Book Review - Mindwalker

Mindwalker
Author: A.J. Steiger
Series: Mindwalker #1
Genres: Dystopian | Young Adult
Release Date: 9th June 2015
Source: Review Copy - Knopf Books for Young Readers
Rating:

At seventeen, Lain Fisher has already aced the Institute's elite training program for Mindwalkers, therapists who use a direct neural link to erase a patient's traumatic memories. A prodigy and the daughter of a renowned scientist-whose unexplained death left her alone in the world-Lain is driven by the need to save others.

When Steven, a troubled classmate, asks her to wipe a horrific childhood experience from his mind, Lain's superiors warn her to stay away. Steven's scars are too deep, they say; the risk too great. Yet the more time Lain spends with him, the more she begins to question everything about her society. As she defies the warnings and explores Steven's memories, it becomes clear that he's connected to something much bigger…something the Institute doesn't want the world to discover.

Lain never expected to be a rule breaker. She certainly didn't plan on falling in love with a boy she's been forbidden to help. But then, she never expected to stumble into a conspiracy that could ignite a revolution.

So yet again we have book that was available from LoveReading4Kids for request, it is yet again one that I had heard nothing about and was completely unaware of until I got the email through about it. I think it would be safe to say that it was another book requested on a whim, one that I wanted to read purely because its a dystopian and everyone must now by now how much I love my dystopian books. When I first read the summary the first thing that caught my eye was just how unique and original the story sounded, it wasn't one I felt like I had read hundreds of times and instantly my expectations were. Everything about it sounded good but it was one that seemed to be relatively unknown throughout the young adult community, so that itself was enough to make me unsure about reading it. LoveReading4Kids is pretty lethal to me at the moment because I can't seem to stop requesting books that I may be on the fence about reading, however it wasn't for them I wouldn't have known about some great books otherwise and I'm happy to say that Mindwalker was one of them.

Book Review - World After

World After
Author: Susan Ee
Series: Penryn and the End of Days #2
Genres: Urban Fantasy, Dystopian | Young Adult
Release Date: 21st November 2013
No. Pages: 438
Source: Purchased
Rating:

When a group of people capture Penryn's sister Paige, thinking she's a monster, the situation ends in a massacre. Paige disappears. Humans are terrified. Mom is heartbroken.

Penryn drives through the streets of San Francisco looking for Paige. Why are the streets so empty? Where is everybody? Her search leads her into the heart of the angels' secret plans where she catches a glimpse of their motivations, and learns the horrifying extent to which the angels are willing to go.

Meanwhile, Raffe hunts for his wings. Without them, he can't rejoin the angels, can't take his rightful place as one of their leaders. When faced with recapturing his wings or helping Penryn survive, which will he choose?

The following review may contain spoilers concerning earlier books in the series.
If you have not read the previous installments, please proceed with caution.

I do believe I feel let down. Angelfall was, without a doubt, one of the best books I read last year - in fact, it was the best book I could have ended 2014 on, there was no other book I would have wanted to finish the year with, it was complete perfection and faultless. No surprise then I purchased this book milliseconds after finishing Angelfall and that my expectations had been sky high since that fateful moment, right? I just feel so cheated and so disappointed by this sequel, and that hurts.

Book Review - Article 5

Article 5
Author: Kristen Simmons
Series: Article 5 #1
Genres: Dystopian | Young Adult
Release Date: 31st January 2012
Publishers: Tor Teen
No. Pages: 362
Source: Borrowed
Rating:
Buy From: Amazon | Book Depository | Barnes and Noble | Waterstones

New York, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C. have been abandoned.
The Bill of Rights has been revoked, and replaced with the Moral Statutes.

There are no more police - instead, there are soldiers. There are no more fines for bad behavior - instead, there are arrests, trials, and maybe worse. People who get arrested usually don't come back.

Seventeen-year-old Ember Miller is old enough to remember that things weren't always this way. Living with her rebellious single mother, it's hard for her to forget that people weren't always arrested for reading the wrong books or staying out after dark. It's hard to forget that life in the United States used to be different.

Ember has perfected the art of keeping a low profile. She knows how to get the things she needs, like food stamps and hand-me-down clothes, and how to pass the random home inspections by the military. Her life is as close to peaceful as circumstances allow.

