Archive for Science Fiction

Promising Bloom & Giveaway: The 5th Wave

February 7, 2013 · Filed under Contest, Dystopia, Fiction, High School, Novels, Promising Blooms, Science Fiction · Tagged , , ,

5thwaveblog_promisingblooms_iconThe 5th Wave by Rick Yancey. May 2013. 9780399162411. Gr. 9-12

It has been a while since we declared a book a Promising Bloom, but we just can’t resist with Rick Yancey’s upcoming book, The 5th Wave.  It doesn’t come out until May 2013, so you have a few months to wait.  Once you get your hands on it, though, you won’t want to put it down.  I know I didn’t.

The book begins with a quote from Stephen Hawking:

“If aliens ever visit us, I think the outcome would be much as when Christopher Columbus first landed in America, which didn’t turn out very well for the Native Americans.”

Forget all alien movies you’ve seen or the science fiction novels you’ve read about the aliens we’d like to visit us.  In The 5th Wave, the aliens aren’t cute or nice.  They aren’t here to make friends with us or share their superior technology.  They are here to destroy us, and they seem to know just how to do it.  As each wave of attack devastates the earth’s population, the survivors are forced to remake their lives with whatever is left.  The first wave left them without the technology on which they’ve come to rely.  The second and third waves took many lives and homes.  Cassie has managed to stay alive through each wave, but now she’s on her own with no one to trust.  You can’t trust anyone anymore, not after the fourth wave.

This is a science-fiction-adventure-thriller that will have wide appeal among teens looking for action.  But it’s also a novel about courage, love, and identity that explores big questions about what it means to be human.

Don’t want to wait until May to read it?  We have good news!  We have two signed advance copies to give away to Books in Bloom readers! 

  • To enter, leave a comment on this post with your favorite alien or UFO related book or movie
  • Contest is open until midnight tonight (Thursday, February 7th)
  • We’ll choose two winners on Friday morning with help from Random.org

Good luck!

MindyBlogger:  Mindy R.

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Book Review: False Memory

January 25, 2013 · Filed under Fiction, Middle School (6-8), Novels, Primary (K-2), Reviews, Science Fiction · Tagged , , ,

False Memory by Dan Krokos. August 2012. 9781423149767. Gr. 7-12.

Imagine waking up on a park bench with no memory of how you got there.  You intuitively know your name and how old you are, but are shocked to see the foreign face looking back at you when you peer into a public restroom mirror.

As if this isn’t troubling enough, when you seek out a mall security guard for help, he becomes suspicious and when he puts his hands on you to usher you out of the mall, your body reacts by instinctively performing a martial-arts style move and flipping him head-over-heels to the ground.  But the most troubling part of this scenario is yet to come.  When you go to stop the guard from Tasering you, you somehow radiate waves from inside your head that causes complete and utter panic and fear in the guard and everyone near you.  People launch themselves down stairwells and trample one another to escape, leaving behind a landscape that is littered with dead and injured people that just moments ago were going about their business, shopping, eating, and chatting with each other.

This is the harrowing experience of Miranda North, the central character in False Memory.  She then meets Peter in the mall, and he seems to be the only one not affected by her psychic ability.  He tells her that he knows who she is and why she has affected people’s minds.  But, Miranda, with her lost memory, has no frame of reference for anything, including Peter.  Can she trust him?

Peter tells Miranda that she is part of a highly trained team of teens that have been engineered to be lethal weapons.  A side effect of her psychic powers is that she has to take a periodic injection in order to preserve her memories, and the lack of this shot is obviously the cause of her current memory loss, but there are questions to be answered about why she was not given her shot.  At every turn, she wonders if she trusts the right people, as they may be manipulating her to suit their own needs.  In addition, some memories are returning to her in bits and pieces, and this both clarifies and confuses her thoughts further.  She embarks on a mission with her team to find out what they are being trained for, and for whom they will be working.

