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Set far into the future during a time called the Traction Era (T.E.), Thunder City by Philip Reeve will enchant readers who are fascinated by video games or by the prospect of technomancers reanimating dead warriors. Reeve’s novel features a plethora of characters who share a common thread: They all connect to Miss Lavinia Torpenhow, a rescuer and history instructor known as Miss T. When the town of Thorbury is taken hostage by Gabriel Strega and its mayor murdered by the Architect, a dreadfully brilliant young man with an inquiring mind, Miss T must find a way to bring Max Angmering back to Thorbury fromRead More →

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Set in Boston where LifeCorp promises “everything you’d ever want if you’re willing to work for it” (93), The Dividing Sky by Jill Tew tells the story of the Lowers who toil for the privileged Uppers as mindless zombies hunting for their next fix of Mean. Brainwashed to believe that working hard and increasing their productivity scores will ensure “a world of value,” the Lowers find their escape in the Arcades where their brains are “seduced with oversaturated snippets to distract them from their monotonous realities” (80). Enter eighteen-year-old Liv Newman who serves as an EmoProxy, a technological oddity with the ability to record emotionalRead More →

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S.K. Ali writes a powerful story with her science fiction fantasy Fledgling. Told in eleven parts, this first book in a promised duology is about colonization, oppression, rebellions, and politics. However, it isn’t didactic, as Ali entices readers by sharing just enough to lure them in as they form their own opinions about pervasive attempts to manipulate minds with propaganda and as they form attachments to intriguing characters. Thematically, Ali develops ideas similar to George Orwell’s Thought Police and Aldous Huxley’s class system and lab-controlled intelligence while weaving in tropes from M.T. Anderson’s Feed to reveal how thinking threatens those in power and how technologyRead More →

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We humans are all broken, broken by life’s trials and tribulations, fragmented by bullies who shoot holes in our confidence, or traumatized by loss—whether a consequence of death, divorce, or some other life-altering trauma. How we respond to this brokenness forms the core of Kathleen Glasgow’s newest book, The Glass Girl. In this powerfully poignant book, Glasgow features fifteen-year-old Isabella Leahey’s relationship with alcohol.   Bella wears not only her make-up like a mask but baggy clothes “to leave room for her pain to grow” (2). Suffering from anxiety disorder, neglect, and low-confidence levels, Bella stays at the margins and tries not to think too much. Because ofRead More →

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Reminiscent of Eragon and the Inheritance Trilogy by Christopher Paolini, The Last Dragon on Mars by Scott Reintgen describes mankind’s attempt to settle on Mars, a planet that never wanted people in the first place. The planet is dying, and those left behind are picking treasure from the sand in an effort to survive. According to lore, each planet in the solar system is occupied by dragons. “[Ares] was the last dragon of Mars. His death was supposed to transform Mars into a paradise. A second version of Earth. But it didn’t work” (15). Because the planet is cursed, everything on Mars is “dead setRead More →

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An experienced mental health therapist and author, Josh Silver asks some important questions with his debut novel HappyHead. First, he wonders, whether happiness is an illusion or a notion prescribed to us by others. Ultimately, he suggests that we individually define happiness and need to resist many of the systems in place that manipulate our feelings about happiness. A dystopian thriller set in Scotland, HappyHead explores the potential for mental health to have a shady side if those designing therapy wish to use behavior modification to engineer a more nearly perfect society. While not an Aldous Huxley model, Silver does ponder the power that theRead More →

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Readers of The Champions by Kara Thomas will enter the world of high school, where dance team and football team drama runs high. In this world, the Sunnybrook Tigers are legendary, but their legacy of winning is tainted by a shady past, and in some circles, Sunnybrook is known as the Town of Death. But the town’s identity is tied to the Tigers, so a lot of people have a vested interest in protecting the town’s reputation. Therefore, when senior Hadley Daugherty dares to write an article about “The Other Champions,” the dance team athletes that include Team Captain Alix Maroney, she is ridiculed. ButRead More →

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The writing life is one focus for Francisco X. Stork in his recent novel One Last Chance to Live. It tells the story of Nico Kardos who wishes to be a great writer. However, Stork’s book is also a murder mystery that explores the purpose of life. Seventeen-year-old Nico is finishing his senior year at Stonebridge Charter School in Hunts Point, New York, and his writing teacher Mr. Cortazar has assigned the class the task of writing 500 words per day in their journals. The practice is intended to teach self-knowledge, which “will make you a better person and a better writer” (18), according toRead More →

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Whether you work your fingers to the bone operating a quern, starve yourself until you are skin and bones, or turn to cannibalism and gnaw meat to the bone when the tuckahoe is gone, Alena Bruzas’ book To the Bone captures all of these idioms. Writing in the historical fiction genre, Bruzas retells the harrowing times of 1609-1610 at James Fort when the colonists find themselves suffering. To tell her tale, Bruzas features two teens: Jane Eddowes and Ellis Folk. Jane—full of spark, vitality, wit, and defiance—loves to draw and to pursue adventure. Ellis finds herself drawn to Jane. Because she lost her parents—her motherRead More →