That is, until her mother is arrested for noncompliance with Article 5 of the Moral Statutes, and one of the arresting officers is none other than Chase Jennings - the only boy Ember has ever loved.

Book Review - Mind Games

Mind Games
Author: Teri Terry
Standalone
Genres: Dystopian, Science Fiction | Young Adult
Release Date: 5th March 2015
Publishers: Orchard Books
No. Pages: 448
Source: Review Copy - Orchard Books
Rating: 

Luna is a no-hoper with a secret: in a world of illusion, she can see what is real. But can she see the truth before it is too late?

Luna has always been able to exist in virtual and real worlds at the same time, a secret she is warned to keep. She hides her ability by being a Refuser: excluded by choice from the virtual spheres others inhabit. But when she is singled out for testing, she can’t hide any longer.

The safest thing to do would be to fail, to go back to a dead-end life, no future. But Luna is starting to hope for something better, and hope is a dangerous thing..

Book Review - Starters

Starters
Author: Lissa Price
Series: Starters #1
Genres: Science Fiction, Dystopian | Young Adult
Release Date: 13th March 2012
Publishers: Delacorte
No. Pages: 384
Source: Gifted
Rating: 

You can’t get them out of your head.

Callie lost her parents when the Spore Wars wiped out everyone between the ages of twenty and sixty. She and her little brother, Tyler, go on the run, living as squatters with their friend Michael and fighting off renegades who would kill them for a cookie.

Callie’s only hope is Prime Destinations, a disturbing place in Beverly Hills run by a mysterious figure known as the Old Man. He hires teens to rent their bodies to Enders - seniors who want to be young again. Callie, desperate for the money that will keep her, Tyler, and Michael alive, agrees to be a donor. But the neurochip they place in Callie’s head malfunctions and she wakes up in the life of her renter.

Callie soon discovers that her renter intends to do more than party - and that Prime Destinations' plans are more evil than she could ever have imagined

Book Review - Soulprint

Soulprint
Author: Megan Miranda
Standalone
Genres: Science Fiction, Dystopian | Young Adult
Release Date: 12th February 2015
Publishers: Bloomsbury Childrens
No. Pages: 368
Source: Review Copy - Bloomsbury Childrens
Rating:
Buy From: Amazon | Book Depository | Barnes and Noble | Waterstones

Alina Chase has spent her entire life in confinement. With the science of soul-printing now a reality, she is 'protected' for her own safety - and the safety of others - because her soul has done terrible things.. or so she's told.

When Alina finally breaks out of prison, helped by a group of people with unclear motives, she begins to uncover clues left by her past life that only she can decipher. And she may not be as innocent as she once believed. Can Alina change her future, or is she fated to repeat her past and face the consequences?

Book Review - The Rain

The Rain
Author: Virginia Bergin
Series: The Rain #1
Genres: Dystopian | Young Adult
Release Date: 17th July 2014
Publishers: Macmillan
No. Pages: 384
Source: Review Copy - Macmillan
Rating: 

It's in the rain.. and just one drop will kill you.

They don't believe it at first. Crowded in Zach's kitchen, Ruby and the rest of the partygoers laugh at Zach's parents' frenzied push to get them all inside as it starts to drizzle. But then the radio comes on with the warning;

"It's in the rain! It's fatal, it's contagious, and there's no cure."

Two weeks later, Ruby is alone. Anyone who's been touched by rain or washed their hands with tap water is dead. The only drinkable water is quickly running out. Ruby's only chance for survival is a treacherous hike across the country to find her father-if he's even still alive.

Book Review - Angelfall

Angelfall
Author: Susan Ee
Series: Penryn & the End of Days #1
Genres: Urban Fantasy, Dystopian | Young Adult
Release Date: 23rd May 2013
Publishers: Hodder and Stroughton
No. Pages: 326
Source: Gifted
Rating: 
Buy From: Amazon | Book Depository | Barnes and Noble | Waterstones

It's been six weeks since angels of the apocalypse descended to demolish the modern world. Street gangs rule the day while fear and superstition rule the night. When warrior angels fly away with a helpless little girl, her seventeen-year-old sister Penryn will do anything to get her back.

Anything, including making a deal with an enemy angel.

Raffe is a warrior who lies broken and wingless on the street. After eons of fighting his own battles, he finds himself being rescued from a desperate situation by a half-starved teenage girl.

