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E for Etherworld, by Claudia Gabel & Cheryl Klam (book review) – escape from virtual paradise turned hell!

Apr6

book cover of Etherworld by Claudia Gabel and Cheryl Klam published by Katherine Tegen BooksEscape from polluted world to nature paradise through virtual reality!
It’s simple, it’s safe… it’s addictive.

Regan has mourned her father’s death for too many months, watched his fabulous virtual reality creation be exploited by young protege whose mother is profits-first, realized the dangers of Elusion – and discovered that Dad may be alive!

All she has to do is enter Elusion undetected, tweak technical stuff beyond her understanding, and pray that new boyfriend Josh is really on her side…

Just published on March 31st, Etherworld  is the answer to the potential and peril begun in Elusion  (my no-spoiler recommendation here) which recently came out in paperback – so you can read them both now!

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Book info: Etherworld (Elusion, book 2) / Claudia Gabel & Cheryl Klam. Katherine Tegen Books, 2015.  [Claudia’s website]  [Cheryl’s website]  [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: Missing teens and a criminal conspiracy – if Regan can escape from Elusion using her father’s Etherworld technology, she can prove that the virtual reality system makers knew its addictive dangers, unless they get her first!

In pollution-clogged 22nd century test cities, some teens who hacked their Equips to stay in Elusion far past the safe time limits have disappeared, but the escape-to-nature vr will still be released nationwide.

Regan travels into Elusion with her boyfriend Josh, whose sister is among the missing, as they follow clues that Regan’s father is still alive. Warnings from the Elusion creator’s protege Patrick don’t ring true once they learn that his mother falsified Elusion’s safety data so their company could make millions.

Elusion’s ads say that nothing can harm you in an Escape since your body isn’t really there, but Regan and Josh discover that’s not true! A vicious predator follows them from Escape to Escape, safe havens become traps, and they meet others who cannot be in a two-person Escape, yet are.

Returning from Elusion will land her in the psych ward, staying there may unhinge her mind… but finding her father is worth the risk.

This exciting sequel to Elusion  (my review here) examines the limits of loyalty, the dangers of greed, and the potential good and bad that any new technology can bring. (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

Breaking Sky, by Cori McCarthy (book review) – flying away from her past?

Mar10

book cover of Breaking Sky by Cori McCarthy published by Sourcebooks FireIn 2049, the USA is under siege,
Cut off from the rest of the world,
One last chance to break the drone blockade…

Only teens have the physical resilience required to fly the new hyperjets at Mach 5 speeds – but will their passion for flying be enough to save the country from a relentless dictator or to outrun the demons from their own pasts?

Happy book birthday to Breaking Sky – a high-flying action-adventure with a deep emotional core.

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Book info: Breaking Sky / Cori McCarthy. Sourcebooks Fire, 2015.  [author site]  [publisher site]  [book trailer] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: Their country’s fate rests on skills of teen jet pilots who might finally outfly the Chinese dictator’s drone fleet surrounding the USA – if they don’t crack from Mach speed tests, the living ghosts from their pasts, or the possibility of love during wartime.

Hidden in the arctic, United Star Academy pushes the boundaries of speed and safety with new Streaker jet prototypes and the teens whose young bodies can stand the strain of hypersonic flight testing.

Nyx and Pippin fly Dragon – Chase lives up to her ‘daughter of chaos’ call-sign by avoiding emotional commitments with fellow cadets, while her eyes-in-the-sky genius best pal Henry accepted Academy placement so his family wouldn’t starve – while ice princess Sylph and Riot (Nyx’s latest breakup) fly Pegasus.

Just 2 Streakers, each with pilot and rio, until Nyx spots a third! When her commander denies its existence, Chase decides to make Phoenix show itself with a riskier-than-usual maneuver. But Nyx gets more than she ever bargained for when Ri Xiong Di retaliates against those who helped Dragon out of that jam.

New cadets, more challenges, Streaker tests accelerated – and 2049 becomes the year when America can begin to rise again or be swallowed up by the New Eastern Bloc.

Can Chase harness her need for speed?
Will the US government allow Streakers into actual combat?
Can a handful of teens outplay a dictator?  (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

Stranger, by Rachel Manija Brown & Sherwood Smith (book review) – humanity has changed, or has it?

