Sci-Fi Pick: The Rains

The Rains
by Gregg Hurwitz
Scholastic Inc.
2017
352 pages
ISBN: 9781338216486

The Rains is an exciting and entertaining science fiction YA  book that (almost) delivers on premise. A meter shower occurs and soon after even stranger things begin to happen. Plants grow in seconds and their spores infect people turning them into monster/machines. . At least all adult people. Anyone who is eighteen or over is infected with whatever "disease" or air-borne pathogen was released by the "invasion." Brothers Chance and Patrick have always been close and hard working. They have no idea how their brotherly bond will be tested over the next days and weeks.

The adults aren't just infected they are controlled  by something or someone. The men walk  in patterns: right angle, march, march, march, right angle with their eyes downcast as if they are mapping the terrain. Their eyes are no longer eyes but look like lenses or cameras. The teens don't know who is filming the terrain and what they are doing with the information.

The teens and children are able to set up camp in the local high school. Chance and Patrick see other children and teens being rounded up and put in cages by the infected adults. Whatever is in store for them can't be good. The brothers have become the leaders of the group and must decide to stay or to go for help.

The deus ex machina insertion of a "good" alien in the end was not only far-fetched but unbelievable and a tragic flaw from both the author and editor.

Recommended grade 8 and up. This book is on the middle school book fair for Scholastic Books.

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

Trilogy Pick: The Infinite Sea (book 2, The 5th Wave)

The Infinite Sea
by Rick Yancey
Putnam
2014
300 pages
ISBN: 9780399162428

Gripping and desperate yet hopeful and healing, The Infinite Sea will have readers whipping through the pages to find out if this is truly humanity's last stand! Rick Yancey is a masterful storyteller who knows how to captivate. The only downside to The Infinite Sea is the sometimes confusing POV and figuring out which character is telling the story. The story jumps around a bit, so read carefully to make sure you don't miss plot points.

Cassie Sullivan and her close band of humans stick together; they are all they've got. The rest of the human race has fallen, and the Others won't stop until they have annihilated the Earth of every last human being. Cassie, Teacup, Zombie, Ringer and Poundcake want to wait for Evan Walker, but they know that time is running out before winter is upon them, or worse, before the aliens find them and kill them.

The group decides to move out. Cassie realizes that the aliens could have killed all of them  by now and wonders what they are waiting for. They should all be dead, yet she is in control and able to outsmart them and matches their every move with calculated chess moves of her own.

There is nothing the Aliens won't do to win, and that includes turning human toddlers into walking bombs. Cassie is horrified and vows to stop the aliens at all cost. Cassie begins to wonder if she is all human. She knows Evan is an alien but he has lived with humanity too long. Evan is beginning to turn human, but Cassie still doesn't completely trust him. Evan has a bad habit of disappearing when the humans need his help, but he promises Cassie that he'll always find her. Are the aliens really behind this Earth takeover? Or could it be someone even more insidious? Maybe all will be revealed in book 3; until then, I can only think, "Wow!"

Cassie is one human girl full of kick-@$$! She isn't about to let aliens win and she won't stand idly by and watch her friends murdered one by one. Note to self: in case of alien invasion and the 5th Wave, find a friend like Cassie and stick to her like glue.

Highly recommended for grade 7 and up. 

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

This review has been posted in compliance with the FTC requirements set forth in the Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising (available at ftc.gov/os/2009/10/091005revisedendorsementguides.pdf)

Book Giveaway: BZRK Reloaded

BZRK Reloaded (Book 2)
by Michael Grant
Egmont
2013
432 pages

Available October 8, 2013

I have FIVE copies of the ARC of BZRK Reloaded up for grabs!

Talk about mind-bending! The Armstrong twins have plans to rule the world, but not if Noah and Sadie can help it. Science fiction, mind-blowing action and a thrilling plot will keep teen readers turning the pages. 


Post a comment to the blog. Please include your first name, city, state and email. Winners are chosen randomly by Randomizer. Deadline for posts is October 14 at noon MST. Check your email on that date after 12:00 noon. Winners will be notified by email. Books will ship from New York courtesy of Egmont and Margaret.

Good luck and start posting! Pamela

Dystopian Fairy Tale Pick: A Long Long Sleep

A Long Long Sleep
by Anna Sheehan
Candlwick Press
2011
342 pages

Part fairy tale, part romance, part science fiction, part thriller, part dystopian fiction, A Long Long Sleep will seduce readers with its eerie concept. Rose Fitzroy has slept for the past 62 years in a chemical induced sleep in her stasis chamber, long forgotten in a sub-basement under a huge corporation until she is awakened by a stranger's kiss.

Rose slept through the Dark Times when the planet was besieged by plague and death that claimed her parents and her boyfriend's lives. Now she is awake in a new world and destined to take the reins of power of her parents' inter-planetary corporation. Some people see her as a threat to their own power; others see her as a freak or a liar. Rose just wants to find her way, and find a way of living without anyone. She barely gets through the days until she finds a friendship with Brendon (Bren) the boy who kissed her awake.

Someone has sent a Plastine, an engineered super-soldier, to kill her, and it will stop at nothing short of success. Rose realizes her father's reign of terror is far-reaching, even after his death.

Compelling and shocking, Rose's parents' actions are beyond abusive. They are power-hungry and selfish, bent on showing the world a "picture perfect" family while they steal their daughter's childhood one week, one year, two years, 62 years at a time. Rose remembers her early years and realizes that her parents sent her into stasis when it was convenient for them--when they needed to get away, to travel Europe, to take a second honeymoon, to throw a grown-ups only party. Her stasis tube became her womb-like babysitter--sometimes for years at a time. While the world changed and her friends grew older, Rose remained in stasis.

The shocking, yet satisfying ending came all-too-fast. The Long Long Sleep is a serious page-turner that mixes sci-fi with dystopian romance. Readers will practically weep for Rose with her child-like naivete and will later cheer her inner strength of character.

Highly, highly recommended grades 8 and up. No sex, no language. Some creepiness factor when Rose realizes Bren is the grandson of Xavier, her boyfriend of 62 years ago, and creepier still because Grandfather is still alive and Rose recognizes her childhood love. Remember she is sixteen and he is now in his eighties.

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