Dystopian Pick: Plague Land

Plague Land
by Alex Scarrow
Sourcebooks
December 2017
384 pages
ISBN: 9781492652106

In this scary sci-fi dystopian novel, main character Leon watches a news story about  a horrific virus that has broken out in Africa. His mother tells him not to worry; they're so far away in England. Within a week, the deadly sickness has spread to England, and it's terrifying.

Bodies liquify and turn to "juice."Entire cities are wiped out. The strange thing is that the way the plague seems to be moving, as if it's adapting. Humans are on the run, but there is no outrunning whatever this is. It  may be the end of the human race.

The ending leave an opening for a series, and YA fans will not want to wait long to pick up the sequel.

Recommended grade 9-up.

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

Action Pick: Boy X

Boy X
by Dan Smith
Chicken House
2017
288 pages
ISBN: 9781338065640

Available February 28, 2017

Kdnapped, drugged, and transported to a remote location, Ash wakes up in a bed surrounded by stark white walls. He remembers bits and pieces of being kidnapped along with his mother, and he begins searching this hospital (prison?) for her. The place is deserted and Ash cannot find any clues about where he is until he sees the view from the front doors. It looks like he is stuck in the middle of a jungle somewhere. Ash exits the doors, goes into the forest and sees a girl about his age. She tells him he is on Isla Negra, Black Island, and that her father works inside the BioSphere (the building he woke up in). Ash and Isobel go inside to search for her father and Ash's mother.

 Gunshots ring out, a helicopter crashes, the building is sealed, and their  parents are locked inside of a lab.  There they were exposed to Kronos, a poison that will kill them in 24 hours unless they get the antidote. Ash feels strange and disoriented. He has a heightened sense of smell and hearing. Ash is changing, and he's not the only one.

Ash is determined to save his mother's life but he'll need the help of Isobel to cross the island, find the thieves, steal the poison back along with the antidote, and stay alive long enough to deliver it to BioSphere and save his mother and Isobel's father.

What is BioSphere and why is Ash's mother involved? What happened to Ash when he was unconscious? And who wants to change him?

Fast pacing and non-stop action make this a must read for reluctant readers. Each chapter shows a clock showing hours and minutes left that the kids have to get the poison and cure. Readers will feel on edge as Ash races to save the world and his mother.

Highly recommended for action and adventure junkies. Anyone who loves a medical mystery/government cover up story will love Boy X.

Grades 4-8.

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

Dystopian Pick: Partials--Coming Soon!

Partials
by Dan Wells
Balzer + Bray
2012
480 pages (page count from publisher's website)

Available 2/28/12

Watch the book trailer here

Chilling, creepy, and caustic, Partials is a provocative dystopian thrill-ride. After an apocalyptic war with the Partials, super-soldiers designed by Paragen, a genetics corporation, to kill the human race, some human survivors band together in New York and try to find a way to defeat RM, a dangerous and stubborn virus released by the Partials that attacks all new human births. Babies born after the war with the Partials die within a few days. Unless scientists can figure out a way to cure them, the human race is doomed.

Kira works in the hospital monitoring new births and recording all vital statistics. She is furious that the babies are dying. All she sees is babies being born, doctors and nurses recording their data, and babies dying. No one is thinking up a new way to study RM. Kira realizes the only ones who aren't dying of RM are the Partials. They are immune.

Kira approaches her boyfriend Marcus, her best friend Madison and her husband Haru, and a few other soldiers and recruits them to accompany her on a dangerous and eventful mission: enter enemy territory and kidnap a Partial. She plans to bring the Partial back to the hospital to study his blood and tissue samples to try to find a cure for RM and a way to save humanity.

The Hope Act passed by the Senate has just dropped the age for mandatory pregnancy. Girls age sixteen are now expected to have at least one pregnancy per year, hoping that the more babies being born will insure that someday one will live. Kira knows more babies born each year just guarantees that more babies will die, and now the law affects her, too; Kira turns sixteen.

The mission is a success with casualties. The Partial is sedated and taken to the lab. Kira is in trouble with the Senate, but they listen and give her five days to test the subject. As she spends more time with the Partial, she begins to empathize with him--he looks human, he acts almost human, he must have feelings, he must be lonely and scared. She learns his name is Samm--and this makes him a "person." Marcus is worried that Kira is treating the enemy like a human and that she may actually be falling in love with him.

When the Senate tries to manipulate the situation and kill Samm, Kira counts on her friends and Samm to help her escape and cure RM. What Kira finds on her journey is shocking; it changes her whole world.

The ending left this reader wondering what will happen next? A sequel, perhaps? Yep, on checking the author's website, book two is Failsafe. Kira can't just walk away--not with the new information about her past and her life. Will humanity make a comeback? Will the Partials and the humans make peace?

The cover and the print on the front cover, "The only hope for humanity isn't human" will attract teen readers. The strong female protagonist is not only determined but downright pig-headedly stubborn and she will resonate with girls and boys. I appreciated the fact that the author left romance out of the equation almost entirely--humans are fighting for survival and bombs are blowing up everywhere--who has time for romance? Trying to save the world is a full-time job!

Highly, highly recommended grades 9-up. Violence and death. The fact that teen girls are incubators and love is nearly non-existant is best for upper grades.

Don't forget to watch the trailer here

FTC required disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. I did not receive any monetary compensation for this review.