I Am Still Alive by Kate Alice Marshall

Jess’s father whom she hasn’t seen since she was four has been located.  Jess has been in foster care since the death of her mom, and she is recovering from her injuries.  She’s getting stronger every day but her leg is still weak and she walks with a limp.  Jess is on her way to Alaska to live with her father.  Her father is a wilderness buff; a guy who loves the wide-open spaces. But when Griff, her dad’s friend who picks her up at the airport and instead flies her to a remote, off-grid location in Canadian wilderness to reconnect with her dad, Jess has second thoughts.  She’s not too thrilled with living with her dad and his dog, Bo.  No school.  No television. No phone.  Just the lake, the cabin, and the great outdoors.  Her dad strikes a deal to take her back to civilization in the summer. In the meantime, he will teach Jess how to survive a winter in their little piece of the Canadian wilderness. Unfortunately, her dad’s past catches up with him, and Jess is must learn to survive on her own in the Canadian wilderness.

Children of Blood and Bone by Tomi Adeyemi

Zelie remembers the magic, and she remembers the horrific night when magic was taken away.  The night her mother and other maji were executed on the orders of the hardened and ruthless King Saran. The night that left her people distraught and hopeless. Since that terrible incident, Zelie and her brother, Tzain, work hard to take care of their father.  Then one day while Zelie is selling fish at the market a young girl, Amari, runs into Zelie. Amari is being chased by the king’s guard.  Amari begs for Zelie’s help, and Zelie gives in against her better judgment.  Zelie, Amari, and Tzain find themselves on a dangerous journey to bring magic back with Amari’s brother, Inan, in pursuit hoping to carry out the king’s orders to terminate their mission.

Batman: Nightwalker by Marie Lu

 

Gotham City’s rich and famous are falling to the deadly Nightwalker gang.  Bruce Wayne celebrates his eighteenth birthday and inherits his family fortune.  Bruce leaves his charity celebrity birthday bash, and ends up in a car chase where he stops a member of the Nightwalker gang by interfering with a police pursuit.  The young Wayne is sentenced to community service at the Arkham Asylum where he meets the dangerous but captivating Madeleine Wallace.  Wallace doesn’t open up for the toughest of police interrogators but she makes contact with Bruce as he mops the prison halls.  Why?  Batman Nightwalker is a dark, action-packed mystery.  What is the agenda of the Nightwalker gang and how is Madeleine Wallace connected?  Bruce Wayne needs to get to the center of what is going on to save Gotham City!

 

Wonder Woman: Warbringer by Leigh Bardugo

Princess Diana hopes to prove herself as a true Amazon warrior joining the ranks of her mother, Hippolyta and Tek.  When a boat explodes outside the boundary of Themyscira, Diana follows her gut, breaks Amazon law, and rescues Alia Keralis.  Suddenly, life is thrown in to turmoil on the island.  Seeking advice from the Oracle, Diana is told that Alia is a warbringer, and she must die or she will bring destruction to their world.  But Diana feels that there must be another way to save Alia and save both their worlds from death and destruction. So she asks the Oracle her final question, and the answer given sends the girls on a dangerous quest.

Code of Honor by Alan Gratz

Kamran Smith’s senior year is going great!  He’s a star player on the football team and the season is going exceptionally well.  Julia, his girlfriend, and Kamran have just been named Homecoming Queen & King. Kam just has a few more touches to add to his application for West Point.  He plans to follow in his older brother, Darius’s footsteps; graduate from West Point and join the Army Rangers.  Life couldn’t be better in sunny Phoenix, Arizona. That is until everything comes crashing down when Darius Smith is accused of being a terrorist. Has Darius really joined al-Queda?  Is he responsible for recent terrorist attacks? Kamran knows in his gut this can’t be true.  What about their Code of Honor?

Be the strongest of the strong.

Be the bravest of the brave.

Help the helpless.

Always tell the truth.

Be loyal.

Never give up.

Kill all monsters.

When Homeland Security gets involved, Kamran knows he must be loyal to Darius and prove his innocence. Kamran will have to live the code to save his brother.

 

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

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Kaz Brekker, an enforcer and mastermind for the Dregs gang, puts together a team of six dangerous outcasts for an impossible task.  His team will earn 30 million kruge if they can break into a high-security Frejdan prison and break out Yul-Bayur, a scientist who has developed jurda parem, a drug that enhances Grisha powers.  Whoever is control of this substance could rule the world, if he can control the Grisha’s magic. Kaz’s puts a plan into action and will need to utilize the distinct skill set of each member of his team, but will this team of outcasts ever be able to work together and trust each other enough to accomplish this impossible task?

The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen

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When Conner, a nobleman and regent to King Eckbert of Carthya, rounds up orphans, Sage, Roden, Tobias and Latamer from around the kingdom, the boys have no idea what he has in store for them. Conner has a plan to save the kingdom of Carthya.  He plans to pass one of these orphans off as the missing and presumed dead Prince Jaron.  Conner pits the boys against each other.  The boys have a short amount of time to learn how to act like a royal. To lose this contest means certain death; after all Conner cannot have witnesses to speak out against his treasonous plan.

The Drowned Cities by Paolo Gacigalupi

drowned cities_The Drowned Cities is a companion novel to Ship Breaker.

Set in a future war-torn America, refugees Mahlia and Mouse have escaped the Drowned Cities where they have made a better life with Doctor Mahfouz.  Mouse rescued Mahlia from the violence of the soldier boys but not before they managed to take her right hand.  Doctor Mahfouz has healed Mahlia and she is learning how to doctor from him.  A chance encounter with Tool, the half-man introduced in Ship Breaker, sends their lives into chaos.  Mahlia, who has always made choices based on survival, will have to make decisions which pit her survival instinct against her heart.  The circumstances of war keep this book moving and provide a thrilling backdrop for Mahlia and Mouse’s story.

Lockdown by Alexander Gordon Smith

Alex Sawyer, juvenile offender,  has been captured, convicted and sent to Furnace, the world’s most secure youth penitentiary.  Furnace is located a mile beneath the earth’s surface; a place of pure evil guarded by giants in black suits and where deformed beasts roam the tunnels at night. The days in Furnace, though not as terrifying as the nights, are spent in hard labor and avoiding the ruling violent gangs.  Alex discovers that many of the youthful offenders were framed for their crimes and the only way to survive is to escape from Furnace.  So Alex hatches a plan.  This book does not disappoint!

Ranger’s Apprentice: The Ruins of Gorlan by John Flanagan

Book One of the Ranger’s Apprentice series, The Ruins of Gorlan, finds Will excited about the prospect of improving his station in life. Will  is a ward of Baron Arald, the Lord of Redmont.  He arrived as a baby in a basket with a note which stated, “His mother died in childbirth.  His father died a hero.  Please care for him.  His name is Will.”  On Choosing Day, Will and the three other wards, hope to select their jobs with the Castle Redmont. Will desires to join battle school and become a knight. Sadly, he is rejected from battle school but his stealth and ability to blend into the surrounding are noticed by the Ranger Halt.  Will is selected to become Halt’s apprenctice and train to be a member of the Ranger Corp.

Meanwhile, the evil Morgarath is amassing a platoon of Wargals and deadly Kalkara which he found in the Mountains of Rain and Night. Morgarath readies his army for revenge on the kingdom.

At some point in this tale the two shall cross paths and the adventure will draw you in.