Category Archives: Sci-Fi

Review: Genius: The Game by Leopoldo Gout

Book Review and Content, Clean Fiction, Sci-Fi, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , ,

Genius: The Game by Leopoldo GoutGenius: The Game
Leopoldo Gout
Feiwel & Friends
Available May 3, 2016

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

As the clock counts down to Zero Hour, 200 of the best and brightest kids form teams competing to solve a challenge created by a young visionary with world-changing goals. For Rex, Tunde and Painted Wolf, the competition is only part of the challenge. Rex needs a supercomputer housed at the challenge site to locate his brother whose been missing for two years. A war lord threatens to wipe Tunde’s whole village off the map unless Tunde and his friends deliver a powerful weapon to him at the end of the contest. Painted Wolf will do anything to help her friends, but she must keep her identity a secret or her family’s lives are forfeit.

This book reminded me a little bit of On a Clear Day by Walter Dean Myers. It had a really diverse cast of extremely bright kids with very diverse talents (everything from biology to mechanical engineering to coding.) From the description of the book, I was expecting a much more tense, sort of cerebral thriller kind of tale. While there are some tense moments and the story follows the solving of a puzzle, I didn’t feel like I was really on the edge of my seat so much. I liked Rex a lot and Painted Wolf. Tunde felt a little stiff to me, but his strong sense of morality won me over for sure.

My husband is a software engineer, so I enjoyed showing him some of the code in the story and letting him kind of explain it to me. I liked the way Gout used the code to advance the story, and I was definitely excited to see a software guy in the hero seat. Loved that. (Obviously I’m a bit biased, but still.) I thought it was interesting how the pieces fit together into a much larger puzzle by the end of the story. I’m definitely curious as to where it will go next.

Readers looking for a high-tech adventure story should definitely give this one a read. I think fans of the Percy Jackson books would enjoy the team challenge elements of this story and the strong characters. Over all it’s really clean, and I definitely appreciated that, too.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
None.

Spiritual Content
None.

Violent Content
A war lord makes some threats to Tunde, saying he will basically destroy Tunde’s entire village unless Tunde brings him a custom-made weapon. At one point the war lord puts Tunde’s mom on the phone with him and she pleads with him. It’s intense, but not violent per se.

One team performs surgery on an insect to install an electrical control system.

Drug Content
None.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

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Review: Game Over by Andrew Klavan

Book Review and Content, Christian World-View, Clean Fiction, Sci-Fi, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , ,

Game Over
Andrew Klavan
Zondervan

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Rick awakes from a nightmare with scratches on his arm, scratches he knows came from the nightmare itself. A nightmare in which he’s trapped in The Realm, a video game world created by a terrorist that Rick has been tasked with destroying from the inside. Only now it seems Kurodar, the creator of The Realm, has Rick in his sights and is using his mind to further his plan for destruction. Rick must find a way to destroy The Realm before Kurodar overtakes him.

I was a little nervous about reading this book since it’s the third and final tale in a series I hadn’t read before. Turns out, I had nothing to worry about. Not only did I have no trouble following the story, I liked it enough that I’d probably go back and read the earlier books.

The characters were different from each other and interesting. Their relationships were complex and felt real and compelling, from minor characters like Miss Ferris all the way to Rick and Molly. There were some moments where things were summarized and we’re told this or that about a character, for instance, about Kurodar’s relationship with his father. In a story less intriguing, I might have minded that, because it can be kind of jarring to be pulled out of the story for a little here’s-what’s-going-on spiel. But honestly, I didn’t mind it here because I really wanted to know what would happen.

If you liked Ready Player One or Nirvana (or read my reviews of them and though the concept of a video game arena affecting reality sounded awesome) then you should definitely read this book. The Christian themes are strong and at moments possibly a bit cheesy, but again, I’ll be honest and say I found the frankness of the spiritual theme kind of refreshing as I’ve read several Christian novels by Christian publishers lately with only the barest whisper of faith in them.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
A few brief kisses.

Spiritual Content
Rick continues to wrestle with his feelings about his father’s previous disappearance. He realizes his dad’s faith in God is real and his own desperate circumstances rekindle his own faith.

Violent Content
Monsters cross from The Realm into the real world, attacking a military base and killing some soldiers. When the monsters are killed, they evaporate. Rick has to face a fearsome monster in The Realm.

