FEATURING: The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken

When Ruby woke up on her tenth birthday, something about her had changed. Something alarming enough to make her parents lock her in the garage and call the police. Something that gets her sent to Thurmond, a brutal government “rehabilitation camp.” She might have survived the mysterious disease that’s killed most of America’s children, but she and the others have emerged with something far worse: frightening abilities they cannot control.

Now sixteen, Ruby is one of the dangerous ones.

When the truth comes out, Ruby barely escapes Thurmond with her life. Now she’s on the run, desperate to find the one safe haven left for kids like her—East River. She joins a group of kids who escaped their own camp. Liam, their brave leader, is falling hard for Ruby. But no matter how much she aches for him, Ruby can’t risk getting close. Not after what happened to her parents.

New Books Added To the Shelf

Featuring: Partials by Dan Wells

For fans of The Hunger Games, Battlestar Galactica, and Blade Runnercomes the first book in the Partials Sequence, a fast-paced, action-packed, and riveting sci-fi teen series, by acclaimed author Dan Wells.

Humanity is all but extinguished after a war with Partials—engineered organic beings identical to humans—has decimated the population. Reduced to only tens of thousands by a weaponized virus to which only a fraction of humanity is immune, the survivors in North America have huddled together on Long Island. But sixteen-year-old Kira is determined to find a solution. As she tries desperately to save what is left of her race, she discovers that that the survival of both humans and Partials rests in her attempts to answer questions about the war's origin that she never knew to ask.

Playing on our curiosity of and fascination with the complete collapse of civilization, Partials is, at its heart, a story of survival, one that explores the individual narratives and complex relationships of those left behind, both humans and Partials alike—and of the way in which the concept of what is right and wrong in this world is greatly dependent on one's own point of view.

Featuring: Age of Miracles by Karen Thompson Walker

“It still amazes me how little we really knew. . . . Maybe everything that happened to me and my family had nothing at all to do with the slowing. It’s possible, I guess. But I doubt it. I doubt it very much.”

Luminous, haunting, unforgettable, The Age of Miracles is a stunning fiction debut by a superb new writer, a story about coming of age during extraordinary times, about people going on with their lives in an era of profound uncertainty.

On a seemingly ordinary Saturday in a California suburb, 11-year-old Julia and her family awake to discover, along with the rest of the world, that the rotation of the earth has suddenly begun to slow. The days and nights grow longer and longer, gravity is affected, the environment is thrown into disarray. Yet as she struggles to navigate an ever-shifting landscape, Julia is also coping with the normal disasters of everyday life--the fissures in her parents’ marriage, the loss of old friends, the hopeful anguish of first love, the bizarre behavior of her grandfather who, convinced of a government conspiracy, spends his days obsessively cataloging his possessions. As Julia adjusts to the new normal, the slowing inexorably continues.

With spare, graceful prose and the emotional wisdom of a born storyteller, Karen Thompson Walker has created a singular narrator in Julia, a resilient and insightful young girl, and a moving portrait of family life set against the backdrop of an utterly altered world.

Compound by S.A. Bodeen

Eli and his family have lived in the underground Compound for six years. The world they knew is gone, and they've become accustomed to their new life. Accustomed, but not happy.

For Eli, no amount of luxury can stifle the dull routine of living in the same place, with only his two sisters, his father and mother, doing the same thing day after day after day. 

As problems with their carefully planned existence threaten to destroy their sanctuary—and their sanity—Eli can't help but wonder if he'd rather take his chances outside. 

Eli's father built the Compound to keep them safe. But are they safe—or sorry?(

REVIEWS:

NANCY:The country suffers a nuclear attack when Eli and his family are on a camping trip. Fortunately, they have been prepared for this, and their father leads them to a huge, well-constructed, and well-stocked bunker where they can survive for at least fifteen years--the soonest he considers safe for the family to leave. Unfortunately, Eli's twin, Eddy, their grandmother, and their dog, Cocoa, don't make it in time.

The story starts in the sixth year of their confinement, and things have been going wrong: the livestock have all died, the replacement bulbs for the hydroponic gardens are in very short supply, the flour has gone bad, and the plans for future food are morally reprehensible.

Then Eli discovers that they are not disconnected from the Internet as his father has all along claimed. This leads him to doubt everything they have been told, and as he uncovers more and more lies perpetrated by his father, Eli realizes they must escape.

The tension builds and Eli and the rest of them find themselves racing against time as the diabolical plans of his father are revealed. Moral dilemmas combined with tense plot action make this a good read.