False Memory is a mind-bending, fast-paced thrill ride that is full of twists.  There is a romantic subplot thrown in for good measure, but the heart of this book is the action-packed adventure of a strong and smart heroine.  A cliffhanger ending that foreshadows book number two in the series will make readers want to seek out the next book.

Check out the awesome book trailer for False Memory, then use your brainwaves not for evil, but to read this book!

Ryan

Blogger: Ryan H.

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Want to Live Forever?

August 30, 2012 · Filed under Fiction, High School, Middle School (6-8), Mystery, Novels, Science Fiction · Tagged , , , , , , ,

Personally, I wouldn’t want to live forever (seems like it would get kinda long), but I’ve recently read a couple books that make the possibility intriguing.  No, these aren’t vampires or werewolves or any other kind of mystical creature that lives forever.  These books explore the possibility of living forever through scientific discovery, which I found very refreshing.  Another thing I love about these books…they are both stand-alones!  I love a good series as much as the next reader, but it’s so nice to read a book that starts and finishes all in one novel once in awhile.

Origin by Jessica Khoury. 9781595145956.  Coming out September 4th, 2012.  Grades 9-12.  (ARC Copy)

Pia is one of a kind, literally. Raised deep in the Amazonian rainforest on a restricted compound, she is the creation of a team of scientist striving to create an immortal race. The night of her 17th birthday, Pia discovers a way out of the compound and decides to explore the surrounding jungle. There she meets Eio, a local village boy, who helps her uncover secrets behind the scientists’ experiments. Readers who love science fiction and mystery will be tearing through the pages from this debut novelist.

I loved the mystery of this novel.  You know something sinister is going on within the compound, but I never guessed what it was until the author revealed it.  That kept me on the edge of my seat throughout the story.  Pia was also a believable character whose growth and self-realization was, in my opinion, realistically portrayed.  The romance was a little quick, but that can easily be overlooked by all the other great elements of this story.

Revived by Cat Patrick.  9780316094627.  2012.  Grades 7-12.  (ARC Copy)

Daisy Appleby has died five times in the last fifteen years. She is brought back to life each time with Revive, a drug created by a secret government agency. After her last brush with death, Daisy and the agents who monitor her move to Omaha, Nebraska for a fresh start. There she meets siblings Audrey and Matt. When her friendship with Matt turns deeper, and she finds out Audrey’s secret, Daisy starts to question the moral implications of Revive and the true intentions of the agency who created it.

Technically Daisy isn’t immortal, but since she can overcome death, I thought it still went with the theme of the post.  This novel had a good blend of romance, mystery, action mixed with everyday teen issues.  When they move to Nebraska, Daisy allows herself to connect with peers for the first time, and doing so makes her start questioning the life she’s been given due to the Revive drug.  The romance was sweet and realistically portrayed.  I thought all of the characters were done well actually.  This is a great read for anyone looking for science fiction that feels realistic…with a little romance thrown in.

Lindsey L.

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Book Review: POD

July 26, 2012 · Filed under Fiction, High School, Middle School (6-8), Novels, Reviews, Science Fiction · Tagged , ,

POD by Stephen Wallenfels. 2012. 9781937007430. Gr 7-12.

An alien invasion story that doesn’t focus on the aliens?  You might say that would be a bland idea for a book, but in Stephen Wallenfels’ new book, POD, the aliens take a back seat to the plight of the humans trying to survive the invasion. The result is a tense and harrowing tale that is completely riveting.

POD centers on two main characters in different locations:

  • Josh, a typical teenage boy in Washington whose usual worries are about chemistry midterms and his girlfriend.
  • Megs, a 12-year old girl in Los Angeles who has led a more difficult life, with her mom having left an abusive relationship, embarking on a cross-country trip to escape her boyfriend.  They have little money left, and a whole lot of uncertainty in their future.

