Son - Lois Lowry

Cover art from goodreads.com

Lowry, Lois. Son. New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2012. $17.99. Hardback. (393 p.). ISBN:9780547887203.
Recommended for ages 12+.

In the society Claire lives children are assigned their lifelong careers at the age of 12. Claire is chosen to be a birthmother. This is not the most prestigious position but still important as she will be responsible for bringing three new lives into the community. These "products" are then cared for at the nursery until the gathering day when they will be given to their assigned parents. But something goes wrong as Claire delivers her first "product". Claire is reassigned but can't stop thinking about her "product". Contact with the "product" is not allowed. Claire's "product" does not behave as the others and things turn from bad to worse. The two become separated  Just how much is Claire willing to give up to be reunited with her Son?

This is the final book in The Giver quartet, yet it can certainly stand on its own. If you have read any of The Giver series, this book combines all these characters you have come to care about. If not, this book can still be appreciated and will leave you longing to read the others.


Awards/Honors
Margaret A. Edwards Award - 2007
ALA Notable Children's Book Older Readers - 2013

Other titles in The Giver Quartet:

Book #1

Book #2

Book #3

An interview with author Lois Lowry 

Shards & Ashes - edited by Melissa Marr & Kelley Armstrong

Cover art from indiebound.org

Marr, Melissa and Kelly Armstrong. Shards and Ashes. New York: HarperCollins, 2013. $9.49. eBook. (385p) ISBN:9780349001367.
Also available in Hardback ($17.99) and Paperback ($9.99)
Recommended for ages 14+.

Shards & Ashes contains nine short dystopian stories from some of today's most popular Young Adult authors. Veronica Roth (Divergent), Kami Garcia (Beautiful Creatures), Beth Revis (Across the Universe), Melissa Marr (Wicked Lovely) and others present short stories of 30-40 pages in which a world of destruction is portrayed. Each story is creative and thought-provoking.  The characters are discovering their own strengths and struggling against the zealous rules and regulations enforced upon them. Danger awaits around every corner and survival is uncertain. Some of the stories contain love, some contain heartache. All contain unexpected twists sure to keep the pages turning.

Awards/Honors
None yet as this book was just released Feb. 19, 2013.

Enclave - Ann Aguirre

Cover art from indiebound.org

Aguirre, Ann. Enclave. NewYork: Square Fish, 2011. $9.99. Paperback. (261p) ISBN:9780312551377.

Recommended for ages 14+.

Deuce has just become a huntress. A position she has coveted since childhood. She is now easily identifiable by the six scars on her arms. She lives within a cave deep underground known as the enclave. She demonstrates her braveness as she scouts the tunnels outside the enclave. She displays her skills as she slaughters the hideous monsters referred to as freaks. Yet it doesn't take her long to realize that she doesn't possess one of the most important traits of a huntress...she is not heartless. She has always believed that all the rules and regulations set forth by the elders were for her own good. Yet Deuce and her partner, Fade, have uncovered some information that is vital to the survival of the enclave and elders refuse to acknowledge the danger. And odd things are happening within the enclave. Things that are making her question the motivations of the elders. She has a choice to make. If she just stands by the people of the enclave may all perish. But standing up for what she believes in may result in her being exiled from the Enclave.

Awards/Honors
RITA Winner for Young Adult Romance - 2012
YALSA Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Readers - 2012
YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults - 2012

The next book in this trilogy:

Cover art from indiebound.org

The final book releases soon:

The Adoration of Jenna Fox - Mary E. Pearson

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Pearson, Mary E. The Adoration of Jenna Fox. New York: Henry Holt & Comapny, 2008. $16.95. Hardback (265p) ISBN:9780805076684.
Recommended for ages 12+.

Jenna Fox wakes from a comma after two years but remembers very little. What she does know is there are secrets being kept from her.

"I used to be someone. Someone named Jenna Fox. That's what they tell me. But I am more than a name. More than they tell me." (p.3)

As her memories return Jenna finds the world isn't as simple as she once thought it to be. The miracles of modern science have saved Jenna's life. But in return this same science has taken something away. Something big. Something no one wants to talk about. Is there any hope for Jenna to live a normal life again?

Awards/Honors
IRA Young Adult Choice - 2008
School Library Journal Best Book of the Year - 2008
YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults - 2009

Other Books in the Jenna Fox Chronicles

Book Trailer

Wither - Lauren DeStefano

Cover art from indiebound.org

DeStefano, Lauren. Wither. New York: Simon & Schuster, 2011. $17.99. Hardback (358p) ISBN: 9781442409057.

Recommended for ages 14+.

What if you were born with a known expiration date? In Wither all members of the last two generation have known their life expectancy. Men live to be twenty-five and women perish at the age of twenty. In a world such as this to maintain the population young girls are frequently kidnapped and forced into marriage. Sixteen-year-old Rhine wishes nothing more than to avoid this fate and remain with her twin brother. Yet fate has a different outcome in mind.

When Rhine makes a poor choice she soon finds herself one of rich Linden's four wives. Rhine is full of anger and hatred. She begins to plans her escape. But as she does secrets are revealed. Secrets which make her feel less animosity towards the husband who truly loves her over all others. Rhine only has four years of her life lefts and now she must choose. Escape means the possibility of reuniting with her brother, whom she misses more than words can describe. Staying means a life of wealth and privilege, but as more and more secrets are revealed she realizes it does not guarantee safety.

Awards/Honors

Indie Spring Kids' Next List - Spring 2011
NPR Young Adult Fiction Finalist - 2012
YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults - 2012

Other titles in the Chemical Garden Trilogy

Under the Never Sky - Veronica Rossi

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Rossi, Veronica. Under the Never Sky. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2012. $17.99. Hardback. ISBN 9780062072030.
Recommended for ages 14+.

