The Shadow Children Series by Margaret Peterson Haddix

       

This continues to be one of my all-time favorite book series for young adults. I read them when I was in the 7th grade and I think that it was an appropriate time. The subject matter gets a bit tense at times, but overall a very good message is taught and I was ripped to pieces over these characters. In the best way possible. I strongly believe that this series knocked me into the sci-fi, dystopian, future-loving reader I am. If you take any of my reading advise, let it be in the form of this series.
So heart-wrenching.

Among the Hidden starts off with Luke, the main character, who is an illegal third child in a world where only two are allowed. Third, fourth, fifth children? If they're caught, they're killed. And thank goodness Haddix doesn't try to hide this brutality from us.

Within the series, you'll follow the original characters as well as meet new ones. There are many times when an original character is absent for a while (in terms of narration) but we always seem to come back to them one way or another. This is something I also really enjoyed and, as a writer, was able to appreciate. It's hard to develop many different view points and continue on with them well, but Haddix manages it brilliantly.
There will be times when you want to cry, want to laugh, want to punch, and want to be sick for and with these characters. Nothing is glossed over but it's done so beautifully and so appropriately that I think anyone who is at least fairly mature (for children, I'd suggest they be at least in the 4th or 5th grade -- again, maturity will vary) will be able to handle the story matter.

Please Ignore Vera Dietz by A.S. King

I'll admit, I never got to the end of this book.

Pretty much it's about Vera Dietz who has been (secretly) in love with her best friend Charlie her (entire) life. Plot twist: Charlie has recently died. Another plot twist: right before he died, Charlie betrayed Vera in a big way.

Even though I never finished reading it, I feel like I read enough to be able to state that the story
moved incredibly slow and that the main character simply was not well rounded enough for me to really care about her. Not to mention the author would not let the reader (i.e. me) know what had happened in the past -- what the BIG DEAL was with her dead friend Charlie. I kept hanging in there, each chapter thinking something might be revealed, but after about half the book, and after being disappointed time and time again, I lost all interest in finishing it. The narration repeated itself a lot and seemed to dumb down the situation for the reader -- as if it was too complicated for them to understand outright -- maybe this was a technique the author hoped would add mystery and depth to the novel........ I wasn't buying it. I was disappointed because it sounded like a good story and the writing just didn't deliver.

The 5th Wave, by Rick Yancey

This book rocked my socks while I was reading it! I received an ARC copy of this from my workplace and was sooo excited to read it. Taking it on vacation with me this past summer, I proceeded to do nothing but keep my eyes glued to these pages. When I finally looked up, at the last page, my expression was a little like this:










Seriously? I couldn't believe it had ended and I couldn't wait for more.

This narrative follows Cassie, a young girl who finds herself thrown into an apocalyptic world. Only this time, Earth is being invaded by aliens!!!!
 

On a serious note though -- the Earth has been invaded by aliens, but Cassie hasn't completely figured the ins and outs of  what to expect. Through her journey to rescue her little brother, she begins to get acquainted with her surroundings and just what it means to be in the midst of the 5th Wave. During this trek to goodness knows where, she meets Evan Walker, an Edward Cullen-esqu boy who is terribly dangerous and terribly enticing. Yancey pulls us through an engaging novel that tampers with what it means to be alone and what it means to have something to live for. Overall, though I admit it was Twilightishly eye-rollable at times, I really enjoyed this book.

The Maze Runner Series, by James Dashner

This series was: WAY awesome!! A little hard to get into at first, but if you get someone whose taste you trust to recommend it, you should definitely give it a try because odds are, you'll enjoy it! At times it's quite the stress inducer and takes a lot of brain power to keep up but it's all worth it in the end. The characters are extremely likable, very engaging and all have great, unique and diverse personalities.

