Tag Archives: Dystopia

The Test – Sylvain Neuvel

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41940388The Test by Sylvain Neuvel

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Received: Raincoast Books
Published: March 2019
Publisher: St. Martin’s Press
Recommended Age: 14+
Genres & Themes: Adult, Dystopia, Suspense, Family, Morality

REVIEW:

This is so messed up. I mean that in the best way possible. Do you want to read a soft dystopian that has been done before over and over again or something daring, captivating and all sorts of terrifying? I love an author who dares because tame stories are not for me. I want to be surprised and shocked and thrown into suspense instead of gently nudged in one direction or the other. Continue reading →

The Grace Year – Kim Liggett

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32929592The Grace Year by Kim Liggett

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Received: Raincoast Books
Published: September 17th, 2019
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Recommended Age: 13+
Genres & Themes: Young Adult, Action, Dystopia, Feminism, Romance

REVIEW:

Do not be fooled by the excessively pink cover, this is not a sweet story and the characters do not care to be likeable and cherished by the reader. It’s a wild, wild world and so are the girls in it. I have not read a YA dystopian in over a year, but this one reminded me why I used to actively seek out these types of stories. Because they are messy and ugly and dramatic and despite all that, or maybe because of it, I am fascinated. Continue reading →

Slated – Teri Terry

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Slated by Teri Terry

My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Received: Publisher
Published: 2013
Publisher: Speak
Recommended Age: 12+
Pacing: Normal/Fast
Genres & Themes: Young Adult, Mystery, Dystopia, High School, Romance, Family

BLURB:

Kyla’s memory has been erased, her personality wiped blank, her memories lost forever. She’s been slated. The government claims that she was a terrorist and they are giving her a second chance—if she plays by their rules. But scenes from the past haunt her as she tries to adjust to a new life, family, and school, leaving her unsettled. Who is she really? And if only criminals are meant to be slated, why are so many other teens disappearing? As she and her friend Ben seek answers, Kyla is torn between the need to know more and her instinct for self-preservation. Continue reading →

The Belles – Dhonielle Clayton

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23197837The Belles by Dhonielle Clayton

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Received: HBG Canada
First Published: February 20th, 2018
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Point of View: 1st Person & Feminine
Recommended Age: 12+
Pacing: Normal
Genres & Themes: Young Adult, Dystopia, Fantasy, Beauty, Romance, Sisterhood

BLURB:

Camellia Beauregard is a Belle. In the opulent world of Orléans, Belles are revered, for they control Beauty, and Beauty is a commodity coveted above all else. In Orléans, the people are born gray, they are born damned, and only with the help of a Belle and her talents can they transform and be made beautiful.

But it’s not enough for Camellia to be just a Belle. She wants to be the favorite—the Belle chosen by the Queen of Orléans to live in the royal palace, to tend to the royal family and their court, to be recognized as the most talented Belle in the land. But once Camellia and her Belle sisters arrive at court, it becomes clear that being the favorite is not everything she always dreamed it would be. Behind the gilded palace walls live dark secrets, and Camellia soon learns that the very essence of her existence is a lie—that her powers are far greater, and could be more dangerous, than she ever imagined. And when the queen asks Camellia to risk her own life and help the ailing princess by using Belle powers in unintended ways, Camellia now faces an impossible decision. Continue reading →

Review: The Forgetting by Sharon Cameron

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28691932The Forgetting by Sharon Cameron

My rating: 2 of 5 stars
Received: Scholastic Canada
Publication Date: September 13th 2016
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Point of View: 1st Person & Feminine
Recommended Age: 11+
Pacing: Extra Slow
Genres & Themes: Young Adult, Dystopia

Buy The Book Now at The Book Depository, Free Delivery World Wide

BLURB:

What isn’t written, isn’t remembered. Even your crimes.

Nadia lives in the city of Canaan, where life is safe and structured, hemmed in by white stone walls and no memory of what came before. But every twelve years the city descends into the bloody chaos of the Forgetting, a day of no remorse, when each person’s memories – of parents, children, love, life, and self – are lost. Unless they have been written.

In Canaan, your book is your truth and your identity, and Nadia knows exactly who hasn’t written the truth. Because Nadia is the only person in Canaan who has never forgotten.

But when Nadia begins to use her memories to solve the mysteries of Canaan, she discovers truths about herself and Gray, the handsome glassblower, that will change her world forever. As the anarchy of the Forgetting approaches, Nadia and Gray must stop an unseen enemy that threatens both their city and their own existence – before the people can forget the truth. And before Gray can forget her. Continue reading →

Review: The 5th Wave (The 5th Wave, #1) by Rick Yancey

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16101128The 5th Wave by Rick Yancey

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Received: Bought
Publication Date: May 7th 2013
Publisher: G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers
Point of View: 1st Person & Alternative
Recommended Age: 13+
Genres &  Themes: Young Adult, Post-Apocalyptic, Dystopia, Aliens, Survival, Romance, Action, Suspense, Science Fiction, Forbidden Love, War

Buy This Book from Book Depository, Free Delivery World Wide

BLURB:

After the 1st wave, only darkness remains. After the 2nd, only the lucky escape. And after the 3rd, only the unlucky survive. After the 4th wave, only one rule applies: trust no one.

