18 Dystopian Valentines

What is a dystopia but a love gone wrong. This list of dystopian fiction is a trove of suspenseful, adventurous, anti-valentines.  Some of them are brand new, just out of the box fresh; feel the angst, live the adventure.  Happy Valentines!  "May the odds be ever in your favor."--Hunger Games

The Hunger Games - Official Theatrical Trailer
Movie Release date: March 23, 2012

If you liked The Hunger Games, then you may like... :

 

The Diary of Pelly D, by L. J. Adlington, 2005.  When Toni V, a construction worker on a futuristic colony, finds the diary of a teenage girl whose life has been turned upside-down by holocaust-like events, he begins to question his own beliefs.

Ship Breaker, by Paolo Bacigalupi, 2010.  In a futuristic world, teen-aged Nailer scavenges copper wiring from grounded oil tankers for a living, but when he finds a beached clipper ship with a girl in the wreckage, he has to decide if he should strip the ship for its wealth or rescue the girl.

Ashes, by Ilsa Bick, 2011.  Alex, a resourceful 17-year-old running from her incurable brain tumor, Tom, who has left the war in Afghanistan, and Ellie, an angry 8-year-old, join forces after an electromagnetic pulse sweeps through the sky and kills most of the world's population, turning some of those who remain into zombies and giving the others superhuman senses.

Matched, by Ally Condie, 2010.  Cassia has always trusted the Society to make the right choices for her, so when Xander appears on-screen at her Matching ceremony, Cassia knows he is her ideal mate--until Ky Markham's face appears for an instant before the screen fades to black.

The Maze Runner, by James Dashner, 2009.  Sixteen-year-old Thomas wakes up with no memory in the middle of a maze and realizes he must work with the community in which he finds himself if he is to escape.

Little Brother, by Cory Doctorow, 2008.  After being interrogated for days by the Department of Homeland Security in the aftermath of a major terrorist attack on San Francisco,17-year-old Marcus, released into what is now a police state, decides to use his expertise in computer hacking to set things right.

The Eleventh Plague, by Jeff Hirsch, 2011.  20 years after the start of the war that caused the Collapse, 15-year-old Stephen, his father, and grandfather travel post-Collapse America scavenging, but when his grandfather dies and his father decides to risk everything to save the lives of two strangers, Stephen's life is turned upside down.

Epic, by Conor Kostick, 2007.  On New Earth, a world based on a video role-playing game, 14-year-old Erik pursuades his friends to aid him in some unusual gambits in order to save Erik's father from exile and safeguard the futures of each of their families.

Legend, by Marie Lu, 2011.  In a dark future, when North America has split into two warring nations, fifteen-year-olds Day, a famous criminal, and prodigy June, the brilliant soldier hired to capture him, discover that they have a common enemy.

The Secret Under My Skin, by Janet McNaughton, 2005.  In the year 2368, humans exist under dire environmental conditions. Blay, rescued from a work camp and chosen for a special duty, uses her love of learning to discover the truth about the planet's future and her own dark past.

Cinder, by Marissa Meyer, 2012.  As plague ravages the overcrowded Earth, observed by a ruthless lunar people, Cinder, a gifted mechanic and cyborg, becomes involved with Prince Kai and must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect the world in this futuristic take on the Cinderella story.

The Knife of Never Letting Go, by Patrick Ness, 2008.  Pursued by power-hungry Prentiss and mad minister Aaron, young Todd and Viola set out across New World searching for answers about his colony's true past and seeking a way to warn the ship bringing hopeful settlers from Old World.

Delirium, by Lauren Oliver, 2011.  Lena looks forward to receiving the government-mandated cure that prevents the delirium of love and leads to a safe, predictable, and happy life, until ninety-five days before her eighteenth birthday and her treatment, when she falls in love.

Across the Universe, by Beth Revis, 2011.  Amy, a cryogenically frozen passenger on the spaceship Godspeed, wakes up to discover that someone may have tried to murder her.

Under the Never Sky, by Veronica Rossi, 2012.  When Aria is exiled from the enclosed city of Reverie, she forms an unlikely alliance with an Outsider named Perry, who could be her only chance of survival providing they can overcome their prejudices.

Divergent, by Veronica Roth, 2011.  In a future Chicago, 16-year-old Beatrice must choose among five factions to define her identity for the rest of her life, a decision made more difficult when she discovers that she is an anomaly who does not fit into any one group.

Unwind, by Neal Shusterman, 2007.  In a future world where those between the ages of thirteen and eighteen can have their lives "unwound" and their body parts harvested for use by others, three teens go to extreme lengths to uphold their beliefs--and, perhaps, save their own lives.