The action starts fast, and the narrative is told in chapters alternating between their individual situations.  A violent, ear-shattering screech is the first sign that something is terribly wrong.  People soon see that hundreds of spinning black spheres hover over the Earth, as far as they can see.  Josh names them PODs, in the following passage:

“I call them PODs, short for Pearls of Death.  They’re pearls because they remind me of a pair of dangly earrings I bought Mom for Christmas last year.  Each earring had a single pearl—round, smooth, and inky black.  They weren’t very big, but if you looked at them just right, they seemed to shine with a mysterious, translucent light.”

Josh comes up with that description shortly after witnessing the power of the PODs.  Looking out his window, he realizes that the aliens are “deleting” anyone who ventures out of their house.  In a blinding flash of light, he sees a neighborhood girl disappear before his eyes.

It becomes painfully obvious that all of humankind is now confined to their homes, or whatever shelter they happen to be occupying at the time of the invasion.  For Megs, this happens to be a parking garage adjacent to a hotel.  Since they didn’t have any money, her mom has gone off on a dubious job interview, and instructs Megs not to leave the car.

Josh is trapped inside his house with his protective father, as his mother had left for a business trip prior to the invasion.  Although Josh initially doesn’t take the situation very seriously, his father immediately begins formulating a survival plan, charting the POD numbers and rationing food and water.

The story quickly becomes one of survival, resourcefulness, and sacrifice.  Megs has to dodge and outsmart opportunistic thugs who take over the parking ramp and hotel, and who control the food and water supply.  Josh deals with his own issues of diminishing resources, often sharing with his father a meal of powdered milk and a can of beans.  The aliens also knock out all electronics, so the isolation becomes even greater, and Josh and his dad are forced to use candles for light and board games for entertainment.

Alien invasion is obviously not a new phenomenon in the science fiction genre.  In books, movies, and other entertainment, it has played a prominent role in the genre. From H.G. Wells’ War of the Worlds (1898) to Hollywood’s Independence Day (1996), alien invasions have enthralled us.  Wallenfels’ POD puts a new spin on the scenario, and focuses on the spirit of, and relationships between, people as they struggle to survive.  So, as long as you aren’t expecting Will Smith to show up and kick the aliens back to where they came, I think you will really enjoy this book!

Blogger: Ryan H.

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Books with covers that BOYS will actually pick up…

June 11, 2012 · Filed under Dystopia, Fantasy, Fiction, High School, Historical, Middle School (6-8), Mystery, Novels, Realistic, Science Fiction · Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

I think we’ve all noticed the YA trend with beautiful girls on the cover, usually in elaborate gowns with long flowing hair.  Now I love these books as much as the next person, but it got me thinking…what about boy readers?  The middle and high school boys I know would never walk around school with books that have those type of covers.  Like these for example…

The tragic thing is that these books are told from alternating perspectives from both a female and male character.  But a boy reader would never guess that by the cover.  So I’ve taken it upon myself to search out great books that also have covers that boys won’t have to hide.

Article 5 by Kristen Simmons.  January 2012.  9780765329585.  Gr. 9-12.  Set in a dystopian future, the Bill of Rights are a thing of the past replaced by the Moral Statutes and the Church of America.  Ember was born out of wedlock and therefore considered a non-citizen.  She’s kept a low profile her whole life, until her mother is arrested by the one boy Ember cares about.

BZRK by Michael Grant.  February 2012.  9781606843123.  Gr. 9-Adult.  Grant steps away from his Gone series to launch this sci-fi spy series.  Set in the near future, BZRK is about control over the human mind.  Armstrong Fancy Gifts Corp. wants to create their own utopia by removing free will with the use of nanobot technology.  Only the BZRK group consisting of teens can stop them and their evil plans.  Like in his Gone series, Grant doesn’t shy away from violence and moral dilemmas in this new action-packed series.  Read Ryan’s full review here.

