The Demon King by Cinda Williams Chima

  A book review by Madeline Soucie

            

In this first book, Fellsmarch is one of seven realms ruled by kings and queens, at war or held together by treaties. Chima is a great fantasy writer and I highly recommend her. If anyone has read the heir chronicles try this new series.

       

Hans Alister had grown up on the streets, a former thief, and only wants to be able to support his mother and sister. No matter what he does, he can't do enough. The silver cuffs he wears on his wrists are the only things he could sell, but they've been stuck on him since birth.

       

One day while hunting with his friend, Dancer, Hans runs into a couple of wizards and ends up with an old amulet that once belonged to the demon king -- an old wizard so powerful he almost destroyed the world a millennium ago. An amulet, Hans soon discovers, that isn't worth its trouble.

       

Princess Raisa is the heir to the Fells. She is returning after spending three years in the mountains cooped up in the castle like a bird in a cage on display with the clans she hates. She wants to rule her own life and be a great ruler like the first queen Hanalea -- the warrior queen. Sadly her mother has other plans, one that includes a marriage to a suitor that will break an ancient agreement and spark a war.

This is book 1 in the Seven Realms series.

Find it in APL TEEN Fiction YA FIC Chima, C.

The Eye of Minds by James Dashner

A book review by Madeline Soucie

          

If you read and liked the Maze Runner or are reading it then I recommend you either put this book on your list or start reading it. By the same author, The Eye of Minds takes place in the future and the virtual gaming world -- the VirtNet -- is a huge part of human life.

   

Like everyone else, Michael is an avid gamer and spends most of his time on the VirtNet paying virtual games that feel real thanks to the stimulations and technology that it uses. He can do just about anything -- hang with friends, play fantasy worlds -- the possibilities are endless, especially if you're a hacker and can get around the rules like Michael and his friends.

   

Rules that are there for a reason, as Michael soon finds out when he is recruited by VirtNet Security. They want him on their side to catch a hacker who has figured out how to blur the line between reality and games and is using it to his advantage. 

Book 1 of the Mortality Doctrine series.

Find it in APL TEEN Fiction YA FIC Dashner, J.

Dorothy Must Die by Danielle Paige

A book review by Madeline Soucie



Amy Gump is a normal girl living in Kansas. She goes to school where she tries to stay out of trouble and then goes home to take care of her mother and dreams of getting out of this town. Little does she know how soon her dream will come true...

Just like Dorothy, Amy is swept away in her house by a tornado and left in Oz, only it's not the Oz she heard about in the story. Oz is dead, the magic sucked out of most parts, and there are no happy munchkins. What happened you ask? Dorothy happened.

Yes, Dorothy. After she left Oz, Dorothy came back and took over. She became power hungry and wanted more. Now Amy must train with the Revolutionary Order of the Wicked to kill Dorothy.

This is not your average story; this is not the Wizard of Oz you grew up with. This is war.


Find it in APL TEEN New Books YA FIC Paige, D.

Proxy by Alex London

A book review by Madeline Soucie


Knox is a wealthy boy in one of the wealthiest families of the Upper City. He has everything he could ever want or need. If he gets into trouble, well, he has a proxy who can take the blame -- that's what they're there for.

Syd is a proxy -- Knox's proxy to be exact. His whole life has been about taking punishments for his patron's crimes. He lives in the Lower City, just barely scraping by.  When Knox crashes into a car, killing one of his friends, Syd is sentenced to death.  When the boys meet and realize the consequences, they make a run for it hoping to make it to a secret society across the country. If they succeed, it could reset society and make everyone equal. But as the boys later find out, not all debts can be repaid.

This book is set in the future and is a really good sci fi for anyone who likes this genre. This book was interesting in how it took on servitude and a futuristic society gone wrong. 

For those who read and like Proxy try it's sequel Guardian.


Find it in APL TEEN New Books YA FIC London, A.

The Fifth Wave by Rick Yancey

A book review by Madeline Soucie

                 

The first wave knocked out all the lights and electronics. The second wave brought in tsunamis that wiped out the coasts. The third wave brought in disease. In the fourth wave they killed. Now the fifth wave is coming and very few are left.

    

Trust no one. That's what the alien invasion has taught sixteen year old Cassie. The aliens look like humans, so one can't be sure who's alien and who's human. What's left of the world is in chaos. Over seven billion are dead and the survivors are struggling. Cassie is one of those on the run from place to place trying to find some temporary place to rest, always looking over her shoulder.

    

Then she meets Evan Walker -- a mysterious boy who she befriends against her better judgment. Evan may just be the key to finding Cassie's brother.

    

This was a really good page-turner about an alien invasion of a different kind and humanity's fight to overcome the intruders.

Find it in APL TEEN Fiction YA FIC Yancey, R.

The Scorch Trials by James Dashner

A book review by Kat Seevers

(Book 2 of The Maze Runner series)

Thrown into the action right from page one, The Scorch Trials is far better than The Maze runner. The main character, Thomas, can’t catch a break even when he thinks he’s safe. Although this book reads more like a zombie story with the ‘Flare‘ disease, I enjoyed the action after the slow, easy pace of life in the Maze.  

This book kept me reading with its constant danger and lack of conveniences, which was something that had really annoyed me in the first book.

Find it in APL TEEN Fiction YA FIC Dashner, J.