The Maze Runner starts off with Thomas who has just woken up in a small black box -- unable to remember much of anything about how he got there, why he's there, or what his life consisted of before being in the box. When the doors of the box are opened, Thomas finds a slew of other boys, some his age, some older, some younger, who welcome him into the giant stone-walled-fortress that they've named the Glade. Thomas is thoroughly confused and desperately afraid that everything he thinks about what life should be has been destroyed. None of the other Gladers seem to know anymore about this world than he does; all they do know is this: in the morning the giant stone doors open, and in the evening the giant stone doors close. And no one makes it over night outside the Glade in the maze.

What unfolds in this epic story of friendship and determination is something you should find out for yourself. It's filled with boyish bickering, young love, action, adventure, and  a fair bit of heartache.

My only warning is this: If you've found that you love the first three, consider your options before going on and reading The Kill Order, Dashner's follow-up that takes a look into another side of the story. I found that I was highly disappointed because it displays new characters I had not developed any kind of emotions for. It it were up to me -- and since I'm writing this for you, dear reader, I will suggest away -- I would say don't bother with the last one. Leave it at Death Cure. The mystery might be agonizing, but it's nicer to be left wanting more than to be disappointed with what you're given.

But GET THIS! They're also making it into a movie that will be coming out in theaters February, 2014. 

It looks like they're doing a pretty freaking good job with this so far. I'll definitely be excited to go watch all the action unfold on the big screen!

Overall, a definite GO! for James Dashner's The Maze Runner series.

Waiting for Winter, by Sebastian Meschenmoser

First of all, this is a picture book -- not a novel. However, have no fear, it's still just as amazing!

The illustrations in this book are, get this: Life. Changing. Really, they're amazing and made me giggle so loudly that I am pretty sure the woman across from me was giving me the evil eye. All is well, though. I did not give her one back because I assumed she was not familiar with the splendor that comes alongside reading this spectacular title. If you're looking for a quickly accessed smile that will last you all day, definitely pick up a copy of Waiting for Winter! It's the tail of a squirrel, a bear, and a porcupine who decide to "wait up" and see what snow looks like. Positively adorable. Definitely one of my favorite books for that time when winter is just around the corner.

Eve by Anna Carey

Overall, this book was just alright. The main protagonist  Eve, was starting to get on my nerves and I was becoming confused with what to think of her as a character. At first I found her very annoying and didn't care for her at all. She was naive but I don't even think it was a fault of the character, rather a fault of the author for not making the situation, or rather the conflict, clear and powerful enough to where I believed that anyone would buy into this mindset. I honestly felt like I was reading something a student would have turned in for one of my college level courses. It was by no means bad and had some very strong characters and scenes, but I don't think that Carey spent enough time developing it and making it something completely of her own for me to be able to separate it from the real world and enjoy it. Nonetheless, I would rate it 3 out of 5 stars. There was something good about it; if nothing else, I read it in about a day so it was quick and pretty well written. 

The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

This book absolutely drove me insane. I am still hardly sure as to why I finished reading it. Between the annoying narrator who just complains all the time and the absurdly confused sense of time itself, I found myself losing patience frequently. I have to admit that I did listen to the audio. It is possible that part of my irritation came from the reader's voice, but after getting my hands on a print copy, I was too far in for there to be real redeeming qualities. 
I was really surprised to find that the relationships were so loosely developed. Honestly, there was a lot of potential for this book and I had set my hopes pretty high after hearing so many praises for it. Carrie Ryan just didn't handle the writing as best she could. 
Then I got hung up on the little things, which maybe discredits my credibility... but on more than one occasion I found myself talking back to my radio in exasperated disbelief; I had a hard time believing that people would be so closed-minded in this "end-of-the-world" kind of situation. Really, Mary? You can't just drop it about the ocean? Humanity is practically gone and I understand that you've been looking forward to seeing the ocean for a long time but suck it up and take one for the team. And the whole love-triangle-that's-more-like-a-square thing? Harry Travis Harry Travis Harry Travis... Cass? When do we ever see real evidence of having any real relationship with any of them? We don't. Not the kind that really express what Ryan is trying to lead us to feel at least. I'm just saying I would have loved to buy into it if there had been anything worth purchasing. 
The only real way to determine what you think of the book is to read it for yourself though. So have at it. Just don't listen to the BCD.