Traveling through a dark and twisted Northern California, they have only each other to rely on for survival. Together, they journey toward the angels' stronghold in San Francisco where she'll risk everything to rescue her sister and he'll put himself at the mercy of his greatest enemies for the chance to be made whole again.

Book Review - The Infinite Sea

The Infinite Sea
Author: Rick Yancey
Series: The 5th Wave #2
Genres: Science Fiction, Dystopian | Young Adult
Release Date: 16th September 2014
Publishers: Penguin
No. Pages: 336
Source: Borrowed
Rating:
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How do you rid the Earth of seven billion humans?
Rid the humans of their humanity.

Surviving the first four waves was nearly impossible. Now Cassie Sullivan finds herself in a new world, a world in which the fundamental trust that binds us together is gone. As the 5th Wave rolls across the landscape, Cassie, Ben, and Ringer are forced to confront the Others’ ultimate goal: the extermination of the human race.

Cassie and her friends haven’t seen the depths to which the Others will sink, nor have the Others seen the heights to which humanity will rise, in the ultimate battle between life and death, hope and despair, love and hate.

Book Review - Into the Still Blue

Into the Still Blue
Author: Veronica Rossi
Series: Under the Never Sky #3
Genres: Science Fiction, Dystopian | Young Adult
Release Date: 6th Febuary 2014
Publishers: Atom
No. Pages: 291
Source: Borrowed
Rating: 
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Their love and their leadership have been tested. Now it's time for Perry and Aria to unite the Dwellers and the Outsiders in one last desperate attempt to bring balance to their world. The race to the Still Blue has reached a stalemate. Aria and Perry are determined to find this last safe-haven from the Aether storms before Sable and Hess do - and they are just as determined to stay together.

Meanwhile, time is running out to rescue Cinder, who was abducted by Hess and Sable for his unique abilities. And when Roar returns to camp, he is so furious with Perry that he won't even look at him, and Perry begins to feel like they have already lost. Out of options, Perry and Aria assemble a team to mount an impossible rescue mission - because Cinder isn't just the key to unlocking the Still Blue and their only hope for survival, he's also their friend.

And in a dying world, the bonds between people are what matter most.

Book Review - The Jewel

The Jewel
Author: Amy Ewing
Series: The Lone City #1
Genres: Science Fiction, Dystopian | Young Adult
Release Date: 4th September 2014
Publishers: Walker Books Ltd
No. Pages: 368
Source: Borrowed
Rating: 
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"Today is my last day as Violet Lasting.
Tomorrow I become Lot 197."

Sold for six million diamantes, Violet is now Surrogate of the House of the Lake in the centre of the Lone City, the Jewel. Her sole purpose is to produce a healthy heir for the Duchess – a woman Violet fears and despises.

Violet is trapped in a living death, her name and body no longer her own. She fights to hold on to her own identity and sanity, uncertain of the fate of her friends, isolated and at the mercy of the Duchess.

Book Review - The 5th Wave

The 5th Wave
Author: Rick Yancey
Series: The 5th Wave #1
Genres: Science Fiction, Dystopian | Young Adult
Release Date: 7th May 2013
Publishers: Penguin
No. Pages: 480
Source: Borrowed
Rating: 
Buy From: Amazon | Book Depository | Barnes and Noble | Waterstones

After the 1st wave, only darkness remains.
After the 2nd, only the lucky escape.
And after the 3rd, only the unlucky survive.
After the 4th wave, only one rule applies: trust no one.

Now, it’s the dawn of the 5th wave, and on a lonely stretch of highway, Cassie runs from Them. The beings who only look human, who roam the countryside killing anyone they see. Who have scattered Earth’s last survivors. To stay alone is to stay alive, Cassie believes, until she meets Evan Walker.

Beguiling and mysterious, Evan Walker may be Cassie’s only hope for rescuing her brother - or even saving herself. But Cassie must choose: between trust and despair, between defiance and surrender, between life and death. To give up or to get up.

Book Review - Through the Ever Night

Through the Ever Night
Author: Veronica Rossi
Series: Under the Never Sky #2
Genres: Science Fiction, Dystopian | Young Adult
Release Date: 8th January 2013
Publishers: Atom
Pages: 341
Source: Borrowed
Rating: 
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Aria has struggled to build a life for herself outside Reverie. It hasn't been easy adjusting to life in the wilderness but that struggle has been worth it with Perry by her side. But Perry has other challenges. His people are looking to him for answers. Answers about what happened to his nephew and what's happening to their world. And they don't trust the priviledged Aria, one of the enemy, in their midst.

