Pulse, by Patrick Carman

Title: Pulse
Author: Patrick Carman
Publisher: Katherine Tegan Books
Year: 2013
Pages: 371
Genre: Dystopian Science Fiction
Themes: Power, Oppression
Age Range: 7th Grade and Above

Summary:
Faith lives in the no-man's-land outside the walls of the State. The United States, in a desperate bid to conserve resources, has encouraged all people to move into heavily populated States, where people are packed into the finite space but have access to food, medicine, and technology that you can't get on the outside. It seems as though the last stragglers of a dying way of life will eventually all succumb to the lure of the State. But there are some who are different. Some who prefer the freedom of the outside to the relative safety and comfort of the State. When Faith discovers that she has the "pulse", telekinetic abilities that allow her to control matter and fly, she also discovers that under the surface, dark forces are at work to dismantle the State and seize control of the people and resources that reside there. Under the tutelage of her classmate, Dylan, Faith learns to control her powers, and to use them in support of those who would keep the State safe from harm.

Review:
This is the start of a trilogy, one that I have yet to finish. The first book, however, gets a thumbs up from me! The premise is interesting, and as someone who's read a ton of dystopian YA fiction, it felt new and fresh. Faith as a character is relatable, and there's the whole "dark, mysterious" love interest thing going on. I fully expected to find that the State was the enemy, and maybe they will be in the end, but I thought that premise that the State was good and the people opposing the State were bad turned that old "Hunger Games" style trope on its head.

As far as deep, meaningful discussion opportunities go, it's not exactly chock full of them, at least not this first book in the trilogy, but it is action-packed, and has enough intrigue to keep a person interested. I'd say the trilogy is a solid addition to any well-stocked classroom library, though I reserve the right to change my mind if the rest of the books in the series suck.

Little Brother X, Cory Doctorow

Title: Little Brother X

Author: Cory Doctorow
Publisher: Tor Teen
Year: 2008
Pages: 382
Genre: Dystopian Science Fiction
Themes: Terrorism, Freedom, Government
Age Range: 8th-12th Grade

Summary: (from Goodreads)

Marcus aka “w1n5t0n,” is only seventeen years old, but he figures he already knows how the system works–and how to work the system. Smart, fast, and wise to the ways of the networked world, he has no trouble outwitting his high school’s intrusive but clumsy surveillance systems. 

But his whole world changes when he and his friends find themselves caught in the aftermath of a major terrorist attack on San Francisco. In the wrong place at the wrong time, Marcus and his crew are apprehended by the Department of Homeland Security and whisked away to a secret prison where they’re mercilessly interrogated for days. 

When the DHS finally releases them, his injured best friend Darryl does not come out. The city has become a police state where every citizen is treated like a potential terrorist. He knows that no one will believe his story, which leaves him only one option: "M1k3y" will take down the DHS himself.

Review:

This novel is action packed, and I think that the characters are ones that many youth could relate to. Unlike some dystopian novels, where the society that we know as completely ceased to exist, the America created in Little Brother is one that feels not so far away. Which is a little terrifying, to be honest. The books reminded me a little bit of The Circle by Dave Eggers. It is really an exploration of the consequences of our increasing reliance on social media, and the myriad of ways that we are connected to the digital world. What kind of information do we share about ourselves every day, and how can that information be used against us?

Perhaps the scariest part for me was the constant surveillance, especially of children, all in the name of "safety". I've seen an awful lot of scary things happen in the name of "safety" already. White families who move out of a diverse neighborhood to a majority white one"for the schools", otherwise known as white flight. Surveillance cameras in our streets. The Patriot Act. The reprehensible immigration ban that is thankfully being blocked at the moment by the courts. It seems completely plausible to me that we are one or two terror attacks away from the kind of Department of Homeland Security crack-down that takes place in this novel. There are great themes to talk about with this book. What should be the balance between security, personal privacy, and freedom of association? Can hacking be considered a form of civil disobedience? Is it OK to break laws you consider unjust? What should the role of government be in policing our communities? All of these questions are relevant to the time, and could help build a bridge for students between the fictional dystopia of Doctorow's America and the complex issues the world must grapple with in the face of terrorist threats.

The Death Cure, James Dashner

Title:  The Death Cure
Author: James Dashner
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Year: 2011
Pages: 325
Genre:  Science Fiction, Dystopian
Themes:  Morality, Dystopia
Age Range: 7th Grade and Up

Summary: from Goodreads

It’s the end of the line.

WICKED has taken everything from Thomas: his life, his memories, and now his only friends—the Gladers. But it’s finally over. The trials are complete, after one final test.
Will anyone survive? 

What WICKED doesn’t know is that Thomas remembers far more than they think. And it’s enough to prove that he can’t believe a word of what they say.
The truth will be terrifying. 

Thomas beat the Maze. He survived the Scorch. He’ll risk anything to save his friends. But the truth might be what ends it all. 

Review:
The final installment of The Maze Runner trilogy has all of the action and excitement that you've come to expect from Dashner's dystopian novels.  You finally get to see what the world outside of the Maze and the Scorch is like, and the picture is not a pretty one.  Cities with uninfected people have become uneasy oases surrounded by hordes of Cranks (those infected with the Flare who have completely lost their sanity), and it is only a matter of time until the virus infiltrates their walls.  Thomas and his friends have no one to trust-they don't always trust each other.  They get connected with a group called The Right Arm, which purports to take down WICKED and end their experimentation, but will they be able to pull it off?  And are their motives as noble as they seem?

I felt like The Death Cure did not have the same level of emotional intensity as the first two books, at least not until the last quarter of the book or so.  There are some questions that are left unanswered, though I assume that at least some of them are explored in the prequel, The Killing Zone. We never get an explanation of how Thomas worked for WICKED before the Maze, nor do we learn very much about the genesis of the plague, though the epilogue answers one major question-how did the virus get out in the first place?  And if you are someone who likes their stories neatly tied up in the end, knowing what happens to all of your favorite characters, you may be frustrated with the conclusion.  But overall I think this trilogy is a fine example of YA dystopian literature, and I think it will especially appeal to readers (mot of who are probably male) who would appreciate the male protagonist and the lack of a real love story.

