Dystopian Pick: Day Zero

Day Zero
(Book 1 of 2 in duology)
by Kelly Devos
Inkyard Press
2019
432 pages
ISBN: 9781335008480

Available November 12, 2019 

Strap on your seat belts and get ready for the thrill ride of the fall...

Jinx Marshall isn't sure what to expect when her mother marries her stepfather and inherits a ready made family: stepbrother Toby and obnoxious, political minded know-it-all stepsister McKenna, but she's ready for nearly anything. Well, any kind of emergency or chaos, that is. Jinx has been raised in the desert by her Doomsday prepper father for anything apocalyptic.

On a routine trip to the store for snacks, an explosion at the bank next door traps them in harm's way. Jinx finds herself in charge of saving her younger brother Charles and mouthy stepsister, McKenna. Dr. Doomsday's (her dad's) book comes in handy because Jinx knows exactly what to do.

When the kids discover that the entire country is crumbling from within, and the government blames her father, Jinx must save her siblings and prove her father's innocence. Oh, and save what's left of America! It's gonna take her background in coding, friends in the Dark Web and a background in Krav Maga, to escape. Picking up Toby at college, the kids plan to run for the Mexican border.

Her father's teachings have always taught "Trust No One," but Jinx can't do this alone. She'll have to depend on someone and work with McKenna instead of against her. If the family can't get along, they may all die together. Lucky for them, her father planned for this...

Set in the distant future, Day Zero paints a picture for our turbulent times. Explosive and exciting, readers will beg for Book Two! If you loved Yancy's The 5th Wave, get ready for Day Zero!

Recommended YA grades 8 and up. Violence, political turmoil, finance, economics, mature readers.

YA Pick: The Voice in My Head

The Voice in My Head
by Dana L. Davis
Ink Yard Press
2019
308 pages with Questions for Discussion
Resources
ISBN: 9871335998497

The Voice in My Head is a WINNER!

Twins Violet and Indigo have always been close, but since Violet's diagnosis, Indigo feels pushed away. Her pretty, popular, perfect twin is dying. There is no cure, and worse, Violet has decided to die on her own terms: with dignity. Choosing assisted suicide and her death date puts her twin Indigo into a panic. How can Violet  think about leaving her? And why would she choose death? How will she (Indigo)  navigate without her sister? Feeling lost, Indigo climbs a building, considering suicide herself. Before she lets go, she hears a voice in her head. She realizes she doesn't want to die after all. Choosing life, Indigo tries to save herself but falls.

Waking up in the hospital, Indigo tries to make her family see it was an accident. As the voice in her head keeps her company, Indigo decides to take Violet to The Wave, a remote rock in Arizona where the voice tells her Violet will make the trip and live. Violet has her own rules. The entire family packs up with the help of a preacher and the church bus and travels to the desert. The family each reads Violet a letter, and little brother Alfred asks Violet (when she dies) to promise to be his best ghost IRL (Alfred talks in text lingo!)

The voice in Indigo's head is comic, irreverent and sounds just like Dave Chapelle. The voice tells Indigo that God is omnipotent and can do what she wants. She can make a bet if she wants because she's God. At one point, God responds, "duh." Indigo tells the voice there's no way God would say Duh, but the voice retorts that it invented language and it can say whatever it wants.

Alfred, Indigo, Violet and God (Dave Chapelle) are characters that will stay with readers long after
closing the pages. The bond between sisters and the entire familial vibe is so perfect that Davis better be looking to bring this story to screen, and no one is better at it than her! (Dana L. Davis is an actress and Hollywood insider).

The Voice in My Head is on its way to award season! I predict several state awards including Texas Lone Star list (grades 6-8) and/or Texas Tayshas list (grade 9-12). I predict The Voice in My Head will be on @Cybils Fiction shortlist and top 10 Teen Fiction (and I'm never wrong)!

Highly, highly recommended grade 7 and up. Suicide, assisted suicide, and death. Discussion questions are included as are resources for suicide prevention. The family is religious and God plays an important part in this book. The Voice in My Head is perfect for private and parochial schools and church reading groups. No profanity, violence or sex.

FTC Required Reading: I received the book from the publisher. I did not receive monetary compensation for this review.

High School Pick: Fat Girl on a Plane

Fat Girl on a Plane
by Kelly DeVos
Harlequin Teen
2018
376 pages
ISBN: 9780373212538

Fat Girl on a Plane is an important book for teen readers tackling issues of self-esteem, body shaming, body image, self acceptance, overcoming obstacles, and rising to challenges. Cookie Von is an aspiring fashion designer with a keen eye and a knack for pattern, proportion, and color. She makes much of her own wardrobe and writes a fashion blog. Fat Cookie is forced to buy two seats on a plane and she vows that she's done being "the fat girl on a plane."

The story jumps back and forth from fat Cookie (in high school) to skinny Cookie in a fashion design program at ASU. Some readers may become disconnected with the way the story is told, but it's a strong story nonetheless.

Cookie has self-doubt and a good bit of self-loathing brought on by stares and comments from complete strangers and most biting of all: rude comments from her super-model mother. One lesson Cookie learns is that fat or skinny, things don't change that much. Sure, men give her approving looks. People take her designs more seriously, but designing for plus-size women isn't considered a real design business.

Through it all, Cookie sticks to her guns and creates plus-size fashionable pieces because she believes that fat people deserve fashion. A woman should not have to wear tents or caftans because she is bigger than runway models. Fashionable pieces can be created and worn by all sizes of women. Fat Girl on a Plane forces readers to view fashion from the eyes of women who have been under served and unrepresented by designers, publishers, fashion editors, models, and media. The plus-size market is a gold mine if someone like Cookie makes it their own. 

Once skinny, Cookie attracts a much older, more worldly boyfriend. This is where this YA novel veers off path. With profanity and sexual references, this book cannot be placed in a middle school library. Cookie is in her first year of college and if there were still a recognized genre as New Adult, that's where this title would be placed.


Recommended grades 9 and up. Profanity, sex.