The Lost Code by Kevin Emerson

A book review by Madeline Soucie

It is years into the future and the ozone layer that protects humans from the sun is slowly breaking down. Domes have been built to help block radiation, though they are few and fewer live in them -- mainly those who are privileged enough. No one can go out without protective lotion to help battle the awful effects of the radiation.

This was all caused by an ancient civilization who used their technology for what they thought was good and nearly destroyed the earth and its human population. They sacrificed three to stop their mistakes and save humanity. Those three left a legacy behind so that if someone ever found the technology to destroy the earth and its population again, three would be chosen to save the world. The time is quickly coming. Owen is one of the three, though he doesn't know it yet. Owen who seems least capable for the job, must unlock the code in his genes to unravel the hidden history.

Kevin Emerson writes a different and new spin on an ancient myth everybody knows and weaves it into a dystopian futuristic society that isn't what it says it is.    

Find it in APL TEEN Fiction YA FIC Emerson, K.

The Knife Of Never Letting Go by Patrick Ness

A book review by Kat Seevers

Ultimately, this book is like a study of gender through a science fiction point of view. 

Todd's fight with Viola forces him to rethink everything he has learned about women, as well as what it means to be a man. The knife of the title also plays a key role in Todd's journey as he tries to defend Viola from villainous townspeople. His conversations with her about faith, hope, and growing up will surprise anyone expecting a plain, old story of "good vs. evil." 

A great book for expanding horizons.

This is book one of the Chaos Walking series.

Find it in APL TEEN Fiction YA FIC Ness, P.

Ghost Hawk by Susan Cooper

A book review by Madeline Soucie


Little Hawk is a young Native American boy living in his tribe in Massachusetts in the 1600s during the time that the first settlers came over to America. His tribe has not really had any problems with the white colonists nor have they had much interaction with them. Little Hawk hears stories though, and wonders about the white men sometimes. Mostly he focuses on his tribe and the fact that he will soon have to venture on a three month journey into the wild with nothing but his tomahawk and knife in the dead of winter. This journey is something all boys must go on as it is the journey into manhood.
Little Hawk does not realize how big of a deal the white men will be in his life or how it will be changed by them. 

Read Ghost Hawk to find out what happens to Little Hawk on his journey and about the white men encroaching on his land. It is a good historical fiction book about what happened to the Natives when the colonists first came to America.

Find it in APL TEEN New Books YA FIC Cooper, S.

I Am Number Four by Piticus Lore

A book review by Kat Seevers

My favorite thing about this book was John. This novel was particularly good at creating a male that was both authentic and likable. Through his perspective we got to see how earth compared to his home planet. I liked that he didn't back down to bullying but was also sweet and devoted to Sarah. The combination of a sense of responsibility and his willingness to be a kid really made his character pop. 

I Am Number Four is stuffed with originality from the different type of legacies, the way the charms work, how the deaths are burned into their legs to the evil races hunting down the Numbers. This was definitely a page turner for me!

This is the first book in the Lorien Legacies.

Find it in APL Teen Fiction YA FIC Lore, P.

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

A book review by Kat Seevers

I absolutely loved The Maze Runner! 

The maturity of the characters despite their age and circumstances is astounding. They were organized and worked together to create a mini society in the middle of the Maze where they're trapped. Complete with a farm, canteen, and designated jobs, they still manage to keep searching for a way out. Why were the boys put in the Maze in the first place? Who created it? Is there an escape? Why just boys? 

The pace of the story is very slow at first but speeds up in some places, giving it a real-time quality. This suited me just fine as I’m not fond of stories with constant action that doesn’t give you time to really become aware of the situation and the setting. The pace gave me the time to ‘get to know’  the main characters and my way around the maze extremely well. There was, of course, added twists, which were generally unpredictable and unexpected. 

Overall, a great book!

Find it in APL Teen Fiction YA FIC Dashner, J.

If You Find Me by Emily Murdoch

A book review by Kat Seevers

 

This book is a very compelling and poignant novel. The heroine is a very strong but bruised -- physically and mentally -- character who is not a vampire or shape-shifter, or a fallen angel. Because she is none of those is another reason I found this novel refreshing. That is not to say that horrible things do not happen -- and they do -- retold in flashbacks and memories, but it also shows that things can work out. That a path can be changed, and for the good. That a family can be made up of many different parts and still work.

Find it in APL Teen Fiction YA FIC Murdoch, E.

Legend by Marie Lu

A book review by Madeline Soucie



The United States is no longer the United States. It is the Republic of America 
(west coast and "good guys") and the Patriots (east coast and "enemy/terrorists"). 

June is a prodigy of the Republic; at her trials, which are taken at ten and decide what career and or school children can attend, she scored a perfect 1500 out of 1500. She attended the best school in the country four years early, graduated a year early and is training to be one of the country's best soldiers. 

Day is the Republic's most wanted criminal and the police haven't been able to catch him. 

The two come from opposite worlds, but will meet when June has to hunt Day as he becomes the target of June's brother's murder. Together they will uncover startling secrets about their country that were meant to stay hidden. June and Day have to work together to stay alive and outsmart the government without
getting others hurt in the process. 

This dystopian fiction is a great read filled with action and some romance. It is also the first book in the
Legend series by Marie Lu.


Find it in APL TEEN Fiction YA FIC Lu, M.