All These Things I've Done, by Gabrielle Zevin, 2011.  In a future where chocolate and caffeine are contraband, teenage cellphone use is illegal, and water and paper are carefully rationed, 16-year-old Anya finds herself thrust unwillingly into the spotlight as heir apparent to an important New York City crime family.

BOOK AWARDS ANNOUNCED

Whether you prefer your fiction to be realistic, romantic, a fantasy, or a mystery, there is something here to satisfy most every taste.  Clicking on a book cover will take you to the book in the Library's online catalog, where you may place a hold, and read reviews.  The descriptions for the award winners are from the catalog. 

The 2012 Michael L. Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Literature is:

Where Things Come Back, by John Corey Whaley

Seventeen-year-old Cullen Witter's summer in Lily, Arkansas, is marked by his cousin's death by overdose, an alleged spotting of a woodpecker thought to be extinct, failed romances, and his younger brother's sudden disappearance. “Straightforward, yet increasingly complex, this novel masterfully weaves together themes of brotherhood, friendship, loss and religious obsession,” said Printz Award Committee Chair Erin Helmrich.
2012 Printz Award Honor Books:  This group of four runner ups includes: a murder mystery set in Australia; a carnivorous horse racing fantasy; a realistic humorous story about dating, souvenirs, and breaking up; and a war story set in a medieval fictional society.

2011 Massachusetts Book Awards

The Massachusetts Center for the Book, through judging committees, each year publishes a list of "Must Reads" in each of four award categories -- fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and children's/young adult literature -- that have been written by Massachusetts writers or are about Massachusetts. Then, in the Fall of each year they name a winner out of the "Must Reads" from each of the categories. The Massachusetts Center for the Book is the Commonwealth affiliate of the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress. There is a State Center for the Book in all 50 states.

2011 Young Adult Massachusetts Book Award winner:

The Other Side of Dark, by Sarah Smith.  

Since losing both of her parents, fifteen-year-old Katie can see and talk to ghosts, which makes her a loner until fellow student Law sees her drawing of a historic house and together they seek a treasure rumored to be hidden there by illegal slave-traders. Set in Boston. Part ghost story, part romance, part historical mystery.
(I gave this book 4 stars after I read it last year. It's on the 8th grade Justice Unit bibliography.)

The other 2011 Young Adult "Must Reads" include: a dark fantasy about criminals with extra sensory powers; a realistic revenge/friendship story set in New Mexico; and a survival tale of 2 boys forced into a war in Burma. Bamboo People is also on the Justice Unit bibliography.

2012 Newbery Medal Winner:

Dead End in Norvelt, by Jack Gantos.

In the historic town of Norvelt, Pennsylvania, 12-year-old Jack spends the summer of 1962 grounded for various offenses until he is assigned to help an elderly neighbor with an unusual chore involving the newly dead, molten wax, twisted promises, Girl Scout cookies, underage driving, lessons from history, typewriting, and countless bloody noses.

Click on the link below to hear a funny interview with Jack Gantos about winning the Newbery Medal and about his life, which aired this past weekend on the NPR show, Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!.

Newbery Medal Winner Jack Gantos Plays Not My Job

Find out more about Gantos and the story he tells on NPR in his autobiography :
Hole In My Life, by Jack Gantos, 2002.
The author relates how, as a young adult, he became a drug user and smuggler, was arrested, did time in prison, and eventually got out and went to college, all the while hoping to become a writer.

Start your engines: 50 BOOK CHALLENGE & COMMUNITY READ

Did you make a resolution to read more in 2012?  Would you like a fun way to keep track of the books you read this year?  Announcing the 2012: 50 Book Challenge...there might possibly (maybe) be a prize or two at the end -- though reading is its own reward.  The Challenge begins January 16, 2012.

 click here to print your 50 book challenge reading log

As you turn the ignition on the 50 Book Challenge, you may want to consider reading the companion book for the Library's 2012 Community Read; a biography from the teen collection: Farewell to Manzanar, by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston.  

Farewell to Manzanar: A True Story of Japanese American Experience During and After the World War II Internment, by Jeanne Wakatsuki Houston and James D. Houston, 1973.   This is a short, engaging biography about a young girl and her family that were sent to a Japanese internment camp in California during the 1940s.  Houston provides an opportunity to understand what it was like to live in the camp; coping with physical deprivations, and psychological difficulties within her family.  It tells the story of what happened before the family was forced to go to Manzanar, the years of living in the camp, and what happened after people were allowed to leave. Farewell lets one look in to a murky corner of American history.  I gave it 4 stars. Recommend!