Now, it’s the dawn of the 5th wave, and on a lonely stretch of highway, Cassie runs from Them. The beings who only look human, who roam the countryside killing anyone they see. Who have scattered Earth’s last survivors. To stay alone is to stay alive, Cassie believes, until she meets Evan Walker. Beguiling and mysterious, Evan Walker may be Cassie’s only hope for rescuing her brother-or even saving herself. But Cassie must choose: between trust and despair, between defiance and surrender, between life and death. To give up or to get up. Continue reading →

Review: Alice by Christina Henry

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23398606Alice by Christina Henry

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Received: Borrowed
Publication Date: August 4th 2015
Publisher: Ace
Point of View: 1st Person Feminine
Recommended Age: 14+
Genres & Themes: New Adult, Fantasy, Horror, Retellings, Alice in Wonderland

BLURB:

A mind-bending new novel inspired by the twisted and wondrous works of Lewis Carroll…

In a warren of crumbling buildings and desperate people called the Old City, there stands a hospital with cinderblock walls which echo the screams of the poor souls inside.

In the hospital, there is a woman. Her hair, once blond, hangs in tangles down her back. She doesn’t remember why she’s in such a terrible place. Just a tea party long ago, and long ears, and blood…

Then, one night, a fire at the hospital gives the woman a chance to escape, tumbling out of the hole that imprisoned her, leaving her free to uncover the truth about what happened to her all those years ago.

Only something else has escaped with her. Something dark. Something powerful.

And to find the truth, she will have to track this beast to the very heart of the Old City, where the rabbit waits for his Alice. Continue reading →

Review: The Scorch Trials (The Maze Runner #2) by James Dashner

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The Scorch Trials by James Dashner

My rating: 2 of 5 stars
Received: Bought
Publication Date: October 12th 2010
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Point of View: 3rd Person
Recommended Age: 12+
Genres & Themes: Young Adult, Dystopia, Romance

BLURB:

Solving the Maze was supposed to be the end.

Thomas was sure that escape from the Maze would mean freedom for him and the Gladers. But WICKED isn’t done yet. Phase Two has just begun. The Scorch.

There are no rules. There is no help. You either make it or you die.

The Gladers have two weeks to cross through the Scorch—the most burned-out section of the world. And WICKED has made sure to adjust the variables and stack the odds against them.

Friendships will be tested. Loyalties will be broken. All bets are off.

There are others now. Their survival depends on the Gladers’ destruction—and they’re determined to survive. Continue reading →

Review: Ink and Bone (The Great Library, #1) by Rachel Caine

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Ink and Bone by Rachel Caine

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Received: Bought
Publication Date: July 7th 2015
Publisher: NAL
Point of View: 3rd Person
Recommended Age: 13+
Genres & Themes: Young Adult, Dystopia, Fantasy, Books About Books

BLURB:

In an exhilarating new series, New York Times bestselling author Rachel Caine rewrites history, creating a dangerous world where the Great Library of Alexandria has survived the test of time.…

Ruthless and supremely powerful, the Great Library is now a presence in every major city, governing the flow of knowledge to the masses. Alchemy allows the Library to deliver the content of the greatest works of history instantly—but the personal ownership of books is expressly forbidden.

Jess Brightwell believes in the value of the Library, but the majority of his knowledge comes from illegal books obtained by his family, who are involved in the thriving black market. Jess has been sent to be his family’s spy, but his loyalties are tested in the final months of his training to enter the Library’s service.

When he inadvertently commits heresy by creating a device that could change the world, Jess discovers that those who control the Great Library believe that knowledge is more valuable than any human life—and soon both heretics and books will burn.… Continue reading →

Review: The Stars Never Rise by Rachel Vincent

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The Stars Never Rise by Rachel Vincent

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Received: Bought
Publication Date: June 9th 2015
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Point of View: 1st Person & Female
Recommended Age: 14+
Genres & Themes: Young Adult, Urban Fantasy, Dystopia, Demons

BLURB:

Sixteen-year-old Nina Kane should be worrying about her immortal soul, but she’s too busy trying to actually survive. Her town’s population has been decimated by soul-consuming demons, and souls are in short supply. Watching over her younger sister, Mellie, and scraping together food and money are all that matters. The two of them are a family. They gave up on their deadbeat mom a long time ago.

When Nina discovers that Mellie is keeping a secret that threatens their very existence, she’ll do anything to protect her. Because in New Temperance, sins are prosecuted as crimes by the brutal Church and its army of black-robed exorcists. And Mellie’s sin has put her in serious trouble.

To keep them both alive, Nina will need to trust Finn, a fugitive with deep green eyes who has already saved her life once and who might just be an exorcist. But what kind of exorcist wears a hoodie?

Wanted by the Church and hunted by dark forces, Nina knows she can’t survive on her own. She needs Finn and his group of rogue friends just as much as they need her. Continue reading →