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 Fault in Our Stars by John Green

A book review by Madeline Soucie


Hazel is a sixteen year old girl fighting cancer. She's had cancer for most of her life -- it's what she knows. She doesn't have many friends because when you miss as much school as she does, it's hard to keep up with friends and have a social life. Her main friends are her parents and her favorite book. Her oxygen tank is also something that never changes. She's used to it.

Augustus Waters is a cancer survivor. He used to play basketball before the cancer hit him, now he doesn't. He's a bright star with a big heart. 

One day while going to support group for cancer kids with his friend Isaac, he meets Hazel.  The friendship is almost instant and soon turns into more as the two hang out more and more. The one thing holding Hazel back is that she believes she is a grenade, about to go off at any time and doesn't want to hurt anyone she can avoid hurting. Augustus shows her differently and the pair struggle to overcome the cancer looming around their shoulders and enjoy living now. 

This is an exceptionally good book that will tug at your heart strings, but is a great read nonetheless.


With the movie's release on June 6, the book is currently in high demand.  To place it on hold, click here.

The Giver by Lois Lowry

A book review by Kat Seevers

Not what I expected. Not just for kids and teens, adults could learn a thing or two from this book. Its meaning goes way beyond the surface of a nice, easy-to-read story. 

The people in the community choose one of their own to absorb all their memories and pain. In doing so they create a false utopia for themselves, barren of everything – even color! The one chosen becomes 'The Giver'. The Giver's duty is to provide the people with wisdom. What actually happens is that The Giver takes all the pain and emotion away from society. I see it as ironic that The Giver is actually a 'taker' of sorts. Still, I find this to be a great read.

Find it in APL TEEN Fiction YA FIC Lowry, L.

Poison Princess by Kresley Cole

A book review by Madeline Soucie



Poison Princess is the first book in The Arcana Chronicles. 







Evangeline or "Evie" as her friends call her, is a normal girl living in Louisiana. Her mother owns one of the oldest houses and farms in the state, she has a great boyfriend, is a cheerleader, and one of the most popular girls in school. What is she hiding?

The previous year, Evie starting having nightmares and seeing apocalypse scenes so her mother sent her to a corrective facility over the summer. Only one problem -- getting help didn't help because Evie isn't crazy, she's having visions of the end of the world -- the Flash -- something her grandmother warned her about. Evie's mother put her grandmother away eight years
ago and told Evie her grandmother was crazy. 

The only one that knows her secrets is a Cajun transfer and trouble maker Jackson Daniels.  Evie is part of a group of teenagers who each represent a different card in a tarot deck and are part of an ancient game. Not everyone knows who they are though, something very dangerous.

The Flash kills almost everyone, and those who survive find food and resources extremely scarce and water almost extinct. Evie and Jack find themselves running for their lives for food and from their enemies. While on the run, Evie is trying to find the source of her visions and her grandmother in hopes that either one will explain her powers and why they have them. The only problems -- whether or not Evie will survive and whether or not she'll learn about her powers the hard way, and of course what she'll do with Jack.


Find it in APL TEEN New Books YA FIC Cole, K.