Lina has only known life in the City of Ember, a settlement built and stocked with all the supplies its citizens might need hundreds of years earlier. Now the shelves of the storehouses grow increasingly bare, and power outages plague everyone. When Lina and her best friend Doon discover a damaged document, Lina wonders if it could be from the Builders themselves. She and Doon work to decipher the message and save Ember before the city’s power supply fails for the last time.
I picked up this book because a friend recommended it, and I’m so glad I did. Actually, I wish I’d found it sooner, because it’s definitely the kind of story my daughter and I would have enjoyed reading together when she was a little younger. City of Ember would make an excellent family read. If there’s an audiobook version, I’d recommend it for a family road trip.
Reading the chapters, I felt like I could see the city underground. The characters are confused by references to things outside their experience that are commonplace for us. This definitely gave the story that closed-in feel while letting the readers have a bit of a laugh at the joke.
I loved Lina and her family, Doon, and especially Doon’s father, who always encouraged him to think more deeply and critically about the world around him, even when it was an unpopular thing to do.
If you liked The Giver or The Diary of Anne Frank you want to check this one out. Sorry, I know those are both classics… this story definitely has the same kind of feel to me, and has won many awards as well.
Recommended for Ages 8 to 12.
Cultural Elements
There weren’t many cultural details given about the characters, but most appeared to be white.
Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.
Romance/Sexual Content None.
Spiritual Content Long ago, Builders built the city and left Instructions for the people to follow. Citizens still keep the instructions as sacred, but not in a worshipped sense.
Violent Content At one point, guards chase Lina and threaten her with confinement.
A reward poster reveals to seventeen-year-old Elka that the man who raised her for the last seven years is not the father she’s hoped for him to be. The poster unlocks details of memories Elka kept suppressed, and she knows she can no longer deny the truth of the monster he is. With a vengeful law officer hot on the trail, Elka knows she can’t return home. Her only choice is to push north, toward the place she keeps locked in her heart, the place her mama talked about in her last letter. The journey spans hundreds of miles of unforgiving wilderness, and Elka will need all her skills to survive everything nature can throw at her. But the deadliest enemy hunting Elka isn’t a beast, but the very man she once hoped loved her.
This novel is a bit darker than the books I usually read. What drew me to it was the psychological elements of the story: Elka’s suppressed memories and the real reasons her adopted father tracks her through her quest. I loved that the story didn’t follow a straight shot from the revelation that the man was a serial killer to his capture.
The Wolf Road wasn’t so much about the violence but about its effect on Elka and how she viewed the world. She didn’t realize how much her views were skewed until she broadened her community to include others. I think that’s an important message—that we need others in our lives to sort of check and balance us. There’s never a moment in the story where the author says, okay, here’s the real message, but it came through loud and clear, which I definitely appreciated, and certainly isn’t an easy feat.
The violence was a difficult hurdle for me, since I’m super sensitive to that. I liked that Elka feels consistently horrified by those moments. If you know me at all, you know I really struggle with stories that seem to revel in a killer’s cruelty or insanity. I can’t handle that. But this story didn’t do that, which made the scenes easier.
Elka’s character definitely felt real and three-dimensional to me. Sometimes I forgot that she was seventeen, but I feel like even that was appropriate. I feel like the incredibly sheltered life she’d lived would have matured her in some ways and left her stunted in others—and that definitely came through on the pages of the story.
This novel is probably not for the faint of heart, but if you like intense stories and wilderness survival, it’s probably right up your alley. See below for more specific content information.
Recommended for Ages 16 up.
Cultural Elements
Elka meets a black man and his son in her travels. She becomes close friends with him and his sister. There are hints at romance between Elka’s companion and the man.
Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity used with moderate frequency.
Romance/Sexual Content – TRIGGER WARNING A man tries to rape Elka. She fights back, but it’s clearly traumatizing. Elka and a friend find themselves sold by a human trafficker. It’s unclear what Elka’s companion has had to endure before Elka finds her, but she knows how to use her body to manipulate men.
Spiritual Content The story takes place following what might have been a world war that some refer to as the Rapture. Elka takes more of her grandmother’s view of it, referring to it as a big stupid event.
At one point, she’s captured by a man who intends to perform some kind of spiritual ritual sacrifice which he believes will ensure a mild winter.
