The Marrow Thieves

The Marrow Thieves

By Cherie Dimaline

The Marrow Thieves is a dystopian tale of the not-too-distant future.  Climate change is now wreaking havoc on the coasts, the cities have crumbled, and survivors are struggling to maintain small communities.  The most pronounced effect of these changes is the loss of an important part of our humanity: our dreams.  Indigenous people are the exception; they can still dream, and this ability becomes a sought-after commodity.

At first it seems that Frenchie and his family can make their way in this new world together, but they soon realize they are being hunted.  As Frenchie’s family members disappear one by one, he discovers that the powers that be want to harvest his bone marrow, and that of all Indigenous people, to regain their dreams.  But this “harvest” comes at the price of Indigenous people’s lives.  

Frenchie finds a new family of sorts – a group of people who band together for companionship and survival.  Will they be able to defeat the marrow thieves?  Or will they be on the run forever?

An award-winning must read!

 

Ten Thousand Skies Above You

Ten Thousand Skies Above You

by Claudia Gray

In book 2 of the Firebird Series, Claudia Gray continues the cross-dimensional adventures of Marguerite Caine as she tries to save Paul from the person she now knows to be the real enemy. 

Marguerite and her family are coming to terms with all that has happened in A Thousand Pieces of You, and are learning to deal with the consequences, especially for Theo. In order to help Theo recover, Paul heads off to the multiverse to look for a cure. When he doesn't return as expected, Marguerite is forced to make a deal with Conley to try and save him, one piece at a time. His soul has been splintered and lies scattered across multiple universes leaving him with no memory of Marguerite's Paul, or of Marguerite.

As Margeurite and Theo travel into the multiple dimensions they encounter new, alternate worlds and within them, alternate versions of themselves. As they gather the pieces of Paul, while trying to keep Triad at bay, Marguerite begins to question her belief in destiny and fate as she sees how things aren't as she always believed they would be - no matter what.


This book is as fast paced and action packed as book 1, and leaves you hanging and desperate for book 3 (A Million Worlds With You). Fortunately, all three books are out now, so you don't have to wait!

Feed

Feed

By M.T. Anderson

Titus lives in a future where information no longer comes through a device; rather, it infiltrates the brain directly through a “feed”.  Advertising and entertainment pop right into people’s heads.  People can “chat” each other through the feed and often are not accustomed to speaking out loud.  Titus and his friends are totally surrounded by consumerism, but having grown up with the feed, they cannot imagine a world without it.

Enter Violet, a girl who seems different from Titus' superficial friends. Violet questions whether there is more to life than the feed, and seeks out information about politics, the environment and the world outside the bubble that has been placed around her.  She even tries to disrupt the feed, shopping and searching for outrageous items but never buying them.  This confuses the marketing system of the big corporations and they can’t quite create a consumer profile for her.

When a crazy hacker/protester disrupts their feeds, Titus, Violet and their friends end up in the hospital with nothing to watch or do.  They are forced to hang out together without any external stimuli.  But it turns out that a feed disruption can have much more serious consequences than boredom; the feed is intricately linked to the brain and humans cannot “disconnect”, even if they want to.  Will Titus ever be able to go back to the carefree lifestyle he once knew?

Feed is set in a not-so-distant future that we can all relate to.  As technology surges forward at an incredible rate, we are all along for the ride.  But what are the consequences of our dependence on the constant flow of information?  Can we operate without it?  More importantly, what does it really mean to be human?

 

Steelheart

By Brandon Sanderson

What can I say: I saw evil superheroes and underground freedom fighters in the description and was instantly sucked in. This could have ended in disappointment and disillusionment. I am pleased to say it didn't. This book was awesome. It was a cautionary tale on absolute corruption following on the heels of absolute power. There were no noble supers like Superman, Thor, and Batman fighting for the powerless. Instead, Sanderson created a completely believable account of what would really happen if an individual or group could do anything or take anything without fear of being stopped. It was a little terrifying.

