Catching Fire

Suzanne Collins

The second installment of the popular series The Hunger Games, Catching Fire revolves around Katniss Everdeen learning that her actions in the previous novel have sparked various feuds around the district. Katniss, along with Peeta must compete again in the Hunger Games, but with past victors; with the uprising of a rebellion, Katniss is in the center of all attention. Katniss’s loved ones are punished and held hostage as a way for President Snow to control her life. New characters are introduced, some that aid Katniss and Peeta in their journey, while there are others who seem like threats. Katniss Everdeen must relive the horror of the Hunger Games but with more issues, obstacles and a larger burden on her mind.

 

For readers that enjoyed the first book in the series, Catching Fire will intrigue them equally, especially with the protagonist under fire. This allows the reader to gain the knowledge of trust as well as dealing with serious issues in their lives. For readers that have not started this series, I highly recommend reading the previous novel as events in the story will become easier to understand. I definitely recommend this novel to readers of all genres especially due to its excitement, suspense and lessons on family. -Eesa K.

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The Hunger Games

Suzanne Collins

The reaping of The Hunger Games, an annual competition where members of various districts fight to the death, changes the life of 16-year old Katniss Everdeen as she takes the responsibility of feeding her family. After her little sister is chosen, Katniss volunteers and takes the place of her sister in the games. Katniss, temporarily teaming up with Peeta Mellark, a teenager who is also selected to represent their district in the games, learns the values of family, perseverance and trust and gains a variety of skillsets. With the aid of her deadly crossbow, Katniss is able to survive, gather food, and fight for her life, until she is blinded by the media and the effects of the games as she must pretend to love Peeta for the sake of her own safety.

 

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins is a novel that has raised the bar of quality regarding books in the adventure and sci-fi genre. The book is action packed with lots of twists and turns and constantly leaves the reader questioning how the next scenes will unfold. The Hunger Games without a doubt is a must–read and is suitable for all ages. –Eesa K.

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Rabbit & Robot

Andrew Smith

Cager has been transported to the Tennessee, a giant lunar-cruise ship orbiting the moon that his dad owns, by Billy and Rowan to help him shake his Woz addiction. Meanwhile, Earth, in the midst of thirty simultaneous wars, burns to ash beneath them. And as the robots on board become increasingly insane and cannibalistic, and the Earth becomes a toxic wasteland, the boys have to wonder if they’ll be stranded alone in space forever.

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The Martian

Andy Weir

The Martian is a science fiction novel set in the not-too-distant-future during the first steps of humanity’s journey towards the planet Mars. Mark Watney, the book’s main protagonist, is a botanist among the first astronauts to land on Mars, the ARES III crew. However, their mission is cut short as a massive sandstorm crashes down on their base. In an attempt to evacuate the planet, Mark Watney is whisked away in a horrific accident, forcing the ARES crew to leave him behind. Alone in the harshest places known to mankind, readers are introduced to a foreign world of peril and emptiness like the lone wanderer, Watney. Mark Watney, equipped with his snarky attitude and rockstar-like wit, must surpass many obstacles and work new ways to survive Mars’ unforgiving landscape and dwindling supplies while NASA and Watney’s own crew create a plan to get him back home.

 

Most of the book follows Watney on the Martian planet as he super-renovates his Martian habitat while we connect to him more personally in this trying time. The pacing is great as the characters are always presented with new challenges, both physically and mentally, while cracking some well-executed jokes. The novel’s characters are all enjoyable and relatable, although their characterization becomes stale as the story progresses.

 

The Martian is a love-letter to sci-fi readers as the story is packed with carefully-crafted writing while leaving a sombre note on the idea of humanity. In conclusion, Andy Weir’s The Martian is a great novel that gets readers excited about space travel and its future. Although at times the book’s quality gets blunt, it never fails to pick itself up with a fantastic and rewarding story. -Joshua G.

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Trial by Fire

Pittacus Lore

In the aftermath of a thwarted alien invasion, teenagers across the globe have begun to develop incredible powers known as Legacies. While most are sent to the Human Garde Academy, countless others slip through the cracks—either by choice or by force.

Desperately wanting to help these lost teens, Six and Sam have joined a covert group tasked with investigating suspicious incidents that might be Legacy-related. The Legacy Chronicles companion series follows them on this mission, and this book collects the first three novellas. Originally published as digital originals, they are now together in one print volume for the first time ever.