Feb3

book cover of Stranger by Rachel Manija Brown and Sherwood Smith published by VikingAfter the Change killed electricity,
unrooted societies, mutated many life forms,
Los Angeles survived as walled Las Anclas –
but will one teenage prospector doom them all?

This fast-moving dystopian tale with 5 narrators includes semi-sentient plants (so very deadly), Changed humans with amazing talents, unChanged ones who accept them, and those who don’t. A diverse cast of characters, families of all configurations, several love stories, and a madman, too.

Read chapter one here as Ross tries to reach Las Anclas alive, then get Stranger today at your local library or independent bookstore.

Don’t wait till the November 2015 paperback release – you must discover the secrets of Las Anclas now for yourself!

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Book info: Stranger (Change, book 1) / Rachel Manija Brown & Sherwood Smith. Viking Children’s Books, 2014. [Rachel’s site]   [Sherwood’s site]  [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: When a strange young man collapses outside Las Anclas, its citizens must decide whether to share their secrets with him or become targets of the madman pursuing him.

Ross knows that the book he uncovered holds information about lost technologies, if only he could read it, if only he can escape Voske’s bounty hunter through the ever-hostile desert.

Felicite plans to become powerful in Las Anclas, strategizing and smiling as her political parents do, praying that no one discovers her secrets.

Yuki survived shipwreck to land in LA as a child, but the prince of a distant land wants only to leave the walled town as a prospector, as long as Paco comes along.

Mia would rather solve mechanical problems than train with the militia, but the youngest Engineer in town history wonders if she’ll ever fall in love or care if she doesn’t.

Jennie took over the schoolroom when their teacher’s Change power became too dangerous, but her fighting skills as a Ranger are also needed by the town – will she have to choose?

These five teens have the future of their neighbors in their hands when Voske attacks Las Anclas with Changed humans, remade weapons, and treachery – is there a traitor inside the town’s walls?

This dystopian adventure twines together superpowers and prejudice, adult and family relationships of all types, the visceral rush and lingering mental pain of war, and possibilities of redemption amid sacrifice.  (One of 8,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

Pills and Starships, by Lydia Millet (book review) – climate change, drugs, and lies

Jan3

book cover of Pills and Starships by Lydia Millet published by Akashic BooksToo sad to keep on living in a climate chaotic world,
her parents have chosen their time to die…
or is it the pharma talking?

Nat’s mom and dad – former environmental activists – could have waited just a few more years to invoke the Service Contract ending their lives, till the teen and her younger brother moved out as workers – why now?

In this too-possible dystopia, global warming has changed weather patterns, babies are now illegal, and new diseases mutating weekly make face-to-face contact rare.

Ask for Nat’s story at your local library or independent bookstore to see if she can find a way to keep her family together once she discovers the truths that pharma-corps are trying to hide. (I loved the book, but its title… not so much)

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Book info: Pills and Starships / Lydia Millet. Black Sheep/Akashic Books, 2014.  [author site]  [publisher site]  [author interview on NPR]  Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: Preparing to honor her parents’ final week of life, Nat learns that big money uses pharma to trick the few remaining Americans into thinking that global warming has eliminated the entire natural world.

At a tropical resort devoted to final Contracts, the teen and her hackerkid brother discover real plants and animals and people who think for themselves.  Are pharma-corporations really lying to the public about imminent doomsday?

Her decision about joining the rebels must come soon, as her parents’ date with a lethal farewell drink in mere days will leave Nat and Sam in a group survivors’ home in Oregon – are her parents really sad enough about the state of the world to leave it forever?

When a mega-hurricane hurtles toward Hawai’i, will it be too late to rescue her not-old parents and not-old-enough brother?

Addressed to an imagined friend safely orbiting this climate-chaos world, Nat reflects in the Contract-provided mourning journal about Starships and Pills  and her unexpected opportunity to escape pharma-managed life… if she can. (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

Scary book pair #2 – enemies seen and unseen

Oct28

Another pair of scary BooksYALove favorites for the witching season: if blood-spatter and dire peril aren’t your thing, search the tag cloud (over there on right) for something else!

