Archive for September, 2014

Enclave by Ann Aguirre

Published September 16, 2014 Adventure , RAC Leave a Comment
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enclave

Genre: Futuristic fiction

# of Pages:  262

RAC:  Yes

2014 Iowa High School Award Winner

In this futuristic novel, Deuce is a huntress who lives underground in an enclave.  Humans have moved underground because life above ground is believed to be uninhabitable.  Her hunting partner, Fade, is very mysterious and there are rumors that at some point he has been above ground.  Together they work in the tunnels surrounding their enclave to find food for their people, but it dangerous work since there are many mutated “Freaks” in the tunnels fighting them for food.  When Deuce is officially allowed to finish her training and go into the tunnels she is surprised by how well the Freaks seem to fight.  She was taught that they were simple minded and easy to fool, but they appear to strategize and work together to outsmart the other fighters.  Meanwhile, a good friend of Deuce’s is accused of a crime she knows he did not commit so she takes the blame and is exiled to live above ground.  Surprisingly, Fade stands with her.  Can they survive above ground?  Will the enclave be safe without them to help defend the colony?

Fans of futuristic novels like Divergent and The Maze Runner will enjoy this novel because it does have a different spin on the genre.  Deuce is a very strong female character who will not give in to pressure to change her opinions or beliefs.  The story itself moves quickly with a lot of action which will pull in those reluctant readers who do not like slow moving plots.

The Naturals by Jennifer Barnes

Published September 5, 2014 Mythology , RAC Leave a Comment
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the-naturals

 

Genre:  Mystery

# of Pages:  308

RAC: Yes

Cassie has relied on her ability to read people since the mysterious disappearance of her mother five years ago.  She is surprised, however, when she is recruited to join an elite team in the FBI made up of teens with similar special abilities called The Naturals.  Cassie will be trained as a profiler for the FBI to use on cold cases.  She feels it is important for her to do this since her mother’s disappearance and presumed murder is still unsolved.  Once she starts training, however, she is pulled into an ongoing serial murder investigation in which the killer seems to be taunting the teens in the naturals.  More alarmingly, the case seems to be connected to her mother’s case.  Can they solve the murders or will Cassie become the next victim?

Fans of mysteries will love this new title as it combines an intriguing mystery story with tons of great, albeit mysterious characters so that Cassie does not know whom she can really trust.  The ending is very satisfying and will surprise most of the readers no matter how diligently they have followed the clues leading up to the exciting climax.  The book sets itself up well to become a series which is good because readers will want to see more of these naturals.  Recommended.

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