Violent Content The Wolf Road contains intense violence. Elka hides from her adopted father, who tracks her like an animal. It’s unclear whether he intends to kill her, but she knows he’s killed others. At one point he says some pretty creepy stuff to her, like about how her skin would make a nice pair of boots. Elka hunts and kills/prepares meat for her dinner. A man captures Elka for a ritual sacrifice. Elka stabs a man more than once in self-defense.
As the story unfolds, Elka remembers more and more about her life with the man who adopted her. Some of the details are pretty grisly. The man murdered and dismembered his victims—usually women and sometimes children—sometimes eating them.
Drug Content
A man drugs Elka without her knowledge.
Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
The only thing separating Ivy and her community from a deadly zombie plague is a fence. All day long, she can hear them taunting her from the other side. Once she had the same disease they do. Then she learned a truth that changed her forever: she became a Christian, and her disease was healed.
When a missionary brings a young boy and new Believer to the community, his brother, still plagued with disease, demands that the people let the boy return to him. At first Ivy is disgusted with this outsider and his stink of rot. Just as she’s learning to accept him, he disappears, and Ivy learns that the organization responsible for the zombie plague wants to capture her. Worse still, that someone within the community has betrayed her. When an attack comes, Ivy has to figure out who she can trust and who will help her escape with her life.
I thought the setting was a really fascinating component of Infectious. It takes place after the Rapture has taken Christians and young children from the earth. A deadly plague with Leprosy-like symptoms spreads throughout humanity. The only cure is to surrender one’s life to God and become a Christian. I thought that made an interesting metaphor for faith and lent itself well to a post-apocalyptic zombie story. So that was cool.
In this dark time, most of the Believers sequester themselves inside communities barred to outsiders. Some of the mechanics of how this works were a little bit of a stretch to me in terms of how they got supplies and those sorts of logistics. There are some missionaries who travel among the infected and bring new converts to live in communities like Ivy’s.
At one point, Ivy’s in a bit of trouble, and her attitude definitely needs adjusting. She winds up having a come-to-Jesus moment in which she reconnects with her faith in a deeper way and believes that hiding away in these shut-in villages isn’t the right way to live as a Believer.
I loved that moment, because reading the story, I’d been thinking much the same thing. Why are they hiding away from everyone when they literally have the cure for the disease that’s literally killing humanity? So that was awesome. I thought okay, maybe she’ll become a missionary or something now. Instead, she has this big revelation and then kind of immediately falls back into her usual patterns of thinking and behavior, which I found disappointing.
Sometimes it felt like this story wasn’t sure what it was really about. Is it a love story? Is it an allegory about Christian faith? Infectious explored both of those ideas, but sometimes they didn’t play nicely together.
Overall, I think taking a post-apocalyptic zombie story and adding the faith elements to it made for a fresh, interesting tale. The story didn’t deliver for me in terms of exploring what the church should be in a dark time like that. I found myself disappointed in the whole ‘hiding away in homogenous communities’ thing. I didn’t find that to be an admirable representation of the body of Believers.
Recommended for Ages 14 up.
Cultural Elements
The two cultures at play were Christian versus non-Christian. The story didn’t focus on race or orientation. I think all of the characters may have been white. There was one guard who had sort of an island accent.
Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.
Romance/Sexual Content Some references to sex.
Spiritual Content Infectious takes place in a community of people who became Christians post-Rapture. Becoming a Christian heals the Believer from a deadly disease. Outside the community, people are sick. Many appear to pursue drug abuse, promiscuous sex, and cannibalism.
Violent Content Apparently food has become so scarce that outside Ivy’s community, people have resorted to cannibalism for food. In some places women conceive children to later sell them to be used as food. It’s horrible and also honestly, that was difficult for me to get my head around. It’s awful, but also didn’t seem very practical. It seemed like a really difficult, expensive way to attempt to get food.
The story contains brief descriptions of the symptoms of the disease, which causes flesh to rot and fall off, much like Leprosy. A man attacks Ivy and scratches her neck. Another man fatally shoots a girl.
Drug Content
Brief references to drug abuse happening outside Ivy’s community.
Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
In Sam’s world there are two rules. Rule #1: Nobody dies. Protect the living at all costs. Rule #2: Everybody dies. At least once.
The Waking was a global event in which a force called the Lifeblood invaded all humans who died. The few strong enough to control it came back as powerful immortals. The rest let the bloodlust take over and awoke with one goal – to kill.