As a child, David witnessed the rise of the Epics, human beings with remarkable superpowers that set them apart from everyone else, and he continued watching as the Epics descended into terror and cruelty. Then, David's father was murdered in a battle between two Epics, a battle that ended with Steelheart's rise to power over the city. Although he won, the battle exposed Steelheart's weakness: he can bleed. Steelheart believes that he successfully destroyed everyone who witnessed his moment of vulnerability, but David escaped. Years later, David has dedicated his life to discovering the weaknesses of all Epics and finding ways to defeat them, and he is now ready to find and join the shadowy rebel organisation known only as the Reckoners.

There was a lot to like in this book. The first chapter was background, but it didn't read like a history lesson. Instead, it was a fantastic scene full of action and gut-churning disdain for human life on the part of the Epics. It got me angry and invested and it hooked me instantly into the rest of the story. The hero was original and his actions were always situationally understandable and clearly explained, which really cut down on the time I usually spend yelling at random book characters and telling them what to do! The villains were equally believable. They were simply regular people with far too much power and, although horrifying, it was understandable why someone with that much uncontrollable power would start to unravel and how they could end up seeing people without such powers as inferior, even disposable.

This book was easy to pick up and hard to put down. Those who enjoy a good sci-fi or dystopian book will devour this one, but fans of superheroes, action, and fantasy will also find a lot to love in this fast-paced and unique story.

The Court of Fives

By Kate Elliot

As a child of mixed-race, Jessamy is torn between her duty as a Patron and her longing for the freedom of the Commoners. In particular, Jessamy is determined to compete in The Court of Fives, a dangerous multilevel competition. Through the Fives, Jessamy achieves that sense of freedom and begins making friends such as Kai, a highborn Patron boy. Soon outside forces interfere and Jessamy’s secret activities begin to demand a terrible price as choices of loyalty, love, and honor alter the course of her and her family’s lives and lead her to question everything she once believed in.

The Court of Fives is an entertaining and refreshing novel with an exciting plot and an easy style of writing that makes it smooth and relatively quick to read. Kate Elliot has challenged many of the tired clichés we’ve all come to expect from a dystopian teen novel and created a plot-driven Sci-Fi/Fantasy novel where honor and competition take priority over romance, a subtle touch of magic is intertwined with religious elements, and the unlikely heroine is at times thoughtless, selfish, and overly ambitious. I was hooked almost immediately and I found the plot twists to be genuinely unexpected and emotionally charged.

On the negative side, I have seen better world-building. Some places, traditions, and events are described with a confusing amount of detail, while others are barely explained at all. However, I have always cared more about characters than setting, and Elliot’s characters are believable, if not always admirable, so I stayed interested and invested despite skimming through the occasional paragraph. I am also looking forward to seeing how the series might develop as I anticipate that it will pull back a little from Jessamy’s rather narrow world and to begin to address, and even combat, the brokenness and injustice of her society as a whole.

A few minor flaws aside, The Court of Fives is definitely worth a read, especially for die-hard dystopian fans who have been searching for a new favorite since The Hunger Games. This one will still give you that strong, flawed female lead as well as plenty of action and intrigue, but everything else will keep you guessing.

Book of the Month - Happily Ever After

By Kiera Cass
 
Happily Ever After by Kiera Cass is a relative of the Selection Series. While this book is not part of the chronological selection stories, it does offer a behind the scenes look at some of the more prominent characters in the main series. Before picking up this book, you need to be aware that it contains spoilers and if you have not completed the Selection books before reading it, you will learn the outcome of things yet to happen. Despite having read this book while waiting for the Heir to arrive, I still enjoyed reading about the characters I had come to know, even though some information about future events was revealed.