Final Four by Paul Volponi.  March 2012.  9780670012640.  Gr. 9-12.  Told through flashbacks, journal entries, newspaper accounts and TV interviews, this story focuses on four basketball players facing off in the Final Four of the NCAA Basketball Tournament.  Volponi looks behind the scenes at the realistic and gritty world of college basketball  Put this book in the hands of any basketball fan.

Froi of the Exiles by Melina Marchetta.  March 2012.  9780763647599.  Gr. 9-12.  Set three years after Finnikin of the Rock this story focuses on Froi.  Froi and the other exiles are recovering from the terrible curse placed on Lumatere, when disturbing news of another mysterious curse comes from the kingdom of Charyn, Lumatere’s enemy.  Froi is sent to investigate, and what he finds will change his life forever.  This is personally one of my favorite books of 2012 so far and should be given to any fantasy lover.

Legend by Marie Lu.  November 2011.  9780399256752.  Gr. 8-12.  In my opinion, this is the best dystopian novel to come out since The Hunger Games.  You have the over-controlling government, a rebel who threatens the system, and a girl who discovers the truth about the society in which she lives.  To read more about this title, check out my full review.  Give this to any fans of The Hunger Games and dystopian thrillers.

No Safety in Numbers by Dayna Lorentz.  May 2012.  9780803738737.  Gr. 7-12.  Lorentz debuts with a tension-packed thriller about a biohazard released in a mall.  Told from four teen’s perspectives, readers witness the breakdown of society when people are trapped in a small space in an emergency situation.

Ripper by Stephan Petrucha.  March 2012.  9780399255243.  Gr. 7-12.  Set in New York in 1895, Carver Young, an orphan and aspiring detective, is trying to figure out the identity of his father.  Apprenticed to an ex-Pinkerton agent and with the use of steampunk-like gadgets, Carver uncovers his father’s identity, much to his horror.  To read more about this book, check out my full review.

Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo.  June 2012.  9780805094596.  Gr. 8-12.  In her thrilling debut, Bardugo uses Russian and Slavic myth and culture to create a new world.  Alina Starkov is a cartographer’s assistant in the army of the Ravka nation when a mission goes terribly wrong.  To save her best friend, Alina discovers she has the power to summon light, a rare ability.  Quickly taken in by the magical elite Grisha, Alina tries to navigate her way through the dangerous politics of the order…and discovers she may be more important than she ever realized.

Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater.  October 2011.  9780545224901.  Gr. 9-12.  This Printz Honor winner features a thrilling horse race with monstrous horses and a boy and a girl who have everything to lose.  Sean and Kate (Puck) risk everything when they enter this year’s annual water horse race.  Sean agrees to help Puck, and the two become closer as the race approaches.  But there can only be one winner.  To read more about this fantastic title, check out Tracey’s review.

The Vindico by Wesley King.  June 2012.  9780399256547.  Gr. 8-12.  The League of Heroes and the Vindico have been facing off in the age-old fight of superheroes vs. supervillians.  But the members of the Vindico aren’t as young as they used to be, so they devise an evil plan to kidnap teenagers and teach them to be the next generation of supervillians.  The five teens held captive become friends and plot their escape.  But as they learn more about their captors, they learn that the fight between superheroes vs. supervillians isn’t as black and white as they thought.

Hopefully these titles give you some new ideas of books to give your male readers that they won’t have to hide behind other covers!

Lindsey L.

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So long, Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, Goodnight – Kristin’s “Au Revoir” Post

May 28, 2012 · Filed under Author Interview, Dystopia, Fantasy, Fiction, High School, Humor, Intermediate (3-5), Magic, Middle School (6-8), Nonfiction, Novels, Paranormal, Picture Books, Poetry, Primary (K-2), Reviews, Romance, Science Fiction

There’s a sad sort of clanging from the clock in the hall

And the bells in the steeple too

And up in the nursery an absurd little bird

Is popping out to say, “Cuckoo”

Regretfully they tell us but firmly they compel us

To say goodbye to you

I thought that the beautiful music from one of my favorite musicals, The Sound of Music, would convey my message pretty well. Yes it’s true, I will no longer be a regular blogger on Mackin Books in Bloom. I have found another position that is closer to home.

