Matteo lives in a little house in the middle of a poppy field in Opium, a land between Mexico and the US that is a creative way to solve the problem of both drug trafficking and illegal immigration. El Patron, ruler of Opium, uses those caught crossing the boarders to farm and process drugs.
El Patron takes a special interest in Matteo, teaching him music and allowing him to live in the big house. When guests from the north arrive, Matteo learns that El Patron's attention isn't because Matteo's special; it's because he's El Patron's clone. He will be used for spare parts when the need arises. Matteo fights for survival in this gripping novel that offers frightening answers to some of today's most difficult questions.
Showing posts with label future. Show all posts
Showing posts with label future. Show all posts
The Roar by Clayton
It's the future again and things have been really messed up by the animal plague. As a result, everything outside the wall has been razed to get rid of the animals. The earth's population has been piled on top of each other, most of them living in relative squalor in semi-flooded moldy apartments. The first generation born after the plague have a variety of mutations ranging from webbed feet to telepathy. When the government starts a fitness and video game program all teens are required to do, Mika doubts their intentions. However, he believes that by playing the game, he'll be able to find his twin sister, who was supposedly drowned a year ago. Nothing is what it seems.
Uglies series by Westerfeld
Imagine a world where everyone is beautiful. Everyone is the perfect weight, wears amazing clothes, and has everything they need. This is the world that Westerfeld creates in his Uglies series.
Tally is an ugly waiting for her 16th birthday when she will receive plastic surgery and move across the river to Prettytown. She makes friends with fellow ugly Shay, who has connections with a rebel group who thinks the surgery is evil. When Shay disappears to find her outlaw friends, Tally is given an ultimatum: find the rebel camp and turn them in or spend the rest of her life as an ugly. In the following books, there are rescues, escapes, a love triangle, and betrayal, as well as some really fabulous chase scenes.
The series was originally a trilogy, but Westerfeld added the superfluous and utterly disappointing Extras at the end for reasons I don't understand. (If you value your time, please don't read this book). The first two and a half books are utterly wonderful, though. Westerfeld, no stranger to writing trilogies, has an unfortunate habit of running out of gas in the last book. Toward the end, Specials follows this sad trend.
Read Uglies and Pretties. If you feel so inclined, read Specials, too, though it's not as good. But Extras is, sadly, a horrible book.
Tally is an ugly waiting for her 16th birthday when she will receive plastic surgery and move across the river to Prettytown. She makes friends with fellow ugly Shay, who has connections with a rebel group who thinks the surgery is evil. When Shay disappears to find her outlaw friends, Tally is given an ultimatum: find the rebel camp and turn them in or spend the rest of her life as an ugly. In the following books, there are rescues, escapes, a love triangle, and betrayal, as well as some really fabulous chase scenes.
The series was originally a trilogy, but Westerfeld added the superfluous and utterly disappointing Extras at the end for reasons I don't understand. (If you value your time, please don't read this book). The first two and a half books are utterly wonderful, though. Westerfeld, no stranger to writing trilogies, has an unfortunate habit of running out of gas in the last book. Toward the end, Specials follows this sad trend.
Read Uglies and Pretties. If you feel so inclined, read Specials, too, though it's not as good. But Extras is, sadly, a horrible book.
The Supernaturalist by Colfer
Cosmo lives in a futuristic orphanage. Since the state no longer pays for the care of the "parentally challenged," the supervisors of the orphanage conduct product testing on their charges. The boys of the Clarissa Frayne Institute are burned, poisoned, and tortured. As a result, the life expectancy at Clarissa Frayne is 15 years old. Cosmo is 14 and is determined not to die as a lab rat. He escapes and is attacked by his keepers.
As Cosmo nears death, he sees blue creatures that land on him and begin to glow. Before Cosmo dies, the creatures are blasted into oblivion by the Supernaturalists, a team of teens who narrowly escaped death and therefore can see the creatures. The team saves Cosmo and nurses him back to health. He becomes part of the team, hunting down and shooting the Parasites, as they're called. However, parts of their mission don't seem to add up and soon the Supernaturalists question everything they know about their world.
The book is unique and action-packed. The drag racing scenes are particularly cool and the themes of identity, truth, and commercialism are always pertinent.