UnSouled, Neal Shusterman

Title:  UnSouled
Author:  Neal Shusterman
Publisher:  Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers
Year:  2013
Pages:  403
Genre:  Dystopian, Science Fiction
Themes:  Society, Freedom, Social Justice
Age Range:  8th Grade and Up

Summary:  
The third installment in the Unwind dystology continues the story of Connor, Lev, Risa, and Cam, the rewound boy.  Connor and Lev are once again on the run from Proactive Citizenry, the organization that is protecting the process of unwinding through propaganda and manipulation of the government.  Cam, one of Proactive Citizenry's greatest achievements, is on the run too.  Tired of being used by the organization for their own purposes, Cam decides to bring down the organization that created him to show Risa how he really feels about her.  Connor and Lev know that in order to get the answers they are looking for, and to stop unwinding forever, they need to track down a woman that Proactive Citizenry has tried to erase from history.  But will she be able to help them save the hundreds of thousands of teens who are in danger of being unwound?

Review:
UnSouled reads like what it is-a middle novel in a longer arc, where lots of things happen but very few things are resolved.   There are some interesting new developments, including a further exploration of the "storkers" and their leader, as well as the backstory to the unwinding process itself.  Something else that is the same-the sense of horror that the reader feels when the cruelty and inhumanity towards those who are destined to be unwound rears its ugly head.  What makes this book series all the more terrifying is how realistic some of the policies and propaganda that Proactive Citizenry puts out feels, given that this is a work of dystopian science fiction.  We may not yet have the ability to take apart people and use all of their tissue for medical procedure, but anyone who follows the way that certain groups within our society dehumanize other groups (the poor, immigrants, prisoners) can't help but notice some parallels between their world and ours.  I can't really see a future where we allow minors to be given over for unwinding, but there are certainly groups of "disposable" people in our world, people that no one makes a fuss over when they are the victims of violence-state sanctioned or otherwise.

I know that UnDivided, the last book in the series, is being finished practically as we speak.  I am definitely ready to see how the disparate threads of the narrative are wound together (pun intended) to resolve the story of freedom, equality, and ultimate humanity that Shusterman has created.

Legend, Marie Lu

Title:  Legend
Author: Marie Lu
Publisher:  Putnam Juvenile
Year: 2011
Pages:  320
Genre:  Dytopian Science Fiction
Themes:  Oppression, Social Justice
Age Range:  8th Grade and Up

Summary:  from Goodreads

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

Review:
I've read a lot of young adult dystopian fiction in the last couple of years, and like most genre literature it gets to be repetitive in nature.  Repetitive in theme, elements, character archetype.   But what I've come to realize over the years is that good fantasy and science fiction writers are like great chefs.  Two chefs can take the same basic ingredients and make equally satisfying variations on a similar theme.

I would call Lu an adequate chef.  I think that she does a decent job with the basic elements of dystopian fiction-government control of the population through lies and manipulation, characters who fight against that control, manufactured wars, etc...Having June and Day come from such different worlds allowed Lu to invite the reader into the worlds of both the powerful and powerless in the Republic, and proved important to the plot later on when June was able to use her access to help them escape from danger.  It is not a cookie cutter novel, much like the Twilight clones that came out during its heyday.  There are some decent discussion topics that could be developed from the plot, and the book definitely has some merit in comparing and contrasting it to other titles in this genre.  It is the start of a series, so if you are looking to hook a reluctant reader this book provides opportunities for further reading (Prodigy and Champion are the next two in the series).  Definitely a good choice for a classroom library.

The Scorch Trial, James Dashner

Title:  The Scorch Trials
Author:  James Dashner
Publisher:  Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Year:  2010
Pages:  360
Genre:  Dystopian Science Fiction
Themes:  Survival
Age Range:  6th Grade and Up

Summary:  (from Goodreads)

Solving the Maze was supposed to be the end. No more puzzles. No more variables. And no more running. Thomas was sure that escape meant he and the Gladers would get their lives back. But no one really knew what sort of life they were going back to...

 Burned by sun flares and baked by a new, brutal climate, the earth is a wasteland. Government has disintegrated—and with it, order—and now Cranks, people covered in festering wounds and driven to murderous insanity by the infectious disease known as the Flare, roam the crumbling cities hunting for their next victim . . . and meal.

The Gladers are far from finished with running. Instead of freedom, they find themselves faced with another trial. They must cross the Scorch, the most burned-out section of the world, and arrive at a safe haven in two weeks. And WICKED has made sure to adjust the variables and stack the odds against them.

Review:
The second book in this series reads and feels very similar to the first.  Thomas and the other Gladers soon discover that getting out of the Maze was only the first step in survival.  WICKED, the shadowy organization that set up the trials, is not done with them yet.  And if the first book was violent, the second takes that violence up a notch.  Violent lightning storms literally blow people's limbs off, deranged sufferers of the Flare sound a lot like the walkers from The Walking Dead, and we once again have hideous monsters created by WICKED to force the young people to fight or die.  While it all seems very sinister, there are constant reminders throughout the book that the trials are supposed to be a good thing; that they are weeding out the weakest to find the future leaders to save the planet.  But no pressure or anything...

As an adult reader I found the increase in tension and intensity in the plot enjoyable, but it may be too much for readers on the bottom end of the readability band for this book.  However, it does bring up all od the same rich topics for discussion as most other high-quality dystopian fiction.  Do the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few?  What responsibility does each of us carry for our fellow humanity?  Is it acceptable to subject people to violence-physical or psychological-in the service of the greater good?  I think this series would make a good choice for a book club discussions in a school or library setting, especially in middle school or early in high school.

