Life As We Knew It, by Susan Beth Pfeffer

by Susan Beth Pfeffer
Harcourt Children's Books
Orlando, FL, 2006

Miranda's dad is having a baby with his young new wife, her best friend is spending more and more time at church, and she's fighting with her mom because she won't pay for skating lessons but she'll pay for Miranda's little brother's baseball camp. As if that isn't enough to deal with, "some asteroid is going to hit the moon," (p. 9) around 9:30pm Wednesday night.

Written in journal style, this first book in The Survivors Trilogy gave me A LOT to think about. The dystopian tale puts a spin on the asteroid threat - rather than hitting earth, the giant rock knocks the moon out of orbit. Who knew that could cause such worldwide destruction? The middle-end of the book moves a bit slowly, but the slower pace matched Mirand's experience and it gives the reader a taste of the tense monotony she and her family must endure.

Bottom Line: Life As We Knew It had me adding canned food, bottle water and batteries to my grocery list, which is exactly what a world-wide catastrophe tale should do.

The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins

The Hunger Games

by Suzanne Collins

Scholastic Press, NY 2008

The seas have risen and North America is divided into 12 Districts ruled by the all-powerful Capitol. The poor Districts provide goods to the wealthy Capitol and once a year, as a reminder of the failed uprising of now-extinct District 13, the Capitol holds the Hunger Games. Two teens, a boy and a girl, from each district are chosen for the nationally televised reality show in which the contestants, or Tributes, fight to the death. The last Tribute left standing receives a lifetime supply of food and shelter for themselves and their families. District 12's Tribute, Katniss Everdeen is a born survivor. The sole provider for her family, she cannot lose the Games. Peeta Mellark, her fellow Tribute from District 13, throws a kink into her plans. 

The first in a trilogy, this book is simply fantastic. Suzanne Collins' imagined future is, in a word, bleak. I was rooting for Katniss from the start, but the real question is: Team Peeta or Team Gale? (Team Peeta!!)

Bottom Line:

Read it - not because the movie is coming out in March 2012- but because the story is a truly exciting, nerve-racking, inspiring, sad, imaginative ride.

The Maze Runner, by James Dashner

The Maze Runner

by James Dashner

Delacorte Books for Young Readers, NY 2009

This is the story of a group of amnesiac teenage boys living in a self-sustaining compound surrounded by very high walls with gates that close every night to protect them from the surrounding monster-filled maze. Basically, the boys have no memory of their lives prior to their arrival in the compound, and they can't figure out how to get themselves out of this pickle even though every day several of the detainees attempt to solve the maze. Enter Thomas. This Glader suspects he holds the key to everyone's escape, but is he just leading them from bad to worse? That's what Gally thinks, and he isn't shy about expressing his feelings.

This is the first book in The Maze Runner Trilogy, and I was all "Wait, what? Oh, now I get it!" throughout the story until I got to the end and realized I actually had no idea what was going on - so I went out and got book 2, The Scorch Trials, immediately and I still don't quite know how the story will end. Now I am impatiently waiting for the third and final book to come out.

Bottom Line:

I loves me a good dystopian novel and this one has all the right stuff.

Feed, by M.T. Anderson

Feed, by M.T. Anderson

Candlewick Press, Cambridge, MA 2002

Imagine if, just by thinking of a topic or question, you had immediate access (in your mind) to all of the information on Google, Facebook, every database, encyclopedia, and book, all movies and songs, EVERYTHING. In M.T. Anderson’s imagined future, human beings are outfitted at a young age with the Feed, which provides a constant stream of data and adapts itself to individual likes and dislikes, emotions, and demographic information. If Titus likes a shirt his friend is wearing, the Feed immediately sends him information about where to buy it and how much it costs. If he feels nervous, an advertisement for deodorant flashes through the Feed. He can chat with friends in his mind rather than having to talk out loud, and watch his favorite shows in his mind anytime, anywhere. The only thing he learns at SchoolÔ is how to use the Feed. Then Titus meets Violet, a girl who questions the things he’s always accepted.

A terrifying future, for sure, but one that is totally out of the realm of possibilities, right? Maybe not. Check out this article from Time Magazine, 2045: The Year Man Becomes Immortal. M.T. Anderson’s story may be more predication than fiction.

Bottom Line:

Information overload to the extreme; disturbing; future slang takes time to get used to.

Witch and Wizard by James Patterson

Witch and Wizard (Book #1)
by James Patterson
Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, New York 2009


Total. Government. Control. That's the goal of the New Order and they've identified 15-year-old Wisty and her older brother Whit as public enemies number one and two. Why? They think the siblings possess powers that threaten the new government's goals. W & W think this is absolutely ridiculous until Wisty spontaneously catches on fire and burns two of the guards trying to arrest her. Torn from their family and thrown into a prison with sadistic guards, the teens slowly realize their powers and discover that they aren't the only ones in the under-20 crowd targeted by the New Order.


I was pulled into this book from the beginning. Patterson crafts an excellent villain, I especially enjoyed the nasty Matron. I am eager to read Witch and Wizard book 2, The Gift.


Bottom Line:
The New Order is the new Big Brother; such a fast read, borrow book 2 when you check out book 1; excellent bad guys