Click to read about these gory titles, now in paperback

A Girl Called Fearless, by Catherine Linka (book review) – unwilling May-December marriage!

Aug9

book cover of A Girl Called Fearless by Catherine Linka published by St Martin's GriffinNo rights to an education,
sold in marriage to the highest bidder,
teen girls in an “advanced” society?

When all the mothers died because of corporate greed, young women like Avie became America’s only hope for the future. So love is a priceless luxury, and arranged marriages are major financial transactions. The Paternalists monitor young women constantly to stop kidnappings… but the power-hungry political movement has a more sinister agenda.

Read the first three chapters here for free, then grab this May 2014 release at your local library or independent bookstore to see what path Avie chooses.

Who is allowed to determine our freedoms? How far would you go to protect yours?
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Book info: A Girl Called Fearless / Catherine Linka. St Martins Griffin, 2014.  [author site]  [publisher site]   Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: Contracted to marry a man twice her age, Avie wants to escape to Canada, but can she leave her true love behind in today’s totalitarian California?

After a hormone in beef kills all women of childbearing age, young girls become incredibly valuable and are Signed as teen brides to the highest bidders. The Paternalists say this will prevent kidnappings, but 16-year-old Avie and her best friend Yates aren’t so sure.

When her dad Signs Avie to marry Jessop Hawkins as part of a deal to save his biotech company, suddenly her dreams of attending college are dust. Hawkins wants Avie with him on the campaign trail as he runs for governor, so they will marry in 3 weeks – unless she follows Yates’ advice and joins the underground Exodus to Canada. Now that she knows she’s in love with Yates, what else could she do? But Hawkins isn’t about to let his prize slip away…

An alternate history tale of a chilling today which really could happen tomorrow, first in a series.  (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

Pawn, by Aimee Carter (book review) – doomed or destined by the Test?

Aug5

book cover of Pawn by Aimee Carter published by Harlequin TeenOne chance to rise above poverty,
one Test determines your life,
and all the rules are a lie!

In this future America, the Hart family’s dictatorship is unbreakable, anyone over 60 is sent Elsewhere, and only Kitty’s unique eye color saves her from poverty – at a steep price that’s too dangerous to refuse!

Read the first chapter of Pawn  here, then find book 1 of the Blackcoat Rebellion series today at your local library or independent bookstore – Captive arrives on November 25th.

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Book info: Pawn (Blackcoat Rebellion, book 1) / Aimee Carter. Harlequin Teen, 2013.  [author site]  [publisher site]  [book trailer] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: Kitty can trade a lifetime of servitude for wealth and luxury – if she can successfully masquerade as the USA prime minister’s niece and stop the rebellion which Lila began!

Doomed – dyslexic orphan Kitty Doe just failed the Test and is tattooed as level III, sentenced to menial labor in a city far from her beloved boyfriend Benji.

Destined – her contract purchased by Prime Minister Hart, her body Masked and remade to replicate his popular niece, even Lila’s mother and fiance help Kitty become the wealthy level VII teen for her adoring public.

Determined – as Kitty learns more about outspoken Lila’s desire to help common folks, she dares to contact the Blackcoat rebels – but can she risk losing Benji forever?

First of a trilogy set in a future USA where one Test determines everything and some folks aren’t playing by their own rules. (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)

War hits hard in SYNC audiobooks

Jul31

What does war do to us? Listen in as two young men in different eras of US history – past and future – experience it firsthand in this week’s free audiobooks from SYNC.

Download these free complete audiobooks are before Wednesday, August 6th, and you can read them with your ears as long as you keep them on your computer or electronic device

CD cover of Divided We Fall By Trent Reedy Read by Andrew Eiden et al. Published by Scholastic AudioDivided We Fall (download here)
Available only in USA, Canada, & the Philippines

By Trent Reedy
Read by Andrew Eiden et al.
Published by Scholastic Audio

When a young National Guardsman’s gun misfires, it sparks a chain reaction of violence which could tear apart the USA in this near-future political thriller.

 

The Red Badge of Courage (download here)CD cover of The Red Badge of Courage By Stephen Crane Read by Frank Muller Published by Recorded Books
By Stephen Crane
Read by Frank Muller
Published by Recorded Books

The Civil War’s bloody realities eclipse a young man’s lifelong dream of being a soldier as the Battle of Chancellorsville begins.

