Category Archives: Science Fiction

Dry by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman

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The drought in Southern California continues to escalate. When Arizona and Nevada back out of the reservoir relief deal, the taps run dry.  Crowds rush to nearby stores to grab water off the shelves. Soon neighborhoods are without water except for those who prepared.  Alyssa and her younger brother, Garrett, find themselves in dire circumstances when their parents do not return from seeking water at a desalination station on the coast.  Their Eagle Scout neighbor, Kelton, offers to help Alyssa find answers.  The trio is thrown into chaotic situations as the SoCal population turns desperate for water.  When it becomes apparent that help will not arrive in time from government agencies, the trio must work together to survive the Tap-Out.

Thunderhead by Neal Shusterman

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The second book in the Arc of the Scythe series finds Scythe Anastasia gleaning with compassion and Scythe Lucifer gleaning corrupt scythes.  The corruption in scythedom pits the scythes against each other.  While the old guard scythes work to stick to the values and rules, followers of Scythe Goddard continue to push their corrupt ideas.  Thunderhead rules the world but the scythedom is out of its realm of control.  Rowan and Citra are losing faith in the system.  The old guard is losing ground, and the corrupt scythes are gaining more power.  Will Thunderhead cross established boundaries to help them?

Warcross by Marie Lu

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Emika Chen is struggling.  She’s about to be evicted, and her job as a bounty hunter who tracks down people gambling illegally on Warcross is not bringing in enough money to make the rent. (Warcross is a virtual reality game that the majority of the world plays for entertainment and profit.) Desperate for some quick cash, Emi hacks into the Warcross Championship opening game to steal an artifact.  Her hack is discovered when she creates a glitch.  She is noticed and becomes an overnight sensation.  The creator and billionaire owner of Warcross, Hideo Tanaka, invites Emika to Tokoyo, all expenses paid, to offer her a proposal she won’t be able to refuse.

Scythe by Neal Shusterman

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The world has conquered disease, hunger, war, and death.  To deal with the challenges of immortality and crowding on the planet, only scythes can take lives.  Scythes can glean people from the population. Honorable Scythe Faraday has taken on two apprentices, Citra and Rowan.  This is unprecedented!  If they fail their apprenticeship, it could mean the end of their lives. There are those is Scythedom that would do anything to see them fail. Scythes must follow The Scythe Commandments, but there are some up-and-coming scythes that are challenging these edicts and pushing the limits of their power. This clash of old ways and new ways will not be beneficial for H.S. Faraday’s apprentices!

Unwind by Neal Shusterman

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unwind_After the Second Civil War, known as the Heartland War, leaders of United States of America put into place a set of amendments known as “The Bill of Life.” These amendments protect human life from conception until the child reaches the age of thirteen.  From the age of thirteen until a child reaches the age of eighteen, a parent may choose to have a child unwound.  As Shusterman’s story begins, unwinding is a common practice in society.

Connor and Risa are on a bus to an unwinding center.  Lev, a tithe, is traveling by Cadillac to the center. An accident causes their paths to cross, and now they are on the run from the Juvey-cops.  If Connor, Risa, and Lev can survive until they are eighteen, they will remain whole.

Scarlet by Marissa Meyer

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ScarletScarlet’s grandmother is missing.  She hasn’t returned to the farm and Scarlet knows she was abducted. Then her father shows up.  He is frantic. His body shows signs of obvious torture and he rips apart the farmhouse searching for something. As he describes those who held him captive,  Scarlet knows she must question Wolf, a street fighter seen in town to get information about who has her grandmother.

Meanwhile, Cinder, locked away in a New Beijing prison, must find away to escape before Emperor Kai turns her over to Lunar Queen Levana. Cinder must work quickly as Queen Levana continues to move forward with her evil plan of dominating the Earth.

Scarlet, the second installment of the Lunar Chronicles series, is two great adventures.

Lockdown by Alexander Gordon Smith

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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!

Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

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Jacob, tramatized by the violent death of his grandfather, travels to a British island near Wales with his father to honor his grandfather’s last wishes.   Exploring the island,  Jacob finds Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children.  Rummaging through the ruins of the old house, Jacob discovers a trunk of pictures that show that the children are indeed peculiar and that his grandfather was one of them.  And then Jacob finds evidence that they may still be alive! Jacob is about to discover a whole new dimension and set off on a thrilling adventure. 

 

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.

Behemoth by Scott Westerfeld

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Behemoth  is a sequel to Westerfeld’s Levithan. Rescued by the crew of the Leviathan, Alek and his men save the floating air ship from an attack by Clanker ships. Ships that have a Tesla cannon as a weapon!  However, the captain of the Levithan feels that the order to turn the airship out of way of the lightning strike may be a mutinous act and places Alek’s men under arrest.  Deryn has managed to keep her secret and continues to serve as Dylan Sharp in the British Air Service aboard the Levithan.  She assists Alek and his men in escaping when the Leviathan touches down in Istanbul where Alek hopes he will find allies or at least disappear until the war is over.  But it just so happens that Istanbul is crawling with Clankers!