In this book, each character has his or own chapter, and we learn a little of their back story, which helps in some cases to understand the actions of the character in the series. The Queen takes us into Queen Amberly's pre-queen days and we can see why she has an affinity for America. In The Prince lets us a little futher inside Maxon. Aspen`s story is told in The Guard and is a little longer than the others. Truth be told, I get a little tired of Aspen in the series, he unnecessarily hounds America. I really liked The Favourite, as Marlee was a good friend to America and I was saddened at her demise, so this tale gave me a little more information to lift that sadness. I did not really care for Celeste, but this chapter did help me to dislike her a little less. With The Maid,  I was happy to learn a bit more about Lucy and her chance for happiness. After the One offers a glimpse at America's mew life and there's a final chapter that wraps up the girls who remained in the selection to the end. I liked that as I often wonder what happened to those "left behind" and it was a nice way to end their stories. 

If you like this series, you might like to try this collection of short stories. It's a nice quick read, and takes you a bit further into the world of the Selection.

The House of the Scorpion

By Nancy Farmer

In a future world that feels very "old world", the USA and Azatlán (formerly known as Mexico) have struck a deal to curb illegal immigration. Along the length of the border, a new country named Opium has been established. The thousands of miles of drug fields are owned by a handful of very powerful, corrupt families, and are heavily guarded by security, making crossing the border nearly impossible.

Matteo Alacrán ("scorpion" in Spanish) is a young boy living in Opium, in a small isolated shack among the poppy fields. His caretaker, Celia, is the only family he has ever known. For some reason unbeknownst to him, he is strictly forbidden from ever leaving the shack. Matt's life changes dramatically when his hiding place is discovered by the rich kids playing on the property, and he is brought inside to the mansion. Matt is informed that he is in fact a genetic clone of the most powerful drug lord in the country and patriarch of the Alacrán family, 142-year-old El Patrón.

The problem is, clones are actually despised by humans; seen as nothing more than filthy, unintelligent animals. Upon his introduction into the mansion, Matt is treated with disgust and contempt by everyone around him, with the exception of a couple of special friends and El Patrón himself. Being the clone of a highly respected and feared man, Matt enjoys a certain amount of luxury and protection unheard of for clones. But why exactly is Matt so important to El Patrón, and what will become of him when El Patrón is no longer around? 

This award-winning book was published over ten years ago but it is one of my favourites, and still holds its own in the world of teen dystopian fiction. Don't miss out on this one or its sequel, The Lord of Opium.

Love in the Time of Global Warming

Love in the Time of Global Warming

By Francesca Lia Block

Penelope Overland’s life has been completely destroyed by the Earth Shaker, the global earthquake-turned-tsunami that has left the world in ruins.  Pen is one of the few survivors, although her parents, best friends and little brother have disappeared. 

Seemingly trapped in her Los Angeles home, which is now beachfront property, Pen subsists on the canned goods in her basement and tries to hide from the frightening world.  One day, she is visited by looters who have some very sinister plans in mind for anyone they find, especially girls and women.

Pen is forced to leave her home and is propelled into the world in a workman’s van.  Her journey is modelled on Homer’s The Odyssey and as she travels, she must contend with a modern-day Medusa, the Cyclops, Giants, and the Sirens.

Her sadness is palpable, but is reduced somewhat when she meets the androgynous Hex.  Pen has always been secretly attracted to girls (including Moira, one of her best friends), but for some reason, her feelings for this new boy in her life are overwhelming.

As Pen and Hex fall in love, they navigate their post-apocalyptic home searching for lost family and friends.  Rumour has is that Pen’s family is in Las Vegas.  As Pen and Hex set out across the desert, they encounter two more lost souls: Ash and Ez.  All four teens have lost everything but find a new kind of family in each other.

Love in the Time of Global Warming is a magical book that leaves you feeling as though the mythological creatures of the new world are real.  But despite that element of fantasy, the book has a serious side.  Climate change is a legitimate threat and could lead to a worldwide catastrophe.

And aside from all the politics, magic and myth, Love in the Time of Global warming is about falling in love and the deep bond we feel for our closest friends and family.