The Always War, by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Title:  The Always War
Author:  Margaret Peterson Haddix
Publisher:  Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers
Year:  2011
Pages:  256
Genre:  Dystopian Science Fiction
Themes:  War, Fear, Society
Age Range:  4th-8th Grade

Summary:  
Fifteen year old Tess has always lived in a world of war.  The war that her country is fighting has been going on for over 75 years, and there appears to be no end in sight.  The war has led to shortages of everything, and so many decades of living in a constant state of deprivation has led the people to be depressed and hopeless.  The only bright spot is the occasional ceremony honoring a citizen of their community as a war hero.  But the ceremony for Tess' childhood friend Gideon does not go as planned.  When they attempt to give Gideon his medal, he freaks out, insisting that what he did does not deserve anything but scorn.  Soon, Gideon disappears, and the once bright future that awaited him is replaced with constant surveillance by the government for his "mental" problems.  Tess is sure that something else is going on, and when he escapes into the night, she follows.  Soon she finds herself on a plane, flying into enemy territory.  Gideon is looking for redemption, and the only way he can see to get it is to admit his wrongdoing to the very people he hurt-the enemy.  But what Tess, Gideon, and a young stowaway named Dek discover when they reach enemy territory calls into question everything they thought they knew about the 75 year long war.

Review:
As usual Haddix does an excellent job creating a dystopian society.  Like in her Shadow Children series, there is a sense of desperation and despair that just cries out for someone to do something to make a change.  The Always War also has elements of Ender's Game in it, in that the people "fighting" the war are doing it remotely, without having to see the results of the bombs they drop.  Unlike Ender's Game, however, the young "pilots" in this war know that they are fighting a real enemy-but are they?  Haddix also threw in a little bit of "War Games", that classic Matthew Broderick movie of the 80s, by creating a sentient computer that calculates the odds of winning the war.

For the first 80% of the book I was sure that this was the beginning of another series.  The story moved along at a decent clip, but there were still so many things that needed to be resolved that I was sure that there were a couple more books in the works.  Then, in the last 25 pages or so of the book, it appears that everything gets resolved very quickly-and not terribly satisfactorily, if truth be told.  After spending so many pages describing the wartime society that Tess lived in, and then describing in great detail the journey that the young people took, the resolution seemed to happen in a flash.  The big reveal about the war was not a surprise, but once it was done the war ended and the people accepted it in a flash, something that just did not feel very realistic.  It might seem strange to use that word to describe a story about a supercomputer that pretends to fight a war so that humanity doesn't annihilate itself, but until the very end I was totally caught up in my own suspension of disbelief.

That said, there are a lot of good things that can be pulled from the story for discussion.  Turns out the war was about water-that is a very timely topic.  Also, the way that citizens were encouraged to sacrifice their joy and hope for the war effort is also something that has parallels in both our recent and not-so-recent past.  If you are a Haddix fan, then this is a book that you should read, just for the sake of being able to put it in the context of her other work.  If you've never read Haddix before, I suggest you start with Running Out of Time, or Among the Hidden, or Found before trying this one.

Insurgent, by Veronica Roth

Title:  Insurgent
Author:  Veronica Roth
Publisher:  Harper Teen
Year:  2012
Pages:  525
Genre:  Dystopian Science Fiction
Themes:  Family, Survival, Oppression, Identity
Age Range:  8th Grade and Above

Summary:
Roth has created a fictional Chicago in ruins, cut off from the rest of the world by a high fence.  The lake and river have dried up, and the people who live within the city must get their food from farms on the outskirts of town.  Society has been divided into five factions:  Amity, the peaceful food growers; Erudite, the ultra-intelligent innovators; Candor, whose purpose is to always find and tell the truth; Abnegation, the self-less leaders of the community; and Dauntless, the fearless peace-keepers and informal police force.

Insurgent is the second book in the Divergent series.  It follows Tris Prior, former Abengation, and her love interest and fellow Dauntless fighter, Tobias, in the aftermath of the battle between Erudite and Abnegation for control of the city.  Tris and her friends are on the run from the Erudite leaders and the Dauntless traitors who have joined them.  As the old order breaks down, Tris and her fellow divergent are targeted by the Erudite.  They find temporary safety with Candor, but everyone knows that the current situation can't stand.  When Tris find out that the Erudite attack was a cover for the theft of valuable information from Abnegation, she sets her sights on discovering the information and bringing down Erudite.

Review:
As I wrote when I reviewed Divergent last year, this series is an anomaly for me, in that I am completely engrossed in the fictional world Roth has created, even though I don't really like the protagonist that much.  Tris is a complicated character, for sure, but her aggressive nature and her instincts to fight first and ask questions later is pretty antithetical to my worldview.  This book actually helped me like her a bit better, though.  She becomes a much more sympathetic character once she is loaded down by guilt over the acts of violence she committed in the first book.  Sad, but true...I liked her better when she was suffering.

Roth's fictional society and the rules under which they live provide rich fodder for discussion about how society is organized, and about governmental power.  Each of the factions provides the basis for a discussion about the relative merit of each aspect of humanity in society.  And Tris's journey through grief and guilt can lead to discussions of friendship, family, and being true to yourself within a crazy world.  Or you can just read it for the pleasure of reading a fast-paced story filled with action and adventure.  Either way, I recommend this series to anyone who loves science fiction generally, and dystopian fiction specifically.

The Maze Runner, by James Dashner

Title:  The Maze Runner
Author:  James Dashner
Publisher:  Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Year:  2009
Pages:  374
Genre:  Dystopian Science Fiction
Themes:  Survival, Adventure
Age Range:  9th Grade and Up

Summary:  (from Goodreads)
When Thomas wakes up in the lift, the only thing he can remember is his first name. His memory is blank. But he’s not alone. When the lift’s doors open, Thomas finds himself surrounded by kids who welcome him to the Glade—a large, open expanse surrounded by stone walls.

