shed as many tears as I did over Cormac McCarthy's The Road. I love the sting of tears as I read about puny humans forced to be brave, driven by a desire to protect whatever humanity they have left to them. Sadly, Allison Sekemoto, while at times admirable for her determination and strength in the face of disappointments and setbacks that ring all too real, doesn't quite grab me as other heroines have. It was almost as if she was the plot device in her own story--she's just there, and I am just turning the pages.
Is it inventive? Sure. Kagawa cooks up some mythology about vampires and zombies that isn't too transparent; she answers just enough questions as the story progresses to keep you just short of the point where you get so frustrated that you put this book down, and go re-read one of her other, better-paced books. I kept trying to discern thematic meaning from the various rules that Allison has to then choose to obey or disobey according to her fast-fading conscience, the least of which is her lust for human
By:
Becky Laney,
on 7/10/2012
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Raider's Ransom. Emily Diamand. 2009. Scholastic. 368 pages.
Cat puts up his nose to sniff the breath of wind barely filling the sail, and opens his small pink mouth to speak.Knowing that I could never quite do justice to Raider's Ransom in my review, let me encourage you to just pick up this one and give it a try. I can't promise that you'll love it. But. You just may. It's that kind of book. The kind that actually delivers what it promises.
If you like action/adventure quests, I think you'll really, really appreciate Raider's Ransom. I think you'll enjoy the world Diamand created in the novel. I think there will be scenes that stay with you. I think you'll enjoy not only her world-building but her characterization and storytelling too.
The heroine of Raider's Ransom is a young girl, Lilly. She may be young, but she's a fisherman with a small (very small) boat of her own. And to the dismay of some, she's the owner of a cat, a sea cat. Not something to be taken lightly in her community of survivors. When she's at home, on land, she stays with her grandmother. But. Readers don't get a chance to see a more relaxed Lilly. For the novel opens with Lilly discovering the tragic truth: when she was out sailing her vessel, out fishing, the raiders (or should that be Raiders?) attacked her village. They were looking for something specific, the attack wasn't just random. I don't know if that makes things better or worse for Lilly since one of the things they were looking for was her cat. The Raiders kill Lilly's grandmother, and kidnap the Prime Minister's daughter. One might think that they kidnapped her for a nice ransom, but, they had something even more in mind. They return without their sought-after object, a particular jewel. And that's only the beginning. The problem? Well, I can't talk about this one without revealing too much. I think this is one of those that is best discovered all on your own. Trust me.
So. I won't go into details. But I will say we get another narrator. And that proves most interesting indeed! For I certainly wasn't expecting it at all.
This one went above and beyond all my expectations. It really did. It surprised me in a good way.
Read Raider's Ransom
- If you like survival stories or starting over stories;
- If you like action/adventure stories with a quest, a journey, a mission
- If you like action stories with battles and close escapes
- If you like dystopias, novels set in the future with a society quite unlike our own
- If you like good storytelling
© 2012 Becky Laney of
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By:
Becky Laney,
on 8/10/2012
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For Darkness Shows the Stars. Diana Peterfreund. 2012. HarperCollins. 416 pages.
Elliot North raced across the pasture, leaving a scar of green in the silver, dew-encrusted grass. Jef followed, tripping a bit as his feet slid inside his too-big shoes. I really enjoyed Diana Peterfreund's For Darkness Shows the Stars. Did I enjoy it because it was a futuristic dystopia, OR, because it was a retelling of Jane Austen's Persuasion? A bit of both. For those expecting Captain Malakai Wentforth to be as swoon-worthy as Captain Wentworth, well, you might be disappointed. Might. For Kai's romance with Elliot North doesn't exactly mirror that of Wentworth and Anne Elliot. Peterfreund has definitely made this story her own.
For Darkness Shows the Stars is definitely a novel about social class or status. There are three "types" of people in this futuristic world: the Luddites, those with the highest status and wealth, the elite, those that have estates and titles, those that MATTER; the Reduced, those with slave status, essentially, they are thought to be mindless sub-humans, incapable of thought and feelings, definitely thought to be genetically inferior; the POST-Reductionists, the children of the Reduced who happen to be smart enough to function with more independence in the world, they have skills and abilities that make them worth something, they are not thought to be mindless and incapable, but, they're "socially" inferior to the Luddites. No matter how smart or brilliant a POST is, no matter how much money they acquire, they will never be on equal status with the Luddites.
