Tag Archives: dystopian

Blame by Simon Mayo – Book of the Week

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Book of the Week this week is for those of you who love a terrifying dystopian story.

Heritage crime [noun]: A previously undetected crime committed by your parents or grandparents for which you are held responsible.

Ant and her brother, Mattie, are locked up in Spike, a new family prison.

Society demands that they do time for the unpunished heritage crimes of their parents.

Tension is simmering inside the jail.

When the tension breaks and a riot begins, Ant realizes they’ve got one chance to break out.

It’s time for Ant to show the world that they’re NOT TO BLAME.

 

New Books in the Library

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New in the Library this week, and on the YA Book Prize display is the chilling The Call by Peadar O’Guilin.

‘Your people drove them out of their homes. Thousands of years later they turn up again – and they’re gonna wipe you out.’

THREE MINUTES…

On her birthday, Nessa finds out the terrible truth about her homeland, Ireland – the truth that will change her life forever.

TWO MINUTES…

That she and her friends must train for the most dangerous three minutes of their lives: THE CALL.

ONE MINUTE…

That any day now, without warning, they will each wake in a terrifying land, alone and hunted, with a one in ten chance of returning alive.

If you look very carefully at the cover you will see that it is made up of rows and rows of little skulls…

Day 12 of the Library Advent Calendar

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siberiaWe are up to Day 12, and today’s book is set in a dystopian future in a cold, cold land.

When Sloe was tiny, her Papa disappeared and she and her mama went to live in a prison camp in the snowy north, in a time and place when there are no more wild animals. Mama’s crime: teaching science, and her dedication to the hope that the lost animal species can be reborn. To Sloe, Mama’s secret work is magic, as enchanting as Mama’s tales of a bright city across the ice where they will be free.

Years later, Sloe is sent to a prison school, and Mama disappears. At 13, Sloe escapes, pursued by a mysterious man. With only hope to keep her going, Sloe sets out on a solitary 1000-mile journey. But she is not truly alone for Mama left Sloe a gift: the seeds of five missing species and the knowledge to bring them to life.

Noughts & Crosses on the BBC!

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Noughts and CrossesIt has just been announced that Malorie Blackman’s Noughts & Crosses will be dramatised by the BBC some time soon. Click here to read about it on Malorie Blackman’s official site, and here to read about it on the BBC.

I’ve always thought that Noughts & Crosses would be a really great film, so I’m looking forward to this – there’s no date yet, but hopefully it won’t be too long.

Book of the Week – Concentr8 by William Sutcliffe

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Concentr8Concentr8 is a powerful and disturbing story about what happens when society tries to control what it perceives as troubled teenagers.

Five kids.  Six days.  A city in meltdown.  A moment that changes everything.

Troy, Femi, Karen, Lee. And Blaze. How do five kids from a south London council estate become the centre of a global media frenzy? They have a hostage, but what do they want? Only one young journalist, following a trail that leads to the Mayor of London, seems capable of finding the answer.

This is the story of what happens when angry, overlooked teenagers find themselves face to face with the powers that be. This is what happens when you take a city off its meds.

Four: A Divergent Collection by Veronica Roth, reviewed by HS

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fourFour is a book by Veronica Roth, the author of the Divergent series. This was suppose to be the book starting the series but came to a standstill and has now been released as a collection. The story is from the view of Tobias Eaton, known as Four in the series and shows what happened to him when he chose Dauntless. The first three parts are two years prior to the main story of Divergent, before Tris chose her faction. I really like the story because after I finished the first book I thought about how Four had been like before he met Tris. My favourite part of the story was when Four met someone from his past that he thought was dead. I don’t really want to spoil the story for everyone so this is all I’m going to write.

New Books in the Library – The Fearless by Emma Pass

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Fearless

A new book, by a new author – The Fearless is a thrilling novel, set in a world not so different from ours, which of course makes the story even more chilling…

The Fearless. An army, powered by an incredible new serum that makes each soldier stronger, sharper, faster than their enemies. Intended as a force for good, the serum has a terrible side-effect – anyone who takes it is stripped of all humanity, empathy, love. And as the Fearless sweep through the country, forcing the serum on anyone in their path, society becomes a living nightmare.

Cass remembers the night they passed through her village. Her father was Altered. Her mother died soon after. All Cass has left is her little brother – and when Jori is snatched by the Fearless and taken to their hellish lair, Cass must risk everything to get him back.

You can visit Emma Pass’s website (linked to the book cover) to find out more about her, her writing and her other book Acid, which has now been added to the library things-to-buy list.

Blurb and cover from publisher website, http://www.totallyrandombooks.co.uk/.

Book of the Week – The Girl with all the Gifts by M. R. Carey

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girlwithallthegiftsMelanie is a very, very intelligent little girl, who loves her teacher Miss Justineau, and who has to be guarded and watched over all the time…

Every morning, Melanie waits in her cell to be collected for class. When they come for her, Sergeant Parks keeps his gun pointing at her while two of his people strap her into the wheelchair. She thinks they don’t like her. She jokes that she won’t bite. But they don’t laugh.

I’m not sure whether to categorise The Girl with all the Gifts as post-apocalyptic, dystopian, a thriller or a zombie novel – possibly it’s all of these. It is a great read, with an unexpected twist at the end (or at least, I wasn’t expecting it) and a shining example of how important education is!