Just like Thomas, the Gladers don’t know why or how they got to the Glade. All they know is that every morning the stone doors to the maze that surrounds them have opened. Every night they’ve closed tight. And every 30 days a new boy has been delivered in the lift.

Thomas was expected. But the next day, a girl is sent up—the first girl to ever arrive in the Glade. And more surprising yet is the message she delivers. 

Thomas might be more important than he could ever guess. If only he could unlock the dark secrets buried within his mind.

Review:  
With the enormous amount of dystopian young adult fiction out there, it is not hard to find a book or series that appeals to anyone who loves dystopian literature.  I loved the Hunger Games series, the Unwind series,  and I'm right in the thick of the Divergent series right now.  But Maze Runner fell short for me, for reasons that I'm not sure I can accurately articulate.

Part of it goes to the fact that there is a male protagonist, while most of the other books in this genre that I love (those mentioned above as well as Life As We Knew It and This World We Live In by Susan Beth Pfeffer) have female protagonists.  While I don't usually find the gender of the main character problematic, the whole feel of this book is a little testosterone heavy for me.  That said, I'm sure there are  young adult males who find the female protagonists of those other books I mentioned not a perfect fit for them.  If you are looking for a dystopian series that will appeal to male readers, then The Maze Runner and its sequels are probably a good investment.

My other issues with the book have to do with the nature of the plot itself.  It reads like a straightforward story of survival against an oppressive "other"-the Creators-but I found that I was not necessarily buying the underlying premise.  At least, not until the end, when thing started to make a bit more sense.  But even those revelations felt a bit contrived, with some deus ex machina thrown in in the form of an unknown narrator who is only present a few times throughout the book to provide some sense of what might be going on behind the scenes.  It left me feeling as though all of the heroism of the characters was for naught, since there were people behind the scenes continuing to pull their strings that they were unaware of.  

While I did not love this book, I didn't hate it either.  I suspect that there are those who follow this series as faithfully as I followed The Hunger Games or Divergent.    I think it is a good addition to a classroom library, but I'm not sure there is enough substance there to make it a good book to use in classroom discussions.

UnWholly, by Neal Shusterman

Title:  UnWholly

Author:  Neal Shusterman
Publisher: Simon and Schuster for Young Readers
Year:  2012
Pages:  416
Themes:  Social Justice, Morality, Survival, Identity
Age Range:  8th grade and Above

Summary:  from Goodreads

Thanks to Connor, Lev, and Risa—and their high-profile revolt at Happy Jack Harvest Camp—people can no longer turn a blind eye to unwinding. Ridding society of troublesome teens while simltaneously providing much-needed tissues for transplant might be convenient, but its morality has finally been brought into question. However, unwinding has become big business, and there are powerful political and corporate interests that want to see it not only continue, but also expand to the unwinding of prisoners and the impoverished.

Cam is a product of unwinding; made entirely out of the parts of other unwinds, he is a teen who does not technically exist. A futuristic Frankenstein, Cam struggles with a search for identity and meaning and wonders if a rewound being can have a soul. And when the actions of a sadistic bounty hunter cause Cam’s fate to become inextricably bound with the fates of Connor, Risa, and Lev, he’ll have to question humanity itself.

Review:
If you read Unwind, you know that Shusterman has created an alternate history for America that includes a violent war between pro-choice and pro-life forces that led to the Unwind Accords-abortion is illegal when the child is a fetus, but when the child turns 13 parents can decide to retroactively abort their child through a process called unwinding, and all of the teens organs and tissue will be donated.

When discussing UnWholly, Shusterman said that he never intended for Unwind to become a trilogy, but he just couldn't let the story go.  This novel continues the themes introduced in the first book.  At its most basic level, the unwind culture is about what defines being human.  Despite being set in a fictional future, Shusterman draws on the current debate about the power of corporations, both in our government and in society at large, as well as the debate about privatizing education (which in itself is at least partly also about corporate power).  The addition of Cam as a completely made up "person" brings a new level to the discussion of the morality of unwinding.  It's hard to argue that people's lives are saved by the constant flow of "donated" organs and tissue, but just because technology allows us to create new life from old, does that mean we should?  And if we do, then can there be such a thing as a "soul" as religious people define it, as coming from the divine?  This book would make a great choice for a book club discussion for teens (or grown-ups who love books for teens...you know who you are!).

The Clone Codes, by The McKissacks

Title:  The Clone Codes
Author:  The McKissacks (Patricia, Fred, Pat)
Publisher:  Scholastic
Year:  2012
Pages:  192
Genre:  Science Fiction, Dystopian
Themes:  Freedom, Social Justice, Slavery
Age Range:  5th-8th Grade


Summary:  from Goodreads
In the year 2170 an underground abolitionist movement fights for the freedom of cyborgs and clones, who are treated no better than slaves


The Cyborg Wars are over and Earth has peacefully prospered for more than one hundred years. Yet sometimes history must repeat itself until humanity learns from its mistakes. In the year 2170, despite technological and political advances, cyborgs and clones are treated no better than slaves, and an underground abolitionist movement is fighting for freedom. Thirteen-year-old Leanna's entire life is thrown into chaos when The World Federation of Nations discovers her mom is part of the radical Liberty Bell Movement.


Review:  
The Clone Codes is an interesting look at the concept of slavery in an updated setting.  We teach a lot about slavery and the Civil war in American schools, but I suspect that the farther we get from that event, and from the Civil Rights movement of the 1950s and 60s, the less accessible the information about them becomes to the students of today.  We are no longer teaching about something that happened in their parents' active memory-we are becoming a generation removed from the marches and sit-ins and boycotts.  Using The Clone Codes in cooperation with a unit on slavery or the Civil Rights Movement could go a long way towards helping the "tween" set gain a clearer picture of the issues involved.