I have really enjoyed my time here at Mackin, and I hope that my posts have helped to expand your collections! I have really enjoyed writing about angels, dystopian fiction, picture books, and so much more. Thanks to my fellow bloggers for giving me the unique opportunity to blog about what I already love to read! *And who knows..you might still see me every once and awhile on here!*

In closing I would just like to highlight my top 6 (you didn’t think I could do just 5, did you?) favorite posts that I did over the past year. Feel free to check them out again if you would like:

Shatter Me

-This was probably my all-time favorite novel of the year. Tahereh Mafi is uber-talented, and I cannot believe we have to wait a whole year to read her 2nd installment. This one is a ‘do not miss’!

Angels in Teen Fiction

-When I started working at Mackin, I had no idea that ‘angels’ would be so popular! Titles are still coming out such as Rapture, the final book in the Hush, Hush trilogy, Heaven, and many more. Who knew that angels would have such staying power?

Animal Poetry

-Who knew that one could get so much joy by reading a line such as this: “Nice to Meetcha! You smell delish!/Wanna share my water dish?” Being the goofy animal-lover that I am, is probably why I enjoy these much more than the average person. But, you have to admit that kids will love them too!

The Pledge

-This book is another one of my favorites from this year. It had all of the elements that I love in a novel, paranormal, fantasy, royalty, suspense..I could go on! Kimberly Derting is so gifted, and I loved my author interview with her as well. Don’t forget to check out The Essence, which comes out in January 2013. Check out the cover (below)..can you say gorgeous? I am dying to read this one, since she left us with such a cliffhanger in The Pledge.

Unlikely Animal Friendships

-I know..here we go with the animal stuff again. It fascinates me how much the animal kingdom is able to accept other species as their own. It’s heartwarming, and a little heartbreaking because I wish people would be more that way.

Last but not least: The Space Between

-Amazing doesn’t even totally compliment Brenna Yovanoff’s new novel. When she writes, she is able to completely engulf you into a world that is so unknown to you, yet familiar. Daphne is now one of my best-loved heroines, even though she is half-angel/half-demon. On a side note, Brenna’s interview was a pleasure to do. She was easy to work with and so willing to answer all of the questions I had. I cannot wait to see what she has in store for us with Paper Valentine.

Signing off…

Kristin J.

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Book Review: BZRK

May 24, 2012 · Filed under Fiction, High School, Reviews, Science Fiction · Tagged , , ,

BZRK by Michael Grant. 2012. 9781606843123. Gr 9-Adult.

Everything about this book screamed, “Pick me up! Read me!”  From the blocky, embossed copper title letters to the tagline on the front cover, which states, “In this war there are only two outcomes: Victory or Madness.”

BZRK is the brainchild of Michael Grant, who is also the co-author of the Animorphs series with his wife, Katherine Applegate, as well as author of the popular young adult series Gone.  BZRK centers around a secret organization of mostly teenaged, tech-savvy, gamer types.  They are tasked with battling for the world’s freedom, which is threatened by BZRK’s evil counterpart, the less-than-insidiously named Armstrong Fancy Gifts Corporation (AFGC).  The battle is fought primarily with nanotechnology, both biological and mechanical.  AFCG’s leaders are two of the most creative and terrifying villains I have come across.  They are conjoined twins bent on altering human minds towards their endgame of peace and harmony, at the expense of personal freedom and identity. This wicked pair works together to make for one great villain, as they inspire just the right amount of sympathy and revulsion in the reader.

AFCG plans on infesting world leaders’ minds with nanobots, controlled by “twitchers”, who are those adept at video games, and consequently, good at guiding these bots through the landscape of the human body. The nanobots eventually reach the brain and can “rewire” them to be under AFCG’s control.