As Cosmo nears death, he sees blue creatures that land on him and begin to glow. Before Cosmo dies, the creatures are blasted into oblivion by the Supernaturalists, a team of teens who narrowly escaped death and therefore can see the creatures. The team saves Cosmo and nurses him back to health. He becomes part of the team, hunting down and shooting the Parasites, as they're called. However, parts of their mission don't seem to add up and soon the Supernaturalists question everything they know about their world.
The book is unique and action-packed. The drag racing scenes are particularly cool and the themes of identity, truth, and commercialism are always pertinent.
Shade's Children by Nix
It's the future. One morning, all the people on earth over 16 disappeared and in their place were the Overlords, generals of armies of creatures manufactured out of the remaining children. The armies play for fun and entertainment. At fourteen, children have their "sad birthday" and are shipped off to the meat factory to be used for spare parts. Children who manage to escape the dorms and meat factory often take up with Shade, a holographic version of a human who organizes a resistance to the Overlords. However, Shade has his own agenda, which is not always in the best interests of his children.
I understand Nix's forte is really fantasy, which I haven't read yet. From what I've seen of his science fiction, I'm not terribly impressed thus far. Shade's Children is a mix of promising parts, but the parts are better than the whole and have been done better in other people's books. The spare parts idea is better used in Unwind by Shusterman and the bloody games concept works more convincingly in Hunger Games.
There are a few other things that are troubling about this work. First, some of the sections of the novel are written in computer code, which is off-putting to just about everyone. Second, Nix's female characters are flat stereotypes: either sex-crazed flakes or battle-hardened ice queens. However, the male characters are more complex and convincing. Third, the book includes some pretty serious cussing, which just doesn't seem to fit. Nix skips lesser swear words and goes for the F-bomb straight out of the gate. The lack of other profanity made the f-word seem out of place and arbitrary. In summary, I don't think I'd waste my time on this one. It isn't worth the effort.
I understand Nix's forte is really fantasy, which I haven't read yet. From what I've seen of his science fiction, I'm not terribly impressed thus far. Shade's Children is a mix of promising parts, but the parts are better than the whole and have been done better in other people's books. The spare parts idea is better used in Unwind by Shusterman and the bloody games concept works more convincingly in Hunger Games.
There are a few other things that are troubling about this work. First, some of the sections of the novel are written in computer code, which is off-putting to just about everyone. Second, Nix's female characters are flat stereotypes: either sex-crazed flakes or battle-hardened ice queens. However, the male characters are more complex and convincing. Third, the book includes some pretty serious cussing, which just doesn't seem to fit. Nix skips lesser swear words and goes for the F-bomb straight out of the gate. The lack of other profanity made the f-word seem out of place and arbitrary. In summary, I don't think I'd waste my time on this one. It isn't worth the effort.
The Road by McCarthy (not a YA novel)
The reviews on this book say it's McCarthy's most readable book. That might be true, but it doesn't mean it's fun to read. The book follows a man and his son as they struggle to survive in a post-apocalyptic world. There, the only remaining people have turned cannibalistic and the world itself is dying.
I think it's supposed to be a morality tale, emphasizing the innate goodness of children and the need for keeping the flame in the face of overwhelming odds. Personally, I don't think the message is strong enough to pierce the gloom of the work. I know it won all sorts of awards and whatnot, but there are better books that have the same message.
I think it's supposed to be a morality tale, emphasizing the innate goodness of children and the need for keeping the flame in the face of overwhelming odds. Personally, I don't think the message is strong enough to pierce the gloom of the work. I know it won all sorts of awards and whatnot, but there are better books that have the same message.
Hunger Games and Catching Fire by Collins
This is the first book I've ever read by Suzanne Collins, though it's not the first she's written. I must say, I'm totally impressed. The woman is the master of the cliffhanger ending. So if you're looking for a book series with closure, Hunger Games and Catching Fire are really not for you.
The book is set in a futuristic vision of the US, where states have disappeared and been replaced by 12 districts, which are ruled over by the vicious capitol. There were 13 districts originally, but district 13 was supposedly destroyed after a rebellion. To remind the remaining districts that revolution is unwise, the capitol holds an annual Hunger Games. Two children are chosen from each district to compete in the most horrific reality show ever. The objective of the games: stay alive by killing everyone else. The course itself is plagued with deadly obstacles, making survival nearly impossible.