The book itself is well, if sparsely, written.  The McKissacks apparently took their writing teachers' lessons about clarity and brevity to heart.  But that makes it an easy read for readers as young as fifth grade, and maybe even skilled fourth grade readers could get something from the story.  There are a few things thrown in that would require some advance preparation or explanation-the Patriot Act, the workings of the Supreme Court-but nothing that can't be easily managed in a classroom setting.  And the book is part of a series, which means that their may be reluctant readers who get hooked by the book in class, and then go on to read the remainder of the story.  The second and third books in the series are already out, called The Clone Wars #2: Cyborg and The Clone Wars #3: Visitor respectively. I would say these are a good addition to a middle school classroom library, and while the main character is female I feel like the story itself would be just as appealing to younger male readers, even the reluctant ones.

Divergent, by Veronica Roth

Title:  Divergent
Author:  Veronica Roth
Publisher:  Harper Collins
Year:  2011
Pages:  487
Genre:  Dystopian
Themes:  Identity, First Love, Coming of Age
Age Range:  7th Grade and Up

Summary:  (from Goodreads)
In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself. 

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles to determine who her friends really are—and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes infuriating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers a growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves… or it might destroy her.


Review:

This book was all over the place last year, and was voted the readers' favorite book on Goodreads in their Reader's Choice Awards.  It obviously has wide appeal to the same audience of YA readers that loved The Hunger Games, and they proved it by making it a huge bestseller.  I think that part of what took me so long to read it is that I am leery of clones...you know, like all of the vampire/werewolf/normal girl love stories that came out after Twilight hit it big.  But since everyone I know that's read it has raved about it, I made it the first book on my summer reading list.

And the praise they heap on it is well deserved.  It does not feel like nearly 500 pages, even as a young adult book.  The action is well-paced, and interspersed with enough of Tris's internal struggles to make it more than just an action book, but less than navel-gazing.   And what an interesting character Tris is.  While obviously the protagonist and a sympathetic character, I didn't always like her or approve of her choices.  I was turned off by the violence inherent in the Dauntless lifestyle, and how easily it sometimes was for her to use violence.  But I liked the book more for my ambivalence.  It made the story more thought-provoking.

Though really it didn't need much more than the basic premise to be more thought-provoking.  The idea of my city falling to pieces, the lake replaced by a giant dead marsh, with five different factions running the place gave me plenty to think about.  I think that this book would be an excellent choice for a teen book club.  I don't know that there is enough literary substance there to make it a teachable book for a whole class, but as a way to get reluctant teen readers to read and discuss what they are thinking it would be great.  What I think could produce the most discussion in a book club setting is the re-ordering of society.  I loved the fact that only the selfless could go into leadership and public service-makes what's happening in today's political culture seem small-minded.  And I imagine that a good discussion could also center around which faction the people in the group would choose.  I know what my answer is, and it is not Dauntless, that's for sure.  

Like most YA fiction, there is a love story.  What I appreciated about it was that it appeared to be an even partnership, with each person having power in the relationship and neither one having to change who they were to be together.  I also appreciated that it did not become the focus for the action of the story.  It was great that they fell in love, but it was not the main driver for why they did the things they did in trying to save their city.  It also did not completely conform to gender role stereotypes.  Tris, though diminutive in physical stature, was both strong and sometimes cold in her ability to do what needed to be done, which is often a masculine trait in media.  Tobias, while physically strong and skilled, was often shown as being emotionally vulnerable-a female trait, according to society.  


The ending was very up in the air, so don't expect a tidy conclusion.  But the second book in the series, Insurgent, came out May 1st, so if you are the kind of person who needs to know now, I suggest you buy both books together!

Unwind, by Neal Shusterman

Title:  Unwind
Author:  Neal Shusterman
Publisher:  Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
Year:  2007
Pages:  352
Genre:  Science Fiction, Dystpoian
Themes:  Reproductive Rights, Ethics, Morality, Survival, Identity
Age Levels:  7th-10th Grade


Summary:

Set in the future, the second civil war is fought over abortion. To end the war, a compromise is reached that ends the practice of abortion but creates an alternative called "unwinding." Between the ages of 13 and 17, parents or guardians can choose to have their children unwound, which involves having every part of their bodies harvested to be "donated" to another person so, technically, they don't really die. The complex and compelling plot follows three teens whose stories intertwine when they escape while on their way to the harvest camps. Fifteen-year-old Connor's parents can no longer control him. Lev, a tithe, was raised by religious parents for the sole purpose of being unwound. Risa, a ward of the state, is a victim of shrinking budgets since she is not a talented enough musician to be kept alive. (From School Library Journal)

Review:
My first thought upon finishing this book (in practically one sitting, I might add) was "Holy crap!".  Not the most literary of sentiments, I realize, but I was so blown away by this story that "Holy crap" was as articulate as I could get.

When  this book was first recommended to me by a close friend, I was a little bit concerned about the subject matter.  Not that I consider myself squeamish, nor and I averse to a good debate over something I feel strongly about, like a woman's right to choose-I was more afraid that the book would come off as preachy, which is something I find pretty abhorrent in a book (though less so when the author's preachiness agrees with me!).  I was assured by my (many) friends who had read Unwind that was not the case, and they were 100% right (I can hear them all saying, "Of course we were, stupid!"-well, maybe without the stupid part!)  In fact, after reading the entire book I'm not sure where Shusterman himself would come down on the subject of reproductive rights-but I do know how he feels about respecting and protecting  the children already here.

Shusterman's characters are well-drawn, and sympathetic while still being flawed, each in their own way.  Connor, the character who sets the rest of the events in motion, is a perfect example of a good kid gone bad through lack of impulse control.  I see two or three of those go through my classroom every year.  Risa is actually the most functional of the three youth, which is ironic given the fact that she spent her entire life in a state youth home with no family.  Lev is the one that got to me the most-a boy raised from birth to believe that he was destined to honor God by allowing himself to be "tithed" to the church by being unwound.  Let's see, young men raised to believe that it is an honor to die for their religious beliefs-sound familiar to anyone?

