Category Archives: Dystopian Fiction

Legend by Marie Lu

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Legend2

Day lives in the slums of Lake Sector of Los Angeles in the Republic of America where the plague is infecting people right and left.  He is desperate to obtain vaccines for his family members but this is difficult as Day is the Republic’s most wanted criminal. June has just finished her military training for the Republic; setting records and capturing the Republic leaders’ attention.  When her brother, Metias, is murdered, June is recruited to go undercover in the slums of Los Angeles to find Day, who is suspected of the killing, and bring him to justice.  June and Day become wrapped up in a series of suspenseful events that keep pages turning in this thrilling read.

 

Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi

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ShipBreakerNailer lives on a beach in the Gulf Coast region in the future.  Society is divided by classes: the business affluent and the laborers.  Nailer survives as a laborer.  He works on the light crew scavenging copper wire from wrecked oil tankers and ships.  Each day he works hard to bring in his quota so he can continue to work and live in dismal conditions on the beach.  After a city killer hurricane passes through the Gulf area, Nailer and his friend, Pima, discover the wreckage of clipper ship on a nearby island.  With all the swank crew dead, Pima and Nailer set out to scavenge the ship of all its valuables but as they begin to cut the rings off the fingers of a beautiful young passenger, Nailer sees her eyes move.  Pima urges Nailer to kill the dying swank, get the gold and get off the wreck. Nailer has another idea.

 

The Selection by Kiera Cass

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Selection

The Selection by Kiera Cass is the first book in a trilogy.   America is encouraged by her boyfriend, Aspen, to enter the selection.  America and Aspen are from different castes and it is unlikely America’s parents will allow them to marry.  The future king of Illea, Prince Maxon, will choose his future queen from eligible young woman through The Selection.  All eligible and interested young ladies apply and thirty-five will be selected to travel to the palace to live for an unspecified amount of time while Prince Maxom makes his decision.  America caving to pressure from her mother and Aspen registers and, of course, is chosen as one of the thirty-five.  This fast-paced The Bachelor meets Divergent is an entertaining read.

Matched by Ally Condie

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The Matching Cermony is a big event in a teen’s life.  Cassia has been matched with Xander from her own community.  Everyone is happy for Cassia and she is happy, too.  Xander and Cassia have been friends since childhood.  It is also fortunate that Xander lives in Cassia’s community when most other matches do not. Life for Cassia is comfortable.  But when Cassia views her match chip in the portal, a face pops up on the screen for just a few seconds. It’s not Xander.  It’s another familiar face.  Another young man in her community that Cassia knows.  “I don’t understand.  The Society doesn’t make mistakes.” Cassia finds herself questioning her perfect match and her perfect society.

 

Divergent by Veronica Roth

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Siblings Beatrice and Caleb from the fraction Abnegation are on their way to their aptitude test.  Tomorrow is the Choosing Ceremony, where they will choose to remain a member of Abnegation or join one of the other fractions Candor, Erudite, Amity or Dauntless.  Results from their aptitude test will lead them toward the choice they will need to make.  Once they have chosen a fraction, they will become an initiate.  As initiates, they will progress through a series of training and tests. If they pass these tests, they will become members of their chosen fraction.  If they fail, they will join the fractionless.  After Beatrice completes her aptitude test, her test administrator tells her there was a problem, rushes out of the room to orally report the results and returns to inform Beatrice that she is Divergent.  She warns her not to share this with anyone!  Being Divergent is dangerous!  Divergent?  What does that mean? The Choosing Ceremony is approaching and Beatrice must choose whether to stay with Abnegation or choose one of the other two fractions revealed to her during her aptitude test.

This a a fast-paced novel.  Fans of The Hunger Games series should enjoy Divergent.

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

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When the lift opens, Thomas finds himself deposited in a community of young males called the Glade.  He can’t remember a thing besides his name, yet he gets little flashes of memories.  Are the memories his?  Was his mind erased?  Why do somethings about this community seem so familiar? Through talks with Alby and Chuck, Thomas learns that every month a new boy arrives in the lift knowing only his name.  Every morning the walls of their compound open to a maze and every evening they close.  In the maze are terrible creatures called Grievers. Boys stung by grievers go through a painful changing.  These boys claim to have seen Thomas before and they do not have a favorable opinion of him.  Eight maze runners enter the giant maze every morning and hope to return in the evening. As Thomas struggles to find his place in this community and retrieve his memories, he knows one thing for sure, he must become a maze runner.

This book is the first in a series.  Follow this book with The Scorch Trials and The Death Cure.  The Kill Order is a prequel to the series.  The Maze Runner is in production for a film.