Newly appointed Watch Guard Samantha Shields has a legacy to uphold. Her father died a hero defending their city and now she wants to follow in his footsteps. Except for the dying part, of course. Unfortunately, fate has other plans as she discovers deep dark secrets that make her choose between her loyalties and the lives of everyone in her city. Both rules are in play as Sam is forced to make hard decisions that could cost her everything – including the person she cares about most.
My Review
I liked that this book took a different spin on zombies by having a sort of zombie lottery, in which some dead rise as powerful heroes. David, one of the Chosen, was my favorite character. I liked that he was that classic good guy having to make some hard choices with a lot of obstacles to overcome. He didn’t do everything perfectly, but protecting those in his charge meant a lot to him.
The narration sort of bounces around from one point-of-view to another, and I found that to be a little disruptive for me as I was reading. I’d be in one character’s viewpoint and then a thought from another character would drop in and I’d have to stop and reread to make sure I didn’t miss something. I wasn’t crazy about Lena and Sam’s relationship. I just didn’t really get why they were together. I felt like there was more chemistry between Sam and David than between Lena and Sam.
In one part, Sam and her soldier partner go on a rescue mission, but they only rescue one civilian and don’t seem concerned with any of the others at risk. I found it odd that they didn’t at least try to save the others or seem to feel any remorse about leaving them behind.
Readers who like fast-paced military or zombie stories would probably like this book. I’d recommend it to fans of Ryan Gish’s Enthralled.
Cultural Elements
One character, a shaman, has an islander accent. Most of the major characters appear to be white.
Profanity/Crude Language Content
Strong profanity used frequently.
Romance/Sexual Content Lena and Sam have a sexual relationship. They kiss and make out, and a couple of scenes hint at them having sex and sleeping/waking together.
Spiritual Content A shaman has a powerful gift for connecting with a person’s spirit. A force called the Lifeblood causes the dead to rise as Woken (zombie-like creatures) or Chosen (powerful warriors).
Violent Content Graphic descriptions of battle between Woken and humans and/or Chosen.
Drug Content
None.
Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
I’m today’s stop on the Swan Riders Blog Tour with Irish Banana Blog Tours. Yay! Check out my review of The Swan Riders, learn about author Erin Bow and stick around for the giveaway information so you can enter to win one of three copies of the book!
The Swan Riders Erin Bow
Margaret K. McElderry Books
Available September 20,2016
Greta Stuart had always known her future: die young. She was her country’s crown princess, and also its hostage, destined to be the first casualty in an inevitable war. But when the war came it broke all the rules, and Greta forged a different path.
She is no longer princess. No longer hostage. No longer human. Greta Stuart has become an AI.
If she can survive the transition, Greta will earn a place alongside Talis, the AI who rules the world. Talis is a big believer in peace through superior firepower. But some problems are too personal to obliterate from orbit, and for those there are the Swan Riders: a small band of humans who serve the AIs as part army, part cult.
Now two of the Swan Riders are escorting Talis and Greta across post-apocalyptic Saskatchewan. But Greta’s fate has stirred her nation into open rebellion, and the dry grassland may hide insurgents who want to rescue her – or see her killed. Including Elian, the boy she saved—the boy who wants to change the world, with a knife if necessary. Even the infinitely loyal Swan Riders may not be everything they seem.
Greta’s fate—and the fate of her world—are balanced on the edge of a knife in this smart, sly, electrifying adventure.
My Review
As soon as I finished The Scorpion Rules (book one in the series) I wanted to read this book. I loved the sweeping view of the world and its complex politics and advanced science. Totally different spin on what-if-AI-ruled-the-world? I loved it.
In the first book, the Swan Riders are these terrifying warriors-slash-messengers. Now that Greta has become AI, the Swan Riders are her soldiers, too. The fact that she had such a complex past with them made her journey with them really intense, too. This is definitely one of those books with lots of layers, and with such tight storytelling that every time I thought I knew how things were going to go, some new conflict entered the picture, ratcheting the stakes up even higher.
Just as in the first book, the writing is deep and often poetic. Love is often star-crossed at best. The story explores the question of what makes us human, and are those qualities assets or liabilities? As one character faces death, others rally to show love and support. It’s such a powerful, human moment. What is more human than to gather with a loved one and do what you can to ease their transition into death and grieve for them? Powerful stuff, and well-incorporated into the story.
