Beauty Queens by Libba Bray

When a plane carrying contestants for the Miss Teen Dream pageant crashes on a remote island, the survivors face greater challenges than just finding food, shelter, and missing cosmetics.

Unbeknownst to the girls, the island is not deserted: its volcano houses a secret U.S.-government enclave involved in illegal weapons trading, and the cast grows further after some studly reality-TV pirates arrive on the scene. Outlandish? Yes. And there are characters that veer toward stereotype: take-charge Miss Texas, incognito-journalist Miss New Hampshire, and transgender Miss Rhode Island (who has a surprise under her sash), among others. But rather than letting the plot reel out of control, Bray, author of the Printz Award-winning Going Bovine (2009), spins this hilarious romp into an examination of femininity and feminism, sex and sexuality. And while they await rescue, the girls discover moving truths about themselves.

The text is interspersed with commercial breaks, contestant fact sheets, footnotes, radio broadcasts, and spoofs of reality TV and celebrity status, all of which add to the appeal of this sure-to-be popular title.

--Dobrez, Cind. Copyright 2010 Booklist Review

Divergent by Veronica Roth

The citizens of Chicago belong to five different factions. These factions all value different things. Abnegation values selflessness and therefore make up the government. Erudite values knowledge and intellect so they are the scientists, doctors, and scholars. Dauntless values bravery and fearlessness, which makes them the protectors. Candor values honesty, so that makes them good lawyers. Amity values peace, and though it isn't explicitly stated in the novel, I pictured them as being Amish-like.

Every year, the sixteen year olds from each faction participate in aptitude tests that determine which faction they are best suited. Once given the results and time to think, there is what is called the Choosing Ceremony where each individual decides to either stay with their birth faction, or abandon their old life to join a new one.

Sixteen year old Beatrice Prior was born into Abnegation. Her life has always been good -- her mother is kind and loving, her father holds a position of power in the city, and her brother Caleb is like her best friend. However, something has always been missing. Though she tries hard, Beatrice has never mastered complete selflessness. While she should only be thinking of others, she finds she thinks of herself all too often. On the day of her aptitude test, Beatrice's results are deemed "inconclusive".

In a world where everyone has their place, this is very very bad. 'Divergent' is what her examiner calls her, along with a warning that she should never tell people what she is, less she want to end up dead. Beatrice must then decide whether she wants to abandon her family and the only home she has ever known, or stay and hope to learn to be selfless.

I wholeheartedly loved this book. It's 487 pages, but is so fast-paced that it flies by in no time. By the end I was disappointed that I have to wait so long for the sequel! Roth paints a very vivid world, and it's also nice for anyone who has ever been to Chicago, because while being dystopian, the setting feels very familiar.

The main protagonist Beatrice is a fantastic character. She is very multi-faceted, relatable, and at times super badass. The central conflict of the story is very fascinating and I'm really eager to see how it will eventually resolve itself in the next installments. I also adore Beatrice's love interest. Definitely grabbing up the next book right when it comes out!

For fans of:
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Birthmarked by Caragh O'Brien
Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Claire
Chaos Walking trilogy by Patrick Ness
Uglies series by Scott Westerfeld 


-Sam

Chaos Walking Trilogy by Patrick Ness

If you're into science fiction, futuristic societies, dystopian lit, or just want a super awesome new book to read, I highly suggest picking up the Chaos Walking trilogy. In book one, The Knife of Never Letting Go, we're introduced to the main protagonist; a young boy named Todd only months away from his thirteenth birthday. This birthday will symbolize his assent from "boy" to "man".

Todd was born and raised in Prentisstown on New World. Ever since he was a baby, there have been no women in Prentisstown. A germ called "Noise" was said to have killed them off. Noise affects all people on New World and is an infection that causes a person to be able to hear the thoughts of another. New World is also the home to a race called the Spackle. Upon landing, the settlers from Earth at first lived in peace with the Spackle, but after awhile war broke out. The settlers were victorious and ever since no one has seen the Spackle (Todd has always been taught they were extinct).

One day while off hunting, Todd stumbles upon a spot of complete silence. In a world where everyone is constantly bombarded by the Noise of someone else's thoughts, this moment both astonishes and confuses Todd. Instantly, he discovers that the silence he is experiencing is because a girl is present. The first girl Todd has ever seen in his entire life. Todd soon realizes that the girl might be in mortal danger, because she begins to read Todd's thoughts (aka gets infected by the Noise germ) and no woman has survived the germ.

Through this book and its sequels The Ask and the Answer and Monsters of Men, Patrick Ness takes you on a journey to a whole new world with old world problems. It's definitely a morality tale and poses a lot of heavy questions. The plight of good vs evil comes into play many times, as does right vs wrong. There are moments of violence and some light cursing, so I would recommend that the reader be 12 and up.

I really want this trilogy to get more recognition. It takes you on a roller coaster ride of emotions and is entertaining from the first page of book one until the last page of book three. I also promise you at some point in the series, you WILL cry :) 

-Sam

Birthmarked by Caragh M. O'Brien

Set in the distant future, at a time where drastic climate change has left the world bleak and dry, seventeen year old Gaia Stone and her family have always served the Enclave.

Living outside the Enclave wall in the small town of Wharfton, her mother is a highly revered midwife. Gaia has been a midwife-in-training for many years. The first three babies born each month in Wharfton are given to the Enclave to be "advanced". One day, after delivering her first baby, Gaia goes home to discover an Enclave soldier in her living room. Her parents have been arrested, and it has something to do with the quota of babies that get delivered to the Enclave each month.

After her parents' arrest, Gaia slowly starts to unravel the mysteries and politics surrounding the Enclave, and everything she's ever known to be true comes into question. Her plan then is simple: rescue her parents from the Enclave prison and run away to the Dead Forest, a place where there is supposedly habitable life away from the oppression of the Enclave, but also a place many believe does not exist. She is thus captured and through a series of highly tense and action-packed events, befriends many unlikely people to aid her on her journey.

Birthmarked is the first installment in a new dystopian trilogy. I found myself drawn into Gaia's world from the first page, and eager to learn everything as she discovered the secrets of the Enclave. By the end I was pretty invested in the characters. Gaia Stone is one of the best female protagonists I've read in YA literature since Katniss Everdeen (The Hunger Games). The second installment, Prized, hits bookstores in November and it has become one of my most anticipated books for fall.

For fans of: 
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
Delirium by Lauren Oliver
The Maze Runner by James Dashner
Matched by Ally Condie
The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

 -Sam