So here’s the long-anticipated prequel to the Hunger Games trilogy. Coriolanus Snow is in his final year at the elitist Academy, training ground for future leaders of Panem. He is fortunate to be there because although he is charming, intelligent… Read More ›
Dystopian Societies
The End and Other Beginnings
This book is a collection of six short stories by science-fiction writer Veronica Roth that focuses on brief episodes in the lives of characters in different worlds and times. As I read them, I frankly saw them more or less… Read More ›
Verify
Chicago around the year 2073 is not the Chicago we know today. Crime-infested, run-down areas have been cleared of blight and are models of prosperity and community involvement. The one internet provider and the one news source sanctioned by the… Read More ›
Crown of Feathers
(This has a lot of spoilers so readers beware!) This is a story of two sisters: Val is strong, controlling and unemotional; Veronyka is kindhearted, wants to help others, and has a connection with animals. They are children of Phoenix… Read More ›
We Rule the Night
In this fantasy novel, war is going on between the Union of the North and the Elda. Two young girls work independently of each other to further the success of the Union effort. Revna, who is considered defective and inferior… Read More ›
Four Dead Queens
This 423-page fantasy novel is set in a land called Quadara, a land once ruled by a single king but now devolved into four separate quadrants, each represented by its own queen. The quadrants follow the Henry Ford philosophy of… Read More ›
The Future Will Be BS Free
Five students, all friends, from a Science and Technology Scholar Program (now eliminated because of school district funding shortfalls) band together in a money-making project to produce a small, portable truth-detecting device guaranteed to revolutionize the world. At the time… Read More ›
Fresh Ink
This book is an anthology of twelve stories by assorted YA authors. (I say stories, but to me they read more like vignettes.) The collection is designed to bring together diverse characters underrepresented in mainstream YA literature. We’ve got your… Read More ›
Hull Metal Girls
In this book humanity has been condensed onto a fleet of starships scouting for a habitable planet on which to re-establish itself. For 300 years its governing body has been searching. To help keep order–in particular against a rebellious group… Read More ›
Before You Buy YA 