All of this results in battles between BZRK and AFCG, with settings ranging from the streets of New York City to the surface of the human eye (sidenote: when nanobots are being controlled by humans on the eyeball’s surface, it is humorously referred to by BRZK members as “eye-skating”).  Grant conjures wonderful imagery of the micro-world, describing what pores, cells, and even fleas look like from a nanobot’s perspective.  Keeping up with the large cast of characters, the battles in the macro-world and micro-world, and the fast pace of the story is dizzying, but in a good way.

The word that kept coming to mind while reading BZRK was “cinematic”.  The themes of good versus evil, espionage, and bioterrorism seem tailor-made for Hollywood.  I could almost see the movie trailer and hear the sonorous voiceover as I pictured the stunning Hollywood special effects. And, sure enough, upon doing further research, I saw that BZRK has been optioned to be made into a big budget Hollywood movie.  The book has a companion website, complete with hi-definition book trailer, forums, blog, and a sharp-looking digital comic book series, among other things.  With BZRK the first book in a planned trilogy, it is poised to make a Hunger Games-like run.

Guestblogger:  Ryan H.

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Blinded Me with Science! – Science Fiction Novels for Teens

May 14, 2012 · Filed under Dystopia, Fiction, Grade Levels, High School, Middle School (6-8), Novels, Science Fiction · Tagged , , , , , , ,

Congratulations, Ms. Provence–you are the winner of an autographed copy of Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore.  Please e-mail us your address at booksinbloom@mackin.com, and we will send it out to you today.  And thank you to everyone who commented!

“She blinded me with Science”..I bet you are humming the chorus right now, since it is quite catchy! Science fiction is definitely all the rage right now (Hunger Games, anyone?), so I wanted to highlight some new titles that you may have missed. Your teens will be amazed by tales of time-travel, courageous young women, and cyborgs. Enjoy!

Tempest by Julie Cross. 2012. 9780312568894.

If you are looking for a time-travel novel that is written in blockbuster movie fashion, Tempest is your ticket! Nineteen-year-old Jackson is a normal guy, getting a college education and enjoying time with his girlfriend Holly. And he just so happens to be able to jump through time without anything changing in present time. Everything changes when Holly is shot. Jackson is transported into the year 2007 and is forced to meet Holly again for the first time.

Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver. 2012. 9780061978067.

The second installment in Oliver’s Delirium series will surely have fans eagerly awaiting the thrilling conclusion to this trilogy. Pandemonium picks right up where Delirium left off in the aftermath of Lena escaping to the Wilds. Lena is no longer the innocent, somewhat naive girl we once knew. She’s defiant and courageous—a fighter. Readers will enjoy the underlying theme of love winning out over prohibition in this amazing novel.

Cinder by Marissa Meyer. 2012. 9780312641894.

In this first book of the Lunar Chronicles, Cinder is a cyborg mechanic living in New Beijing while a plague sweeps the Earth. She is regarded as a second-class citizen with a secret past, whose life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai. Suddenly she finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle and a forbidden romance. Fans of fractured fairy-tales will love this new, futuristic twist on the classic Cinderella story.

Kristin J.

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I Will Survive! – Survival Novels in Science Fiction

March 22, 2012 · Filed under Dystopia, Fiction, High School, Novels, Science Fiction · Tagged , , , , , , ,

In honor of The Hunger Games, I just had to do a post about survival novels. And if you are wondering…yes, I am going to the midnight showing (I am that person). Survival novels have always fascinated me. The first one that I remember reading is Lord of the Flies, and being so intrigued by the whole concept of British boys on a deserted island. To this day, I always compare similar novels to my favored classic. I hope you enjoy my newest and best survival novels, and remember: “Happy Hunger Games! May the odds be ever in your favor!”

Variant by Robison Wells. 9780062026088. 2011. Gr 8-12.