"They called the world beyond the walls of the Pod 'the Death Shop.' A million ways to die out there. Aria never thought she'd get so close."

Aria is nice and safe inside the Pod, a place completely separate from the outside world meant to keep out disease and germs. Inside the Pod... a place where life is carefully regulated so people can live hundreds of years. Inside the Pod... where all living is digital to maximize enjoyment while minimizing risk. Inside the Pod... where all wear computers in their eyes used for everything from communicating to traveling to tasting food. Oh yes, Aria is nice and safe inside the Pod, until one day she takes a risk that doesn't pay off and is cast out of the pod.

Outside the Pod... where the very air could kill her. Outside the Pod... where cannibals roam and violent storms destroy all in sight without warning. Outside the Pod... where life consists of danger and risk. Outside the Pod... where one handsome hunter is seeking answers of his own. Outside the Pod... where love can truly be found. Outside the Pod... where the carefully hidden secrets of the Pod begin to unravel. Outside the Pod... where life can truly begin.

Awards/Honors
YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults - 2013
NPR Young Adult Fiction Finalist - 2012
School Library Journal Best Books of the Year List - 2012

Next title in this series

The Maze Runner - James Dashner

Cover art from indiebound.org

Dashner, James. The Maze Runner. New York: Delacorte Press, 2009. $16.99. Hardback (384 p.) ISBN: 9780385737944.
Recommended for 12+.

What if you woke up one day in the center of an elaborate maze? What if you had no memories of your past to help guide you? What if every night the maze changed? Would there be any chance of finding the outside world?

This is the exact fate of a large group of boys who have been living inside the maze for almost two years. Each day a group of runners scout out the maze seeking clues for an exit. Each night they come back to the safety of their camp before the maze doors close around them to keep the terrifying Grievers, part monster and part machine, out. Every day is the same without any clues until the day a girl arrives. This girl carries an important message stating she will be the last to come and everything is about to change. The meaning of her message is unclear and she loses consciousness before she can explain. Only one boy can understand her but his thoughts are jumbled nonsense. Will they be able to decipher the clue and discover the secret to the maze in time?

Awards/Honors
VOYA Best Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Horror - 2009
Indie Booksellers Kids' Next List - Winter 2009
YALSA Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers - 2011
NPR Young Adult Fiction Finalist - 2012

Two teens share their thoughts on The Maze Runner



The rest of the series:

 Visit the official Maze Runner website for news games, and more!

Watersmeet- Ellen Jensen Abbott

Cover art from indiebound.org

Abbott, Ellen Jensen. Watersmeet. Tarrytown, NY: Marshall Cavendish, 2009.  $8.99 Paperback (341p) ISBN:978076145997. Recommended for ages 12 and up.

Her only hope of survival lies in Watersmeet but getting there will mean overcoming her own deeply engraved prejudices and trusting those whom she once despised.

With her dark hair and green eyes, Abisina has been an outcast since birth. Never allowed to talk or merely make eye contact with the blonde, blue-eyed, fair skinned villagers. Only her mother's (Sina) status as the village's sole healer has kept Abisina alive for this long, living in Vranille behind tall walls to keep out the beasts - the dwarfs, the centaurs. When the annual Ritual takes place this year not even Sina's status can keep her daughter safe within the village. With her mother's prized necklace Abisina sets off to find her father at Watersmeet. Getting there will require trusting those she previously had intolerance for. Getting there will mean confronting her deepest fears. Getting there will require Abisina to look deep into herself and discover her own power. In this dark world full of hatred and violence there lies a land full of love and acceptance. Will Abisina find it in time?


Awards/Honors
IRA Young Adult Award Notable Book
YALSA Teens' Top Ten Nominee
Oklahoma Sequoyah Book Award - 2011

This is a trilogy. The next title is The Centaur's Daughter.

Cover art from indiebound.org

The last book is currently being called The Keeper and will be released fall 2013. 

Visit the author's blog for up-to-date information on this series.

Divergent - Veronica Roth

Cover art from indiebound.org

Roth, Veronica. Divergent. New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2011.  $17.99 Hardback (487p) ISBN:9780062024022

The most important day in sixteen-year-old Beatrice Prior’s live has arrived. She will decide which fraction she will spend the rest of her life in. She can pick from the selfless Abnegations, the peaceful Amities, the honest Candors, the brave Dauntless, or the intelligent Erudite. In a world where fraction always comes before family this is the toughest decision Beatrice Prior will ever make. Remaining with her Abnegation family goes against her very nature but acceptance is not guaranteed in any of the other fractions. A wrong choice could leave her fractionless, the very worst fate of all. To complicate matters more, Beatrice has a big secret. A secret that if revealed could cost her life. And as Beatrice soon discovers, a secret that might just save the lives of all those she loves.

Awards/Honors
Goodreads Favorite Book of 2011
Goodreads Best YA Fantasy & Science Fiction - 2011
Named one of NPR's Top 5 YA Novel - 2011
YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults - 2012
NPR Young Adult Fiction Finalist - 2012


Veronica Roth talks about her book, Divergent, and the characters:

Next book in the trilogy:

Cover art from indiebound.org

Final book (still untitled) releasing Fall 2013:

"Cover" art from librarything.com

Movie tie-in:
Divergent is also being made into a movie, set to release in March 2014. Catch up on what's being said about this as well as see photos and more at Tumblr. 

To countdown the movie The Faction Four has 365 entertaining challenges, one for each day until the movie is released beginning on March 21, 2012. 

Website:
Serious Divergent fans will enjoy all the updates and extra on the Divergent Fans site. There is lots of behind-the-scenes info here as well.