Science Fiction

The Sandcastle Empire is a future dystopian novel dealing with the effects of global warming and the impact of classicism. This book follows a high school age girl named Eden and her escape from a work camp, discovery of an invisible island, and fight to survive in a world that has turned to the wolves. I loved this book because it focuses on what could happen in the future with global warming, the flooding of the continents, and the lack of clean water. I really enjoyed the mystery of this book and the aspect of survival in the worst situation. The author also included interesting organic technology ideas that would be interesting to actually explore in the real world. Overall, this was a phenomenal book and I would highly recommend this book for dystopian novel lovers.

"Cinder" is the first novel in Marissa Meyer's Lunar Chronicles. "Cinder" tells the story of Cinderella- with a twist. Cinder is a cyborg who lives in the future with her robot friend Iko. The story holds true to the classics fundamentals- a prince, wicked stepmother, (though only one wicked stepsister), and a royal ball- while keeping the reader on their toes with fun twists. The series is known as The Lunar Chronicles because of some vital characters. In this future, rather than populate Mars, humanity settled for a closer goal- the moon. A separate society known as Luna emerged, as well as extraordinary abilities. The main antagonist herself hails from Luna. Queen Levana is bent on a marriage alliance with The Eastern Commonwealth (modern day Asia), and Prince Kaito is doing everything he can to hold her off, while also trying to earn Cinder's affection. The Lunar Chronicles is filled to the brim with memorable characters, fun, and plot twists to keep you on the edge of your seat. I would highly recommend "Cinder" by Marissa Meyer.

Legend by Marie Lu is a dystopian novel that illustrates the story of two characters, each with a major difference that sets them apart. Born in different districts of wealth, 15 year old June is a prodigy that is on the path to becoming a military officer of the Republic. On the opposite end is the 15 year old Day, who is born within the poor districts of the Republic and is the country's most wanted criminal. When June's brother, Metias is murdered, Day is the main suspect of the murder, leading to June to seek upon to avenge her brother's death. Once June meets Day, they both begin to realize and uncover dark secrets of the Republic.

Legend is consistently full of action and suspense. With a twist of romance included, it provides a rich story with a variety of thrills and tense moments in the story. The likable characters and a well structured plot, it moves at a perfect pace that keeps the adventure enjoyable and interesting.

Reviewer Grade: 10

The second book of the Michael Vey series is not a disappointing sequel. In the book Rise of the Elgen, Michael Vey, the Protagonist is still looking for his mother. In the first book his mother had been captured by the Elgen. The Elgen are a group of people who want to take over the world. I found this book to be very unpredictable most of the time. However, there were a few times where it was not difficult to figure out what was going to happen. One of my favorite characters in this book is Ostin (pronounced like Austin).
Ostin, who is extremely intelligent, is relatable as he is gets picked on because he is a little different. Yet, Ostin is very strong minded and one of the smartest characters in the whole book. What I like most about this series is it has very original and unique characters. This book is one of the top 10 books I have read this year.

Reviewer Grade: 9

In the book The Prisoner of Cell 25, Michael Vey, the protagonist, who has the power of electricity discovers that their are others like him. He decides to find the others but Michael’s mother gets kidnapped and he must rescue her. It turns out that his mother is held at the same place as the other kids that share his powers. I picked this book because my English teacher read it to the class and I liked it so I went ahead in the book. This book was slightly predictable at points. Ostin Michael’s friend Who is very smart is relatable as he is anti social but intelligent. This book is by far the best first book in a series I have ever read.

Grade 9

Jonas knows only his community and the rules; he doesn't know what lies beyond. With the government watching everything and deciding job assignments based on the citizen's personality, little does Jonas know that his job will impact his community and himself for the rest of his life. With sad, happy, and overall crazy interactions with dreams, Jonas increases his knowledge about his communities past. With still secrets unshared, Jonas looks for answers and his method will shock you! This book will keep you on the edge of your seat and will engage you with the characters and plot line.
Reviewer Grade: 9th

Leviathan Wakes is the first novel in the science fiction series, the Expanse. It follows the stories of Jim Holden and Detective Miller as they attempt to uncover a plot to start a war within the planets. This book is incredible. Every character feels alive and unique, and you really begin to connect with them as the plot moves forward. The plot itself is stellar, and is relentless in its suspense, intrigue, and action. I would highly, highly recommend to anyone who loves science fiction, or is just looking for an amazing book to read.

Heart of Iron is an interesting Sci-fi romance. Following the adventures of Ana, her best friend robot Di, and her spaceship crew, this book gives an interesting perspective of what it is to love and what you know about your own identity. I only gave this book 4 stars because it just hops into the action without explanation which leaves the reader a little confused. It also had many metaphors that were very odd and didn't make sense within the context, but overall I enjoyed the story. Heart of Iron is great for lovers of romance, sci-fi, and pirates.

The Hunger Games is a very descriptive novel that I am really fascinated by. Sometimes I like to think about the odds of a government similar to the Capital forming and what district I would be divided into would be. I think that it is kind of interesting that Katniss Everdeen lives in District 12 because not only is it the last district it isn’t really anything special it’s just the coal district.

The Hunger Games, a dystopian novel by Suzanne Collins, follows a young women named Katniss Everdeen and her fight to survive the tragic Hunger Games. It’s Election Day at the start of the book And Katniss’ sister,Prim, just turned of age when her name is put into the drawing for the Hunger
Games. When it came time for a girl to be elected for the Hunger Games despite the odds Prim’s name was drawn but Katniss wouldn’t let her go to the hunger games where she would meet her death so she volunteered. The Hunger Games is a televised event where two people from each of the twelve
districts are sent into an arena and fight to the death until there is only one person remaining. The last person standing is named the Victor. The Hunger Games acts as a reminder to the districts to never rebel against the Capital.

I think that the Hunger Games is an example of what happens when government takes “control freak” to the next level, they send people into an arena to die just because they want the district to know they can. I wonder why the districts haven’t rebelled, it’s not like their lives could get much worse if they did.

The Giver is a dystopian novel that illustrates the story of a young boy named Jonas. Jonas lives in a futuristic society that has eliminated the concepts fear, pain, and diversity. He is the only different person within his society, to which he has unique capabilities and characteristics than that of other individuals. He is put through many challenges and barriers that he must overcome. This leads to his absolute desire to explore the outskirts and find the ultimate truth of his fate.

The Giver is a dystopian novel, where it brought a unique setting and plot-line for the reader. It was interesting and did not follow a dull story-line that was expected. The whole story concludes to be a 4 star rating, as many parts of the story were surprising and unexpected which maintained the attraction and interest into the story. However, the story lacks a consistency with its line of events, which leads to certain parts being extremely intriguing, and other parts of the story being slow and boring. This loses the reader at some point.

Personally, the book was well written and was very captivating for me. It was surprising with its plot-line of action, and I enjoyed most about the futuristic society and the uniqueness of it. I highly recommend this book.

Reviewer Grade: 10