Mockingjay

by Suzanne Collins. Scholastic Press (2010), hardcover, 400 pages, ISBN 978-054310604.

The Final Book of The Hunger Games trilogy. Katniss Everdeen is damaged but has survived the Hunger Games. Now she has made a bargain to be the star of the rebel propaganda campaign in exchange for a chance to exact her revenge on the Capitol by assassinating President Snow.

The final book is a heavy and emotional one. Post-traumatic stress disorder and the terrors of war have shaped many of the characters. The action is not always as intense as the previous books but in many ways, I found Mockingjay to be the most believable in the depiction of the characters and choices and actions.

The Sweet Far Thing

by Libba Bray. Delacorte Press, c. 2007. Pbk. 819 pages. ISBN 978-0-440-23777-8

Final book of the Gemma Doyle Trilogy. Gemma struggles with the pressures of preparing for her debut as a young woman in London society while she works to bring order to the growing chaos in the Realms. Alliances are tested and puzzling clues cause Gemma to question who and what to trust--including her own mind.

For those who wish the trilogy wouldn't end, this 800-page plus book may satisfy. Bray leaves it open-ended and it seems possible that she may someday re-visit Gemma Doyle.

Rebel Angels

by Libba Bray. New York: Dleacorte Press, c. 2005, pbk. 548 pages. ISBN 978-0-385-73341-0

Second book in the Gemma Doyle trilogy. It is near Christmastime and Gemma and her friends are looking forward to time away from Spence Academy. But their time of celebration is clouded by the dangers brought on by Gemma's recent actions in the Realms. Now the magic is loose and many are after its power. It is now up to Gemma to find the Temple and bind the magic to restore order to the Realms. But who can she trust when so many thirst for the power?

This book is a must read for fans of the first book, A Great and Terrible Beauty. Not only is this book full of mystery and fantasy, but Bray also gives the reader an opportunity to ponder racism, classism and the roles of women in Victorian England.

Shades of Grey: The High Road to Saffron

by Jasper Fforde. New York: Viking, c. 2009. 309 pages. ISBN 9780670019632

First of a series. In Chromatacia, the Rulebook must be strictly followed. You must watch out for deadly swans and your spoon should be guarded with your life. What colors you can see decides your position in the social hierarchy of the Colortocarcy. Eddie Russett may be on his way up the social ladder if he turns out to have a high red perception. But will his curiosity in a certain defiant Grey named Jane and his interest in improving queuing get him devoured by a man-eating tree before he can marry into the Oxbloods?

The Eyeball Collector

by F.E. Higgins. New York: Feiwel and Friends, c. 2009. 251 pages.

Hector Fitzbaudly gets his wish to experience the seedier side of Urbs Umida when his father is blackmailed with a secret form his past. Finding himself penniless and homeless, Hector realizes this is not the life he wants and he decides to seek revenge. Unfortunately, the Eyeball Collector is a master of disguise! This book is called a “polyquel” by the author, as it contains elements from both The Black Book of Secrets and The Bone Magician as well as its own mysteries.

The Bone Magician

by F.E. Higgins. New York: Feiwel and Friends, c. 2008. 273 pages.

Pin Carpue is orphaned in the in the crime-ridden city of Urbs Umida after his father runs off, accused of being a murderer. Pin finds work as a corpse watcher, ensuring that the dead are truly dead before they are buried. Eventually Pin ends up living in the same boarding house as a bone magician and his assistant—who seem to be able to raise the dead! This book is dubbed as “paraquel” by the author—the story occurs at the same as the tale in The Black Book of Secrets.

The Black Book of Secrets

by F.E. Higgins. New York: Feiwel and Friends, c. 2007. 273 pages.

Ludlow Fitch is running away from his past (and some tooth-thieving parents!). He finds himself in a remote village where he becomes the assistant to a mysterious pawnbroker, Joe Zabbidou. This pawnbroker specializes in people’s secrets and Ludlow is charged with transcribing them in the Black Book of Secrets. Lucky for Ludlow and Joe, this village is full of people with dark and dangerous secrets to pawn. For fans of historically-based fiction and notably that of late 1800s in England with its many gruesome details of teeth pulling (and selling) and grave robbing.

Uglies Trilogy (books 2 & 3)

Title: Pretties
Author: Scott Westerfeld
Publication date: 2005
Number of pages: 384
Genre: young adult science fiction
Geographical setting: North America, possibly in the area of California
Time period: far into the future
Series: second in the Uglies trilogy

Plot: After her surgery to make her a Pretty, Tally Youngblood struggles against the brain lesions that work to keep her “bubble-headed” and unquestioning. She has forgotten her promise to test out the cure from the Smokies—until the delivery of the pills and the letter Tally wrote to herself. Too afraid to take the pills alone, her new boyfriend Zane convinces her to share with him. As they begin to stay focused more and more, plans are made to escape their city and find the New Smoke. Tally’s escape leads to frightening discoveries of what the Specials have been doing in the name of human progress and preservation.

Title: Specials
Author: Scott Westerfeld
Publication date: 2006
Number of pages: 384
Genre: young adult science fiction
Geographical setting: North America, possibly in the area of California
Time period: far into the future
Series: final book of the Uglies trilogy

Plot: Sixteen year old Tally Youngblood has had the surgery that has made her a part of the elite and extra-special clique, the Cutters. The Cutters have superfast reflexes and strength—and sport frightening “surges” making them look more fearsome than the regular agents of the secret police, Special Circumstances. Tally finally fits in but she still feels like something is missing. She soon finds herself struggling between what the City has made her to be and what she once was, now buried deep under all of the surgeries and manipulations.

Appeal: post-apocalyptic series for young adults; questioning of the price of popularity and fitting in/conformity; exciting descriptions of future technologies and luxuries; the Cutters slice themselves with ritual knives in order to enhance there already super-tuned reflexes and strength

Tags: brainwashing, survival, troubled teens, dystopia, science fiction, cutting, body image, plastic surgery, conformity, cliques, self-induced starvation, series, post-apocalyptic, overconsumption

If you liked Uglies Trilogy, you might enjoy: Lois Lowry’s Gathering Blue, Rodman Philbrick’s The Last Book in the Universe, John Christopher’s White Mountains, Peter Dickinon’s Eva