Liz: This is a rather interesting take on the post-apocalyptic novel. Eli has lived in an underground compound for six years with his family. His very wealthy father built the compound in case of a nuclear attack. Six years ago on a camping trip their worst nightmare happened and the whole family was hustled in, save for Eli's twin, Eddy, and their Gram who had gone to get medication for an allergy attack that Eddy was suffering. The compound is well stocked for almost any eventuality; tons of food, clothes in many sizes, and media of all sorts. Despite the fact he's glad to be alive; Eli has gone through the past few years like a zombie, cutting himself off from the rest of his family. However, six years in when the story begins, his youngest sister makes some comments from his little sister, he begins noticing some discrepancies in their life. Between that and the dwindling food supplies, Eli begins to pull himself out of his stupor, takes a look around, and begins to realize that no matter what is causing his current situation, he may be the only one who can save his family.

The author did a very good job a dropping clues about life in the compound and why the characters behaved the way they did. The writing was suspenseful and gripping - I ended up finishing the whole thing in less than a day. I highly recommend picking this one up.

05erikk: The way that Eli was portrayed in the story really drew me in. He went from being an innocent child to a lonely teen afraid of socializing with his own family. He didn’t even want to be touched by another person. It made me feel sympathetic and made me get involved at many points throughout the book. The worst part of the book, and this is really picky, is that there was no direct lead in to a sequel. I would really love it if the author wrote a sequel just because I loved it that much. I know it would be incredibly hard to pull it off but even another story just similar would be good enough for me. Thrillers like this are why I like reading and I barely ever read anymore. Hopefully she can become a success and keep turning out books like this one, 

I was hopeful from beginning to end that they would get out and start a new, or even continue their old, life. Every time a new trouble emerged I would get excited and wonder what could happen next. It was hard to even put the book down at times. Family is one of the most important things that you will ever have in life and you should cherish it. But what happens you can’t even trust your family. The answer lies within you because sometimes the best thing to do is just put yourself out there and lays it all on the line. That is what I took away from this book and that is what I think the overlying message of this story was. 

Featuring : Prodigy by Marie Lu

What was once the western United States is now home to the Republic, a nation perpetually at war with its neighbors. 

Born into an elite family in one of the Republic's wealthiest districts, fifteen-year-old June is a prodigy being groomed for success in the Republic's highest military circles. 

Born into the slums, fifteen-year-old Day is the country's most wanted criminal. But his motives may not be as malicious as they seem. 

From very different worlds, June and Day have no reason to cross paths - until the day June's brother, Metias, is murdered and Day becomes the prime suspect. 

Caught in the ultimate game of cat and mouse, Day is in a race for his family's survival, while June seeks to avenge Metias's death. But in a shocking turn of events, the two uncover the truth of what has really brought them together, and the sinister lengths their country will go to keep its secrets

Book Review:EVERLOST

 The novel was created by Neal Shusterman, Everlost a place where children age 14 under only exist. They are not just a normal bunch of children, but all of them are specifically souls. They are dead children whose souls are trap in the place somewhere between life and death.

The story revolves around Nick and Allie both died at the same horrific car accident. As Allie and Nick realize that they are dead and they are currently in a world between the living and the deceased, they find themselves searching for answers and eventually fighting for their sanity and freedom. Everlost is a world of mystery, adventure and suspicion. A world where souls merely interact with the living, a place where three years old baby smoke and talk, a place where children revolves in the same routine every day, a place where a young girl is the president, a place where both magic and monster exist, and above all Everlost is place where anything could possibly happen if you just believe. Will Nick and Allie find themselves a place in this world?

Neal Shusterman once again made another master piece, a novel full of unique ingredients to satisfy the minds of the readers. So do you still want to stand on that place or bother to take another step, or else you will end up eaten by the earth?

Book Review: FABLEHAVEN

Seth and Kendra, sisters and brothers was left at their Grandparents place during summer. Their parents are leaving for a cruise ship so their force to stay on the old peoples place, Fablehaven. Once the siblings arrive at Fablehaven th

ey soon discovered that the place is not normal nor weird, it is a magical place where fairies and other cool magical creatures exist and live. Later they realized that they are already part of the said place. Cool and awesome things happened that the two did not expect. You won’t also lol.

Fablehaven is one of the awesome fantasy novels out there. This first installment of the series is really promising. I cannot wait to read the next book.Reading the book is like reading one of the Harry Potter series. The book started slow but the story started to take pace and brought me into a creative world of Brandon’s mind. I love the series and the ending was just epic and breath taking. Page turner and indeed series to be root for. I guess it’s worthy to complete all the books of this series.