The technology elements are well-developed, too, and play an important role in the story. I wouldn’t call this light sci-fi. But it has vibrant characters and a lot of action as well, so I’d venture to say even readers who aren’t super keen on sci-fi would still find plenty about it to enjoy.
Cultural Elements
Characters represent diverse backgrounds. Greta herself is white. Her lover, Xie, is Asian. Greta and her lover are lesbians. She has African and Asian companions.
Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild, used infrequently.
Romance/Sexual Content Greta dreams about her experiences with Xie, a girl she left behind in her old life. The dreams are vague but sexual. It’s clear she’s still in love with her. There’s a girl/girl kiss later in the story. Two of the Swan Riders have been in a relationship. One, a girl named Rachel, spends the bulk of the story being controlled by Talis, an AI who was once a man. So some of the pronouns get a little confusing there. Usually the pronoun represents who’s speaking, without regard to the gender of the vessel or body that the AI is using.
Spiritual Content Xie is considered a goddess by her people.
Violent Content Brief battle scenes. A boy stabs a Swan Rider. Greta remembers being tortured with an apple press. There are other threats of torture. At one point, a Rider who is terminally ill asks another Rider to end her life in a ceremonial way.
Drug Content
None.
Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Hi! My name is Erin Bow — physicist turned poet turned author of young adult novels that will make you cry on the bus. I’m a white girl, forty-something, feminist, geeky enough to do the Vulcan salute with both hands — in public. I live in Canada. I love to cook, hate to clean, and yes, I do own a cat.
In the beginning, I was a city girl from farm country—born in Des Moines and raised in Omaha—where I was fond of tromping through wood lots and reading books by flashlight. In high school I captained the debate team, founded the math club, and didn’t date much.
In university I studied particle physics, and worked briefly at the European Centre for Nuclear Research (CERN) near Geneva, Switzerland. Physics was awesome, but graduate school kind of sucked, and at some point I remembered that I wanted to write books.
Books: I have six of them — three novels, and two volumes of poetry and a memoir (the poetry under my maiden name, Erin Noteboom). My poetry has won the CBC Canadian Literary Award, and several other awards. My two novels, Plain Kate and Sorrow’s Knot, also have a fistful of awards, including Canada’s top award for children’s literature, the TD. The third novel, The Scorpion Rules, still faces its award season. No one read the memoir.
Right now I’m looking forward to the publication of my fourth novel, a companion piece to The Scorpion Rules called The Swan Riders, which will be out September 20 from Simon & Schuster. I’m at work on an new an entirely different novel, and a book of poetry about science.
Did you notice I got to Canada in there somewhere? Yeah, that was true love. I’m married to a Canadian boy, James Bow, who also writes young adult novels. We have two small daughters, both of whom want to be scientists.
Selah has finally found her father only to lose the rest of her family. And with her transformation to novarium in process, the clock is ticking down to her destruction if she doesn’t complete the final phase in time. Answers will only be found by returning to the one place Selah least wants to go: the Mountain. She must gather the answers she needs, rescue her family, and bring her friends to safety before time runs out.
I think my first mistake was probably in reading this book without having read Thunder, the first book in the series. I never felt like I could fully grasp the storyworld elements critical to the tale. I’m still not totally sure what Landers are and I definitely didn’t follow the First, Second, and Third protocol explanations or understand why they were relevant. A lot of the information comes out in the form of dialogue, but I kept feeling like I was missing the pieces of information that would make everything suddenly make sense.
The side characters were my favorite. Mari and Cleon and Treva, in particular. Selah felt uneven to me, sometimes acting like a grown adult and other times reading much more like a younger teen. Some of her conversations with Bodhi (I LOVED the character names in the story) felt like they were arguing because this is the scene in which they’re supposed to argue. Some of the dialogue felt like it was jumping around and responses didn’t seem to follow any linear ideas.
I liked that there were all these groups vying to use Selah for their own means. Even her father had his own agenda. That kept me guessing and wondering what would be around the next bend in the story.
Bottom line for me: if you’re going to read this series, start with Thunder. I haven’t read it, but I think I would have enjoyed Lightning a lot more if I wasn’t struggling to understand the mechanics of the storyworld in the midst of the tale itself.
Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.
Romance/Sexual Content Brief kissing.
Spiritual Content None.
Violent Content There are some brief battles, but very little gory detail. One of Selah’s companions is fatally injured and asks to be left behind.