 

Turn the Page

Still waiting for snow... probably won't see even one tiny crystal flake till Janus shows his baby face.  Meanwhile, let's count up the books from 2011.  This year I am weighing in at 141 total books read (131 young adult books, and 10 books from the adult collections), -- could still (probably will) squeeze one more title in before midnight this Saturday.  How do I know how many?  I track and tag what I read using LibraryThing. You could also keep track in your library account using the bookbags feature. 141 total books read in 2011, works out to two and a half books a week. Yay, kudos, tra-la-la for me.  Soooo, which ten from 2011 did I think were tops? :

Seven from the teen collection:

Three from the adult collection:

SHOW ME THE SNOW

It's winter, and I am wishing for a little snow to lighten the days.  Maybe you are too.  So, until we get some of the real thing, here are a few books for icy crystals by proxy. This chilly list is a mix of genres. Wintersmith; Stork; Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow; Snow-walker; and East; are fantasy stories.  Whiteout is a mystery.  The White Darkness, Trapped, Revolver, and Brian's Winter are suspenseful, survival, adventure stories. Let It Snow, is a romance. Emperors of the Ice is historical fiction, based on a true story. I have read and can recommend: Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow, and The White Darkness. I gave both books 4 stars. Trapped, while not a favorite of mine (I gave it 2 out of 5 stars), might appeal to those of you who enjoy survival stories.  I gave Stork, three and half out of five stars.  It is an urban fantasy that weaves Norse mythology into a small Minnesota town.  There is a sequel titled, Frost.

Brian's Winter, by Gary Paulsen, 1996. Instead of being rescued from a plane crash, as in the author's book Hatchet, this story portrays what would have happened to Brian had he been forced to survive a winter in the wilderness with only his survival pack and hatchet.

East, by Edith Pattou, 2003.  A young woman journeys to a distant castle on the back of a great white bear who is the victim of a cruel enchantment.

Emperors of the Ice: A True Story of Disaster and Survival in the Antarctic, 1910-13, by Richard Farr, 2008.  Apsley Cherry-Garrard shares his adventures as the youngest member of Robert Scott's expedition to Antarctica in the early 20th century, during which he and Edward Wilson try to learn the evolutionary history of emperor penguins. Includes historical notes.
 

Let It Snow : Three Holiday Romances, by John Green, Maureen Johnson, Lauren Myracle, 2008. In three intertwining short stories, several high school couples experience the trials and tribulations along with the joys of romance during a Christmas Eve snowstorm in a small town.

Revolver, by Marcus Sedgwick, 2010.  Finland, 1910: Fifteen-year-old Sig is shocked to see a hole in the frozen lake outside his family's cabin and to find his father's corpse nearby.  Sig's sister and stepmother go for help, leaving Sig alone with Einar's body in the cabin. Soon after, an armed stranger barges in, demanding a share of Einar's stolen gold.

Snow-walker, by Catherine Fisher, 2004.  The snow-walker Gudrun came from the swirling mists and icy depths beyond the edge of the world to rule the Jarl's people with fear and sorcery, but a small band of outlaws will fight to the death to restore the land to its rightful leader.

Sun and Moon, Ice and Snow, by Jessica Day George, 2008.  A girl travels east of the sun and west of the moon to free her beloved prince from a magic spell.

Stork, by Wendy Delsol, 2010.  After her parents' divorce, Katla and her mother move from Los Angeles to Norse Falls, Minnesota, where Kat immediately alienates two boys at her high school and, improbably, discovers a kinship with a mysterious group of elderly women--the Icelandic Stork Society--who "deliver souls."

Trapped, by Michael Northrop, 2011.  Seven high school students are stranded at their New England high school during a week-long blizzard that shuts down the power and heat, freezes the pipes, and leaves them wondering if they will survive.

The White Darkness, by Geraldine McCaughrean, 2007.  Taken to Antarctica by the man she thinks of as her uncle for what she believes to be a vacation, Symone--a troubled fourteen year old--discovers that he is dangerously obsessed with seeking Symme's Hole, an opening that supposedly leads into the center of a hollow Earth.

Whiteout, by Walter Sorrells, 2009. Sixteen-year-old Chass makes her way through a Minnesota blizzard, seeking not only the murderer of a beloved music teacher, but also something belonging to the killer who has been chasing her mother and herself around the country.

Wintersmith, by  Terry Pratchett, 2006.  When witch-in-training Tiffany Aching accidentally interrupts the Dance of the Seasons and awakens the interest of the elemental spirit of Winter, she requires the help of the six-inch-high, sword-wielding, sheep-stealing Wee Free Men to put the seasons aright.