Benson thinks he has won the jackpot when he finds out that he won a scholarship to attend Maxfield Academy. Little does he know that his previous situation in foster care wasn’t so bad after all. Nothing is as it seems at Maxfield Academy, and the first lesson you learn is: Trust No One. Fans of The Maze Runner series will enjoy Variant for the thrilling ride!

After the Snow by S.D. Crockett. 9780312641696. 2012. Gr 8-12.

What would it be like if winter never ended? Willo and his family live deep in the wilderness very far from the commanding eye of the government. One day, Willo arrives home to find his family gone without a trace. Not knowing if they were taken by the government or by scavengers, his survival skills are put to the ultimate test. Many hard choices will lead Willo to discover his true place in this tough, frozen world.

The Way We Fall by Megan Crewe. 9781423146162. 2012. Gr 7-12.

Coughing, hysteria and eventually death are all caused by the virus that has taken over Kaelyn’s neighborhood. Using a diary-style narrative, the reader is given an inside look at Kaelyn’s fears and thoughts as the town is quarantined. A poignant story of survival and how one girl’s courage challenges all the things she fears most.

***And don’t forget to check tomorrow to find out the third winner of our month-long anniversary contest!***

Kristin J.

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Series Review: The Maze Runner Trilogy

September 15, 2011 · Filed under Dystopia, Fiction, High School, Middle School (6-8), Reviews, Science Fiction · Tagged , , , , ,

I don’t know about you, but I think one of the worst feelings in the world is finishing an incredible book, and then realizing you have to wait an entire year for the next one to come out. Oh the agony! So I thought I would post on an amazing trilogy whose last book is coming out next month. For those of you who have not read James Dashner’s, The Maze Runner Trilogy, there’s plenty of time to read the first two books before the third one comes out, and all the action will be fresh in your mind. For those of you who have read the first two and are anxiously awaiting The Death Cure, I feel your pain, but don’t worry because the final installment makes all that agonizing waiting worth it.

Light on romance and heavy on edge-of-your-seat action, this series is perfect for upper middle school and high school boys. I would also recommend it to fans of The Hunger Games. Here’s a quick synopsis of the three books and I will try my very hardest not to include any spoilers for those of you who haven’t read this crazy awesome series yet, and I apologize in advance if any slip out. Unfortunately, that means that my descriptions might be pretty vague as the books go on.

The Maze Runner (2009) – When a group of boys pull Thomas out of a metal box, the only thing he can remember is his name. The boys and Thomas are stuck in the Glade which is surrounded by four giant stone walls with doors that close each night to protect the boys from vicious creatures called Grievers. Outside the walls is the maze, and runners go out each day to map the changes made to the maze each day. As Thomas struggles to adjust to this bizarre life, something unprecedented happens. A girl is sent to the maze uttering the words “The end is near” before falling into a comatose state. The boys discover that an organization called WICKED is behind all the madness. WICKED is testing the boys, and as conditions in the glade start to deteriorate, Thomas, Teresa, and the rest of the gladers must work together to solve the maze and escape with their lives.

The Scorch Trials (2010) – Here’s where I start getting vague. Thomas and some of the gladers have escaped the maze only to be told that they have to cross the hottest climate on earth, named The Scorch, in two weeks or they will die of a virus. Facing decapitating molten steel balls, electrical lightning, Cranks (people driven insane by the virus), and bitter betrayals, Thomas and his friends must beat the odds to survive.

The Death Cure (Coming out October 11th, 2011) – Rejoin Thomas on his quest to prove once and for all that the WICKED organization who has made his life a living hell is still lying to all of them.  They’ve survived the horrors of the maze and the brutal heat and violence of the scorch.  Now Thomas and his friends are bringing the fight to WICKED itself.  Will they be able to stop them?  Or was WICKED right all along?  James Dashner does an incredible job of wrapping up the series, and I for one wanted to go back and re-read the entire series when I finished.

So if you’re looking for some heart pounding, non-stop action, put this series on your list!

Lindsey L.

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