The story follows the tributes of district 12, Katniss and Peeta. Though both are skilled at surviving, Peeta has a problem. He's loved Katniss since he was a little boy. Which will triumph: love or survival? Both of the books start a little slow. It takes a good 100 pages to enter the games, where the action really picks up. If you can hang in there that long, it's worth the wait. The story is riveting and the characters are intelligent and likable. Can't wait for the third in the series to come out.
The book is set in a futuristic vision of the US, where states have disappeared and been replaced by 12 districts, which are ruled over by the vicious capitol. There were 13 districts originally, but district 13 was supposedly destroyed after a rebellion. To remind the remaining districts that revolution is unwise, the capitol holds an annual Hunger Games. Two children are chosen from each district to compete in the most horrific reality show ever. The objective of the games: stay alive by killing everyone else. The course itself is plagued with deadly obstacles, making survival nearly impossible.
The story follows the tributes of district 12, Katniss and Peeta. Though both are skilled at surviving, Peeta has a problem. He's loved Katniss since he was a little boy. Which will triumph: love or survival? Both of the books start a little slow. It takes a good 100 pages to enter the games, where the action really picks up. If you can hang in there that long, it's worth the wait. The story is riveting and the characters are intelligent and likable. Can't wait for the third in the series to come out.
Unwind by Shusterman
I know I've raved about Shusterman's abilities in other blogs, but I really can't over-emphasize just how talented the man is. Unwind is, so far, Shusterman's masterpiece. It's a gripping, intelligent portrayal of a future where the US has gone to war over abortion issues and reached a compromise. However, the resulting law is more brutal than either alternative. First, all babies conceived must be born. If the mother doesn't want the baby, it can be "storked," or left on someone else's porch. A storked baby must either be raised by the family or turned over to the state. Second, when a child reaches 13, his or her parents can decide to abort the child retroactively. This usually happens because the kid is a trouble-maker or the parents can't afford the kid anymore. They send the child to an "unwind" center, where the kid's body is totally disassembled. Every little piece is donated to another person, so technically, all the parts are still alive, just not together. This solution would supposedly satisfy right-to-life advocates as well as those who are pro-choice.
The story follows three "Unwinds" as they try to escape the system. Connor is a rebel whose parents have given up. Risa is a ward of the state who just isn't worth the investment anymore. And Lev is a tithe, the child of parents who believe it is an act of religious devotion to give up one of their children to be unwound. The trio encounter an underground system that tries to help runaways reach their 18 birthday, the age when unwinding becomes illegal.
The book definitely deserves a PG-13 rating due to violence, language, and mature themes. Heck, my husband got the heebie jeebies just listening to me describe the plot. The chapter that describes an unwinding is unforgettably haunting and the questions the book raises about the nature of life are poignant no matter how old you are. There's only one feature of the novel that could be distracting to readers. While the chapters are short, each is told from the perspective of a different character. By the end of the book, there are quite a few characters, so some readers might want to keep a log of who's who. Other than that, it's the best book I've read in a long time. Unwind deserves all the praise I can give it.
The story follows three "Unwinds" as they try to escape the system. Connor is a rebel whose parents have given up. Risa is a ward of the state who just isn't worth the investment anymore. And Lev is a tithe, the child of parents who believe it is an act of religious devotion to give up one of their children to be unwound. The trio encounter an underground system that tries to help runaways reach their 18 birthday, the age when unwinding becomes illegal.
The book definitely deserves a PG-13 rating due to violence, language, and mature themes. Heck, my husband got the heebie jeebies just listening to me describe the plot. The chapter that describes an unwinding is unforgettably haunting and the questions the book raises about the nature of life are poignant no matter how old you are. There's only one feature of the novel that could be distracting to readers. While the chapters are short, each is told from the perspective of a different character. By the end of the book, there are quite a few characters, so some readers might want to keep a log of who's who. Other than that, it's the best book I've read in a long time. Unwind deserves all the praise I can give it.
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