Obviously the whole concept of unwinding could lead to some pretty intense discussion of morality, ethics, and the existence and/or nature of the soul.  But there are points all along the way to take that discussion into different directions.  What about the doctors?  Don't they take and oath to do no harm?  What happens to the parents?  What kind of belief about the sanctity of life does unwinding lead to in the society?  Do people seem to value life more or less as a result of storking and unwinding?  Should people be allowed to pay for body parts?  Should scientists do something, like the neurobonding in the book, just because they can, or is there a higher ethical standard to meet.  This book has a ton of different ways you could go.

Teacher Resources:
Simon and Schuster Reading Guide
Teachervision Reading Group Guide
 eNotes Study Guide

Forest of Hands and Teeth, Carrie Ryan

Title:  Forest of Hands and Teeth
Author:  Carrie Ryan
Publisher:  Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Year:  2009
Pages:  320
Genre:  Dystopian Science Fiction
Themes:  Survival, First Love
Age Levels:  7th through 12th Grade


Summary:
Mary knows little about the past and why the world now contains two types of people: those in her village and the undead outside the fence, who prey upon the flesh of the living. The Sisters protect their village and provide for the continuance of the human race. After her mother is bitten and joins the Unconsecrated, Mary is sent to the Sisters to be prepared for marriage to her friend Harry. But then the fences are breached and the life she has known is gone forever. Mary; Harry; Travis, whom Mary loves but who is betrothed to her best friend; her brother and his wife; and an orphaned boy set out into the unknown to search for safety, answers to their questions, and a reason to go on living.
(From School Library Journal)

Review:
If you liked M. Night Shyamalan's movie The Village, and you like zombies, then you will probably like this book.  While I enjoyed this book, I'm not sure that I would say that it is one of the best examples of dystopian young adult literature that I've read.  There were moments when it had similar suspense to Hunger Games, but without the emotional impact.  It had elements of the drudgery of The Road, but without the masterful use of language.  All in all, I think that this book (and the ones that follow) would be best used as part of a larger unit on dystopian literature, perhaps as a choice book for students to read after studying Hunger Games or Life as We Knew It.

Mockingjay, by Suzanne Collins

At last the wait is over!  Wednesday evening, I came home from class to find my copy of Mockingjay waiting for me in the mail. 

In case you have been living under a rock when it comes to the latest in young adult literature, Mockingjay is the last book in the Hunger Games trilogy.  I reviewed the first two books in the series, The Hunger Games and Catching Fire here.  The trilogy tells the story of Katniss Everdeen, a 16 year old living in District 12 of Panem-what was once the United States.  Her life, and the lives of everyone in the districts, is closely controlled by the Capitol.  The populace is left half-starved and completely oppressed.  Once a year, just to prove how powerful it is, the Capitol puts on the Hunger Games, in which teen-age tributes fight to the death to earn their districts extra food for the year.  The event is televised all through Panem, and is required watching.  When Katniss, who volunteers to be a tribute to save her younger sister, finds a way to outsmart the system, she becomes a threat to the Capitol, and sets in motion a chain of events that leads to an uprising.

(If you have not yet read The Hunger Games and Catching Fire, and want to, I suggest you stop reading now, as I cannot guarantee there will be no spoilers in the following review.  You have been warned!)

This is where Mockingjay picks up.  While Katniss deals with the physical and emotional aftermath of her time in the games, the rebels try to groom her to be their symbol-the mockingjay, which has come to mean freedom to the people of Panem.  Katniss is ambivalent about being used by the rebels, and is desperately worried about Peeta, the second tribute from District 12, who was captured at the end of the Hunger Game in Catching Fire.  Finally, her desire for revenge against the cruel President Snow causes her to throw in the with rebels.  With her best friend Gale by her side, she tries to outsmart the Capitol-and the rebels-in order to avenge the brutalities visited on her, her family and friends, and her district, and maybe just free Panem from tyranny while she's at it.

That summary feels pretty weak, but I am afraid that saying too much will ruin something for someone, so it'll have to do.  Because the fact is, if you know too much about the events of the book prior to reading, there is no way that the story can pack the same emotional wallop that it does on a cold read.  I was wrung out after finishing-in a good way, if there is such a thing.  Granted, I pretty much read it all in one sitting, but I don't know how I could have put it down.  And I am not really going to go into the state of the Peeta/Katniss/Gale triangle.  That, too me, is the least that this series has to offer.  Suffice it to say that regardless of what "team" you are one (and could we stop making everything about teams, like it's the Superbowl or something!), you will find very few happy endings in Mockingjay.

What made this book feel different for me than other books with similar topics is the way that the horrors of war are portrayed.  There is no sentimentality here.  All of the characters, but Katniss, Gale, and Peeta especially, are horribly damaged by the war-body, mind, and spirit.  Collins does not try to sugarcoat the effects of war on human beings.  People go crazy, people are wounded, people die.  For periods of the book some of the characters are basically living on anti-depressants and other psychiatric drugs.  I don't see how anyone reading this book could possibly believe that war is somehow glamorous, as some books/movies seem to imply.  Despite the horror and pain, Katniss and the others somehow manage to keep going-a greater testament to the human spirit than the glorified warriors of other novels, I think.

I also liked the theme of media manipulation.  Both the Capitol and the rebels use propaganda films to sway the populace.  There is a certain amount of "wagging the dog", and ultimately the novel shows how almost anything can be spun to prove almost anything.  I think that is not so different than what happens in today's media.  Just think about a political campaign.  There is so much conflicting information presented in campaign ads, it is impossible for both sides to be telling the truth.  Or think about famous scandals.  A well placed apology or public conversion can change a scoundrel into a repentant saint  we are all too quick to forgive-especially if they shoot a basketball real well or starred in a movie we really liked.  The fact was that no one who wasn't "in on it" had any idea what the true agendas of either the Capitol or the rebels were, including Katniss, who was once again manipulated for someone else's purposes.