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Divergent

Veronica Roth

Written by Veronica Roth, Divergent is a captivating science fiction and dystopian fiction book filled with believable characters and exciting events. The book focuses on Tris (the main character) and the struggles she faces trying to discover her true identity and fight for the truth in the dystopian, futuristic city she lives in, where everything is very structured and aimed to be a certain way, even the people. The story takes place in future Chicago, where society is divided into five factions; each of those factions values a certain trait/quality above anything else. Candor values honesty, Abnegation values selflessness, Amity values kindness, Dauntless values bravery and Erudite values knowledge. In Chicago, until you are 16, you are a part of the faction your parents are in, then when you turn 16 you choose a faction for yourself. Choosing a faction is the choice of your life, it decides your entire future. Beatrice/Tris Prior the main character was born into Abnegation, but she transferred to Dauntless to seek out a new exciting lifestyle and identity. With the help of her new friends, Tris tries to stop the impending war started by the leaders of Erudite and Dauntless for control of the government that is currently being run by Abnegation. Will she succeed or will the city of Chicago face hard times? Just read this enthralling novel to find out.

You will get hooked on “Divergent” once you start, it’s filled with thrilling events and relatable characters. I liked how the book included many different genres because while it was mostly a science-fiction book, it had action, adventure and even a little bit of humour and romance. While I was reading it, it had me wanting to keep reading more, and since finishing it has become one of my favourite books that I’ve read. I would definitely recommend this book to other teens. – Yara M.

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Every Day

David Levithan

A” is the name he gave himself. He is never the same person twice, always the same age and never too far from where he has already been. His way of living must sound crazy to you, but for “A” that’s life. He spends one day in the life of Justin, and that is where he meets Rhiannon. He knows that something between the two of them is not right so he gives her a day she can’t forget, but the only thing “A” can’t forget is her. He knows that it will always be impossible for them to be together and he is willing to try – but is Rhiannon?

An amazing novel that will keep you up for hours wondering what is going to happen next. “A” has never experienced love but he finds it easy with Rhiannon. The love he immediately feels for Rhiannon is like a rope that cannot be broken, and her heart is no one that he can risk breaking. This novel is so powerful you might have to read it more than once to understand what true love is all about. –Ali M.

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Lifel1k3

Jay Kristoff

On a floating junkyard beneath a radiation sky, a deadly secret lies buried in the scrap.

Eve isn’t looking for secrets—she’s too busy looking over her shoulder. The robot gladiator she’s just spent six months building has been reduced to a smoking wreck, and the only thing keeping her Grandpa from the grave was the fistful of credits she just lost to the bookies. To top it off, she’s discovered she can destroy electronics with the power of her mind, and the puritanical Brotherhood are building a coffin her size. If she’s ever had a worse day, Eve can’t remember it.

But when Eve discovers the ruins of an android boy named Ezekiel in the scrap pile she calls home, her entire world comes crashing down. With her best friend Lemon Fresh and her robotic conscience, Cricket, in tow, she and Ezekiel will trek across deserts of irradiated glass, infiltrate towering megacities and scour the graveyard of humanity’s greatest folly to save the ones Eve loves, and learn the dark secrets of her past.

Even if those secrets were better off staying buried.

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A Wrinkle In Time

Madeleine L’Engle

Madeleine L’Engle’s classic A Wrinkle in Time was published in 1962 and has become a favourite book for many young readers. At the time of its publication, A Wrinkle in Time was different in that it was science fiction (the author was reading about quantum physics) and had a female protagonist. Originally developed for the big screen in 2003, a new movie version of the book is out, starring Reese Witherspoon, Oprah Winfrey, and Mindy Kaling. The film is directed by Ava DuVernay, who directed the Academy Award-winning film Selma in 2014. We have several copies of the book in the collection, and not surprisingly, all copies are currently checked out.

It was a dark and stormy night; Meg Murry, her small brother Charles Wallace, and her mother had come down to the kitchen for a midnight snack when they were upset by the arrival of a most disturbing stranger.

“Wild nights are my glory,” the unearthly stranger told them. “I just got caught in a downdraft and blown off course. Let me be on my way. Speaking of way, by the way, there is such a thing as a tesseract”.

Meg’s father had been experimenting with this fifth dimension of time travel when he mysteriously disappeared. Now the time has come for Meg, her friend Calvin, and Charles Wallace to rescue him. But can they outwit the forces of evil they will encounter on their heart-stopping journey through space?

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The Fourth Dimension

Eric Walters

Fifteen-year-old Emma has moved house with her ex-Marine mother and younger brother. It’s a brand-new condo building, which explains the semi-regular power outages, as workers complete the units around them. So Emma is not particularly concerned when the latest blackout hits just as they are preparing to leave town on a long weekend camping trip. Then the car won’t start, and their cellphones appear dead — and all the cars outside their building seem to be stalled in a long traffic jam …

In the midst of what appears to be a massive power outage, with their camping gear packed and ready, Emma and her family canoe over to the islands, just offshore, to wait it out. While they land on an isolated island, with a relatively hidden site, they are far from safe, as people become increasingly desperate to find food and shelter. As the days pass, and the power remains out, the threat of violence becomes all too real.

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