Soon he'll be forced to chose between the tribe that looks to him for leadership and the girl that looks to him for love. Can Perry make that decision, and can he trust Aria?

Book Review - Cipher

Cipher
Author: Aileen Erin
Series: The Shadow Ravens #1
Genres: Science Fiction, Dystopian | Young Adult
Release Date: 14th October 2014
Publishers: Ink Monster LLC
No. Pages: 210
Source: Review Copy - Ink Monster LLC
Rating: 
Buy From: Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Waterstones

In the not-too-distant future, the color of your helix tattoo shows exactly how your DNA was modified - green for super-smart scientists, black for pumped-up warriors, white for the immortal Seligo - but Cipher’s red helix is a death sentence. It’s a sign of unstable DNA, which is probably the reason she can manipulate electricity.

When she was eight years old, Cipher made the mistake of showing her uncle the tattoo. In return, he killed her parents and tried to kidnap her. She’s been on the run ever since, and twelve long years later, Cipher is tired of hiding. Survival isn't enough anymore. She wants her life back.

Hacking into the Citadel mainframe is a huge risk, but it pays off when she finds a database on red helixes. Before she can copy it, she loses control of her power, charring her last processor, and the only person in the Arizona Voids that can get her back online is her oldest friend, Knightly. She hasn't seen him in person since she started running, and Knightly 2.0 is fully upgraded with a six-pack and knee-melting smile.
For a girl like Cipher, trust doesn't come easily, but Knightly makes her yearn for a life she knows she can’t have, especially when every secret she reveals endangers them both.

Book Review - Awaken

Awaken
Author: Katie Kacvinsky
Series: Awaken #1
Genres: Science Fiction, Dystopian | Young Adult
Release Date: 17th April 2012
Publishers: HMH Books
No. Pages: 320
Source: Purchased
Rating:
Buy From: Amazon | Book Depository | Barnes and Noble | Waterstones

Maddie lives in a world where everything is done on the computer. Whether it’s to go to school or on a date, people don’t venture out of their home. There’s really no need. For the most part, Maddie's okay with the solitary, digital life - until she meets Justin. Justin likes being with people. He enjoys the physical closeness of face-to-face interactions. People aren't meant to be alone, he tells her.

Suddenly, Maddie feels something awakening inside her - a feeling that maybe there is a different, better way to live. But with society and her parents telling her otherwise, Maddie is going to have to learn to stand up for herself if she wants to change the path her life is taking.

In this not-so-brave new world, two young people struggle to carve out their own space.

Book Review - Frozen

Frozen
Author: Melissa De La Cruz, Michael Johnston
Series: Heart of Dread #1
Genres: Dystopian, Fantasy | Young Adult
Release Date: 2nd October 2014
Publishers: Orchard Books
No. Pages: 365
Source: Review Copy - Orchard Books
Rating: 
Buy From: Amazon | Book Depository | Barnes and Noble | Waterstones

Welcome to New Vegas, a city once covered in bling, now blanketed in ice. Like much of the destroyed planet, the place knows only one temperature - freezing. But some things never change. The diamond in the ice desert is still a 24-hour hedonistic playground and nothing keeps the crowds away from the casino floors, never mind the rumors about sinister sorcery in its shadows.

At the heart of this city is Natasha Kestal, a young blackjack dealer looking for a way out. Like many, she's heard of a mythical land simply called "the Blue." They say it's a paradise, where the sun still shines and the waters are turquoise. More importantly, it’s a place where Nat won’t be persecuted, even if her darkest secret comes to light.

But passage to the Blue is treacherous, if not impossible, and her only shot is to bet on a ragtag crew of mercenaries led by a cocky runner named Ryan Wesson to take her there. Danger and deceit await on every corner, even as Nat and Wes find themselves inexorably drawn to each other. But can true love survive the lies?