Kai and Elliot grew up together; they share a birthday in fact. (Actually, there are three that share an exact birthday: Kai (Post), Elliot (Luddite), and Ro (Reduced).) But their friendship always had to be a secret, for if Elliot's father or older sister, Tatiana, found out, then everyone would get in trouble. Elliot enjoyed Kai's company, enjoyed spending time with him in the barn, enjoyed watching him fix things--he's a mechanic, the son of a mechanic. But when Elliot chose not to run away with Kai when they were fourteen (or possibly fifteen?), the friendship was broken. He chose to leave the estate, to risk everything in hopes of finding a better future. Elliot hasn't heard from him since the day he left, and he still matters to her. She chose to stay not because she didn't love him, but, because she needed to be responsible, because she was the ONLY one capable of being responsible on the estate, the only one who cared for the welfare of the Reduced, and also respected the Posts.
Meanwhile, Elliot's life has been as unpleasant as ever. Her father and sister are heartless and selfish and at times cruel. The novel opens with her father destroying his daughter's wheat field--weeks before harvest. That wheat could have helped feed the Reduced, it could have been sold for a profit, as well, to help the estate. But her father's "need" for a race track was more important. He's unwilling to see that the estate is struggling financially that they have a responsibility to the Reduced and the Posts that work their land/manage the estate. Elliot doesn't even bother protesting; true, the damage is already done and nothing can bring her wheat back, but, she also has a secret of her own. That wheat was her wheat--her special experimental seed. And Luddites do NOT under any circumstances experiment.
So in an effort to help finances, Elliot decides to rent out the estate to Cloud Fleet....and one of the guests is Captain Malakai Wentforth. Of course, there are plenty of other guests as well.
I enjoyed meeting the different characters in For Darkness Shows the Stars. Since this is a retelling, there is always a chance that the characters could have been weak, shallow copies of the original. For the most part, that was not the case.
I also enjoyed the story; there were just enough twists in the story that it really worked as an original story. The dystopian setting was interesting to me. I didn't have all my questions answered--at least not right away--and this futuristic society definitely added something to the story.
Read for Presenting Lenore's
Dystopian August.
Read For Darkness Shows the Stars
- If you enjoy science fiction, dystopias, post-apocalyptic fiction
- If you enjoy futuristic stories
- If you are interested in a new retelling of Jane Austen's Persuasion
- If you enjoy a little romance in your science fiction
© 2012 Becky Laney of
Becky's Book Reviews
Once (Eve #2) Anna Carey. 2012. HarperCollins. 368 pages.
I started over the rocks, clutching a knife in one hand. The beach was strewn with sun-battered boats, long since wrecked on shore. Once is the sequel to Anna Carey's dystopian novel,
Eve. It has been a month or two--at least--since Caleb left Eve in Califia--a safe refuge solely for women. But Eve, our heroine, has not forgotten Caleb, her feelings for him have not gone away, and she's beginning to realize that they may never go away, that time will not make it easier. Califia may be an amazing place for some women, but not for her.
Once, for the most part, is about what happens to Eve after she leaves Califia. It is about her time spent in the City of Sands--the newly rebuilt Las Vegas. It is about what happens AFTER she is found by the King's soldiers.
Once is a suspenseful fast-paced dystopian novel. It definitely surprised me in several crucial places, which was great. The romance didn't thrill me exactly. It may just be the weakest element in Once. I seemed to like Caleb's character more in the first novel. I'm also not sure how I feel about Eve. She reminded me of Princess Buttercup, in a way. But it was an intense read for many reasons--the politics, the secrets, the lies, the big reveals, etc. So even though I didn't "love" every little thing in this one, I just couldn't put it down!
Read for Presenting Lenore's
Dystopian August.
Read Once
- If you've read and enjoyed Eve by Anna Carey
- If you enjoy dystopian series
- If you don't mind reading series books with unsatisfying endings...
- If you like a little romance with your science fiction
© 2012 Becky Laney of
Becky's Book Reviews
How many times have I heard people call living on a farm or living in the past “simple”? Ursula K. Le Guin has a point here, in a quote from “Solitude,” her story in Diverse Energies:
Our daily life in the auntring was repetitive. On the ship, later, I learned that people who live in artificially complicated situations call such a life “simple.” I never knew anybody, anywhere I have been who found life simple. I think a life or a time looks simple when you leave out the details, the way a planet looks smooth, from orbit.
There’s more where that came from in the anthology! You can pre-order it now online (Amazon, Barnes & Noble) or look for it when it comes out in October.
Originally published at Stacy Whitman's Grimoire. You can comment here or there.
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I'm looking forward to seeing how this trilogy ends. I hope I get this one from the library soon.
I've already read the first two books of this trilogy and yes it has been intense. I am of course looking forward to see how it ends.
Great review!
(Will review this once I finish it!)