Will mankind ever learn from the violence of the past?
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Red Rising, by Pierce Brown (book review) – class warfare on Mars, to the death!

Jul29

book cover of Red Rising by Pierce Brown published by Del ReyDemokracy is a lie.
Mourning is forbidden.
Love adds fuel to vengeance!

Game of Thrones  meets Star Wars and Hunger Games on the Red Planet in this rock ’em, sock ’em story, as lowest-caste Darrow is completely remade so that he can win the ultimate competition among ruling class youth and free his family and friends from slavery in the mines of Mars.

Be sure to visit the publisher’s site and click More Inside to read the first chapters so you know how the injustices heaped upon the Reds for generations have forged Darrow into a weapon.

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Book info: Red Rising (Red Rising Trilogy #1) / Pierce Brown. Del Ray Spectra, 2014.  [author site]  [series site]   [publisher site]  [book trailer] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: A quest for vengeance drives Darrow to escape slavery in Mars’ mines and beat the Gold overlords at their own game as they fight to the death for power.

Deep in its hellish mines, Reds have slaved for decades so the Martian surface can become habitable, little knowing that the Red Planet is already a world of luxury.

When his young wife is executed for singing the forbidden death dirge, 16 year old Darrow’s rage makes him a perfect target for the Sons of Ares, fellow Reds who’re willing to rebel against the ruling Golds – from the inside.

Darrow is remade – bones re-engineered to sustain maximum impact, brain retooled for intellectual superiority, reflexes honed to matchless fighting ferocity – and enters the Institute where young Golds compete to become supreme rulers in the Solar Systems where the “noble lie of demokracy” has been stamped out.

All the Reds will stay enslaved if he doesn’t survive this vicious months’ long war against teens of the various Institute houses battling for the choicest apprenticeships of power, truly battling to the death.

A master strategist, a true leader, a Red in Gold’s skin, Darrow intends to win at all costs and to change society from the top down to the helldivers’ mines in this first book of the Red Rising trilogy.

Twelve Minutes to Midnight, by Christopher Edge (book review) – visions of future – lunacy or conspiracy?

Jun29

book cover of Twelve Minutes to Midnight by Christopher Edge published by Albert WhitmanWriting, scrawling, jotting,
visions of the future, horrifying and violent,
every lunatic in Bedlam writing down their dreams,
every
single
one.

As writer of eerie tales Penelope investigates the startling claim that every inmate in Bedlam is dreaming of future events, the teen must be accompanied by the actor she’s been forced to hire for public appearances of Montgomery Flinch, her nom de plume.

A big thank you to publisher Albert Whitman for bringing this popular British series to the States – next is Shadows of the Silver Screen,  wherein Penny and Monty face danger from a producer of those newfangled moving pictures.

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Book info:  Twelve Minutes to Midnight (Penelope Tredwell series, book 1) / Christopher Edge. Albert Whitman & Company, 2014.  [author site]  [publisher site]  Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: In 1899 London, Penelope writes eerie stories to keep her late father’s newspaper alive, while all of Bedlam’s lunatics suddenly dream of the future. The thirteen year old investigates the Midnight Writings, placing her chaperone and The Penny Dreadful  in terrible danger!

Only with the actor she’s hired to portray her pen name in public can Penny go to Bedlam after reports that all inmates begin writing down their dreams at precisely 12 minutes before midnight. As the young lady and Montgomery Flinch view astounding visions of the future written on cell walls, clothing, and even the inmates’ own skin, they realize that some outside force is causing this.

As 1899 draws to a close, Penny and Monty hear that widowed Lady Cambridge may have clues to this mystery. Of course, the writer of London’s most hair-raising adventures must interview the reclusive widow (with Monty as chaperone).

The Midnight Papers disappear from a locked room in Bedlam, strange boxes vanish from the Natural History Museum, and a rival newspaper’s reporter is suspicious of Monty’s actual writing talents while a poisonous danger is luring Penny into its web!

First in the Penelope Tredwell series, Twelve Minutes to Midnight  is followed by Shadows of the Silver Screen.  (One of 6,000 books recommended on www.abookandahug.com)