Book Review - Frozen

Frozen
Author: Melissa De La Cruz, Michael Johnston
Series: Heart of Dread #1
Genres: Dystopian, Fantasy | Young Adult
Release Date: 2nd October 2014
Publishers: Orchard Books
No. Pages: 365
Source: Review Copy - Orchard Books
Rating: 
Buy From: Amazon | Book Depository | Barnes and Noble | Waterstones

Welcome to New Vegas, a city once covered in bling, now blanketed in ice. Like much of the destroyed planet, the place knows only one temperature - freezing. But some things never change. The diamond in the ice desert is still a 24-hour hedonistic playground and nothing keeps the crowds away from the casino floors, never mind the rumors about sinister sorcery in its shadows.

At the heart of this city is Natasha Kestal, a young blackjack dealer looking for a way out. Like many, she's heard of a mythical land simply called "the Blue." They say it's a paradise, where the sun still shines and the waters are turquoise. More importantly, it’s a place where Nat won’t be persecuted, even if her darkest secret comes to light.

But passage to the Blue is treacherous, if not impossible, and her only shot is to bet on a ragtag crew of mercenaries led by a cocky runner named Ryan Wesson to take her there. Danger and deceit await on every corner, even as Nat and Wes find themselves inexorably drawn to each other. But can true love survive the lies?

Book Review - Red Rising

Red Rising

Author: Pierce Brown

Series: Red Rising Trilogy #1

Genres: Science Fiction, Dystopia | Young Adult

Release Date: 25th September 2014
Publishers: Hodder & Stoughton

No. Pages: 382

Source: Review Copy - Hodder & Stoughton

Rating: 

Buy From: Amazon | Book Depository | Barnes and Noble | Waterstones

The Earth is dying. Darrow is a Red, a miner in the interior of Mars. His mission is to extract enough precious elements to one day tame the surface of the planet and allow humans to live on it. The Reds are humanity's last hope.

Or so it appears, until the day Darrow discovers it's all a lie. That Mars has been habitable - and inhabited - for generations, by a class of people calling themselves the Golds. A class of people who look down on Darrow and his fellows as slave labour, to be exploited and worked to death without a second thought.

Until the day that Darrow, with the help of a mysterious group of rebels, disguises himself as a Gold and infiltrates their command school, intent on taking down his oppressors from the inside. But the command school is a battlefield - and Darrow isn't the only student with an agenda.

Book Review - Day 21

Day 21

Author: Kass Morgan

Series: The Hundred #2

Genres: Dystopian, Space | Young Adult

Release Date: September 16th 2014

Publishers: Little Brown

No. Pages: 320

Source: Review Copy - Little Brown

Rating: 

Buy From: Amazon | Book Depository | Barnes and Noble | Waterstones

No one has set foot on Earth in centuries -- until now. It's been 21 days since the hundred landed on Earth. They're the only humans to set foot on the planet in centuries...or so they thought. Facing an unknown enemy, Wells attempts to keep the group together. Clarke strikes out for Mount Weather, in search of other Colonists, while Bellamy is determined to rescue his sister, no matter the cost. And back on the ship, Glass faces an unthinkable choice between the love of her life and life itself.
In this pulse-pounding sequel to Kass Morgan's The 100, secrets are revealed, beliefs are challenged, and relationships are tested. And the hundred will struggle to survive the only way they can -- together.

Book Review - Conquest

Conquest

Author: John Connolly &  Jennifer Ridyard

Series: The Chronicles of the Invaders #1

Genres: Dystopian, Aliens | Young Adult

Release Date: August 28th 2014

Publishers: Headline

No. Pages: 448

Source: Won

Rating: 

Buy From: Amazon | Book Depository | Barnes and Noble | Waterstones

The Earth has been invaded by the Illyri, a beautiful, civilized, yet ruthless alien race. Humanity has been conquered, but still it fights the invaders. The Resistance grows stronger, for it is the young people of Earth who are best equipped to battle the Illyri.

Syl Hellais, conceived among the stars, is the oldest alien child on Earth, the first to reach sixteen years of age. Her father rules the planet. Her future is assured. And Syl has hidden gifts, powers that even she does yet fully understand.

But all is not as it seems. The Illyri are at war among themselves, and the sinister Nairene Sisterhood has arrived on Earth, hungry for new blood. When Syl helps a pair of young Resistance fighters to escape execution, she finds herself sentenced to death, pursued by her own kind, and risks breaking the greatest taboo of her race by falling in love with a human.

Now the hunter has become the hunted, the predator become prey.

And as Syl is about to learn, the real invasion has not yet even begun