This World We Live In, by Susan Beth Pfeffer

Title:  This World We Live In
Author:  Susan Beth Pfeffer
Publisher:  Harcourt Children's Books
Year:  2010
Pages:  256
Genre:  Science Fiction/Dystopian
Age Level:  7th Grade and Up




Plot Summary:
This World We Live In continues the story of two families after a meteor hits the moon, changing its orbit and causing its new gravitational pull to start tsunamis, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions all over the world.  The narrator of this book is the same as the first book in the trilogy, Life As We Knew It, Miranda.  Her family-her mother, two brothers, and cat-have survived the winter, with the help of the food the government has been delivering to people still living in her area.  Most of the people in their small town have either left or died.  The weather is getting marginally warmer, and the days are longer, if still gray with volcanic ash.  They occasionally have electricity for a few hours at a time.  During one of those days when the electricity is working, something miraculous happens-the doorbell rings.  Standing outside are Miranda's father, step-mother, new baby brother, and a small band of survivors, including a boy about Miranda's age named Alex.  The two groups try to decide how to live on the extremely limited resources they have, and start sending the young people out to scavenge in empty houses for anything usable.  Miranda soon realizes she has feelings for Alex, and when a tornado rips through what is left of their town, she is forced to make a decision that could change all of their lives.

Review:
When I read Life As We Knew It, I literally could not put it down.   The story of Miranda's family was fascinating to me.  One of the things I loved about the first book was the way that Pfeffer showed that there would be a slow breaking down of society, and I especially liked that she did not write a story about how suddenly we would all turn into raving lunatics with guns shooting each other over a can of cat food, which is what so many dystopian novels or movies portray.  I personally think that humanity is better than that.

This book was just as gripping, but much less satisfying in the end.  Once again Pfeffer's writing style, and the authenticity of Miranda's character, made me feel like I was reading a real journal by a real person.  Sometimes that format can feel contrived, but not in this case.  I was glad for the addition of new characters-while the first book showed the slow narrowing of their world to just the sunroom and the four of them, this novel highlighted our need to be part of community.  I did not read the second book in the trilogy, The Dead and the Gone, so I'm sure that some of my disappointment is due to not knowing what happened to Alex and his sister Julie before they joined up with Miranda's father and his group.  Because after getting every detail of every day of the beginning of the crisis, things seemed to jump around a lot in the second half of this book.  I couldn't understand why Alex was so insistent not to stay with the group, or why Miranda's step-mother was so attached to Julie.  But that slight dissatisfaction, of my own making, really for not reading the second book, was nothing compared to the end.  I want more!  I want to know where they go and what happens to them!  I searched the internet last night looking for anything that could tell me if this series is going to continue, and given that everything I found-including the author's blog-lists it as a trilogy I guess I'm out of luck. From a teacher's perspective this is not necessarily a bad thing-it can lead to great discussions and writing projects about what becomes of them and America in the future.  But from a reader's point of view-I'll always wonder what became of them.

Teacher Resources:

Official Readers Guide for Trilogy  

This World We Live In Book Trailer 

Interview with Susan Beth Pfeffer 

Life As We Knew It, Susan Beth Pfeffer

Title:  Life As We Knew It
Author:  Susan Beth Pfeffer
Publisher:  Harcourt Children's Books
Year:  2006
Genre:  Science Fiction/Dystopia
Age Level:  6th-12th Grade




Plot Summary:
At the end of her sophomore year in high school, it seemed as though all Miranda's teachers could talk about was the impending collision of a meteor with the moon.  But that event barely registered with Miranda-like most 16 year olds she was more concerned with boys, her friends, and getting her driver's license.  But when the collision occurs, much more powerful than anyone predicted, it causes the moon to go off it's axis.  This in turn causes tsunamis, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and drastic weather changes.  As the things that Miranda has always taken for granted start to disappear (like electricity, fresh food, and water), she is at turns angry, petulant, and finally resigned to the fact that life as she knew it is over.  But she discovers that she is stronger than she imagined as she discovers what this new life might be about.

Review: 
My book club decided to read this book, plus In a Perfect World by Laura Kasischke, as our August book clib books.  So while most book clubs were probably reading light, beachy reads, we were reading about the end of civilization as we know it-TWICE!  As my best friend said, it sort of made you want to start hording canned food and bottled water by the time you were done.  But both books were so well done that I can't really complain too much about the subject matter.

As the mother of a 16 year old myself I can tell you that Miranda's voice on this book rings completely true.  At times completely self-absorbed, and at others seeming too mature for her age, Miranda deals with the crisis in the context of the things she knows best-her friends, her school, her family.  Like In a Perfect World, this story is really a multi-layered structure.  There is the science fiction story of the crisis and it's aftermath, there is the family drama of Miranda's relationship with her mother and father, who is remarried and not living with them at the time of the meteor collision, and there is a coming-of-age story complete with that make or break moment where Miranda's ability to handle what this new life throws at her leaves her a more mature, wiser person.  Pfeffer handles all of these matters authentically and with style.

One thing that I appreciated about this novel, and the reason that I think you could use it as young as 6th grade, is that rather than show the world descending into violence and madness after the collision, it shows what I consider to be a much more realistic view of the slow disintegration of our societal institutions and culture.  People do not immediately get guns and start shooting each other over a can of tuna-though they do start to gather resources and hide them away.  People are wary of each other, but not hostile for the most part, and that feels more right to me.  Outside of urban areas where violence seems to sprout up for much less reason than food shortages, in the more rural parts of the country where the story is set, I like to believe that in the event of a crisis of this magnitude people would be more likely to try and work together and help each other than lock themselves away and shoot on sight.  Maybe that's just me being overly-optimistic, but that's what I want to believe, and maybe believing will make it true!

Teaching Resources:

Susan Beth Pfeffer Resources 

Scholastic Study Guide

Discussion Guide

The Diamond of Darkhold

So, remember a couple of weeks ago I wrote a review of People of Sparks and how I felt like City of Ember was just an appetizer for People of Sparks and I was wondering if the last book,  The Diamond of Darkhold, would be a scrumptious dessert. Well, I finished The Diamond of Darkhold, and it tasted more like a Hostess Twinkie than tiramisu. 


The Diamond of Darkhold is the final chapter in the story of Lina and Doon, two residents of the former city of Ember, current residents of the village of Sparks, the surviving remnant of a civilization that annihilated itself through greed and violence.  The story picks up during the first winter that the former residents of Ember are living in Sparks.  After living their whole lives underground, the Emberites were unprepared for the cold, rainy weather of above-ground winter.  Lina and Doon decide to return to their former home to try and find something to help their new neighbors get through the long winter months.  They find hints in an old book that the people who built their city may have left something behind, and they set out to find it.

It's not that I didn't enjoy the book, because I did (after all, Twinkies are a tasty snack!).  I just found there to be the same general lack of substance in this book as in the first, City of Ember.  The story was enjoyable, the characters were well-written, the setting was evocative-there just weren't enough universal themes for me to sink my teeth into.  People of Sparks had so much to say about the way that we as a society view outsiders, or the way people use fear to manipulate others, or the way that we solve (or fail to solve) conflicts. Diamond of Darkhold was entertaining, but ultimately it didn't really speak to any larger truths.  I realize that I read lots of things for entertainment only-I certainly don't expect existential enlightenment from a cozy mystery or formula thriller.  However, if a young adult novel is going to really grab me, given the readability level, it has to have something more to say.

The People of Sparks

Last week, I reviewed the book, City of Ember, by Jeanne DuPrau.  This YA novel focuses on the residents of the underground city of Ember, a dying city.  The heroes. Lina and Doon, find a way to save their people, if not their city.  I enjoyed it.  The setting was intriguing, the action was well paced, and the characters were relateable and well-written.  What I thought were lacking were more global, sophisticated themes that would appeal equally to adults, a la The Giver by Lois Lowry.

Then I read The People of Sparks, and it all became clear to me.  The People of Sparks picks up where City of Ember leaves off, with the Emberites traveling through the open landscape looking for other people.  They finally stumble upon a village of 300 people called Sparks.  The 400 survivors of the city of Ember are taken in by the residents of Sparks, who are themselves survivors (and the descendants of survivors) of devastating wars and plagues that swept across the globe, resulting in the loss of most of humankind.  The generosity of the villagers is tested as food and supplies become more scarce.  Acts of vandalism and graffiti contribute to an increasingly tense atmosphere, until it seems that violence is sure to erupt.  Finally, there is a showdown that will determine the future of each group, villagers and Emberites alike.

This novel is a story about immigration, and xenophobia, and war, and fear, and greed.  The villagers of Sparks act in a way that I suspect most of us would like to think we would in a similar position-when confronted with people in need they were generous and caring.  But as time goes on, and resources become more scarce (or are perceived to be more scarce, which amounts to the same thing), the people of Sparks and the Emberites are increasingly at odds.  The Emberites know that they are reliant on the villagers for support, which causes resentment.  The villagers are increasingly afraid that after years of struggle, their relative comfort is threatened by the newcomers.  Sound like the current immigration debate to anyone else?  The leaders of each group make up stories about the "others" to incite fear and anger in order to justify starting a war.  Sound at all like the lead up to Iraq, hm?   This novel is one long lesson in the absurdity of xenophobia and war.  Easy enough for middle grade readers to understand, substantive enough to be interesting to adult readers, The People of Sparks is the meat and potatoes to City of Ember's appetizer.  I can't wait to see if the last book in the series, The Diamond of Darkhold, is a scrumptious desert, or if I'll leave the table hungry.

City of Ember, Jeanne Duprau

Like The Divide, which I reviewed last week, City of Ember was an accidental book selection.  While avoiding as much work as possible after a very grueling week of meetings, I ran to my friend's classroom and chose the first book off of her shelf that I remembered her loving-City of Ember was it.  Needless to say I spent a much more enjoyable afternoon with Lina and Doon than I would have organizing the destruction the substitute did to my room!

Lina and Doon are the two protagonists of this YA novel by Jeanne DuPrau.  It is the story of the City of Ember-the only city in the world, as far as the residents know.  The sky is always black, and there are no stars or moon.  If the lights fail, there is total darkness.  And that's something that has been happening more often lately, the lights failing.  Lina and Doon, two young residents, just out of school at 12 years old with their first jobs, discover that things in Ember are even worse than everyone thinks, and they try to discover a way out of the coming darkness.

I think this book, the first in a series of four, is very well-written and engaging.  The protagonists are likable and relateable.  When Lina finds a rare set of colored pencils in a city where supplies are running low, you feel the same excitement.  The author does such a good job putting you into the scarcity of the City of Ember that when one of the characters discovers a can of peaches (considered a treat akin to dining at Le Cirque to the residents of Ember), my mouth actually tasted the sweet, syrupy, slightly metallic taste myself.  The action is well-paced, though most of the real action happens pretty quickly towards the end of the book.  It didn't feel slow to start though, because DuPrau did such a good job setting the scene and letting suspense build.

While I enjoyed this book quite a bit, and plan on reading the next one, I found that there was a lack of global themes.  In a dystopian novel such as this I expect a little bit more social commentary, even from a YA book.  But seeing the way the story arc is going, I suspect that some of that will be addressed in upcoming novels, and I am looking forward especially to reading the prequel, to find out what on earth caused this bizarre set of circumstances!  If you like YA fiction for the middle school set, you should check this series out.