Drug Content
None.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com® book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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Review: Away We Go by Emil Ostrovski

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Away We Go
Emil Ostrovski
Greenwillow Books
Published April 5, 2016

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

About Away We Go

Westing accepts only the brightest and best of students, so long as they also have one problem: a diagnosis of the terminal Peter Pan Virus (PPV.) Noah is one such case. As he wrestles to deal with the drastically shortened timeline of his life and the mandatory separation from his family and former friends, Noah finds something unexpected: love. The problem? He’s supposed to be in love with his girlfriend, Alice. Instead, he’s head-over-heels for the erratic boy who runs a secret club. The more time they spend together, the less certain Noah is about Zach’s feelings. As his friends become sicker, and the end of his own life draws near, Noah becomes frantic for answers. To his questions about love, the outside world, and what gives life meaning and value.

First – in reading some of the reviews about this book on other sites, it looks like some people expected this to be a dystopian story about the mass spread of an incurable virus, etc etc, oodles of suspenseful stuff racing toward a cure or something and were therefore disappointed when they uncovered one huge issue: that’s not what this story is. If you don’t like books about emotions (I do!), this probably isn’t one you want to pick up. Because there are LOTS.

My Review

This is more an emotional journey framed by a pandemic involving massive amounts of teens infected with a deadly, highly contagious, incurable disease. Also, a meteor that might hit earth. But those are kind of just the story’s frame. What we’re really watching unfold is this boy who’s trying desperately to figure out who he is and what that means. To himself. To the boy he loves. To the girl who loves him. And it’s a difficult, messy, heartbreaking, amazing journey.

I read Ostrovski’s debut a couple of months ago and was simply blown away by the unique perspective of the story, the fantastically witty banter between characters—even in the midst of these heartbreaking scenes, these characters were cracking me up—and the way these grand philosophical ideas were naturally woven into the story. But that’s another review, which you can read here.

Point being, as I started to read Away We Go, I was so nervous. I was afraid I wouldn’t like the story. And to be honest, after the first couple chapters, I was still nervous. I’m not sure when I really fell for Noah. Probably about the time he started snarking about sandwiches. Possibly not until he met Zach. But then I was hooked.

There were several things about the story that really stood out to me as awesome. One being the incorporation of the play Marty writes about Peter Pan and Wendy. I loved how that became this thread running through the story and that final scene captured the central conflict felt by so many of the characters in the story.

When I was a teenager, I knew a girl who was terminally ill. We weren’t very close, largely because I didn’t understand a lot of the things she did. Now, looking back, I feel like I really misjudged her. I wanted her to behave like I did. I honestly never considered (not in a mean way, just ignorant, sadly…) what it would be like to be seventeen and know that you probably wouldn’t live past thirty and how that might change what felt reasonable, necessary. Urgent.

I thought about her a lot as I read this book. I thought about how there’s a real question, in the story, about whether or not the students should be educated. I mean, they’re all going to die. Is there a point? Is education a human right? I thought that was a really cool element to explore. It’s not deeply followed, but I liked even just the drive-by moment. I thought about her as Noah rockets down this somewhat destructive path toward trying to capture love.

In terms of the writing, I have to say that the way some of the characters had really distinct voices definitely made them seem real. Ostrovski’s writing absolutely shines in dialogue between characters. Amazing stuff. Moving on before I get star-struck and gushy…

So if you’re looking for a really heart-wrenching read with a lot of complex characters and witty banter, some exploration of moral issues and love, add this book to your list. See below for content information from the story.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Extreme profanity and some crude language used with moderate frequency. One girl condemns this behavior.

Romance/Sexual Content
Boy/girl and boy/boy romance and sex described in some detail.

Spiritual Content
Westing has a group of students who’ve formed a religious organization for support and faith community. The details of the faith system stay pretty murky, and Noah does not get involved.

Violent Content
A boy falls to his death. Noah learns two students have been shot. Brief descriptions of rumors about what happens to kids who read end stage PPV and are transferred to other facilities. (Are they experimented on, that sort of thing.)

Drug Content
Noah (and his friends) drink quite a bit of alcohol, behavior condemned by another friend.

Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

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Review: Across a Star-swept Sea by Diana Peterfreund

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Across a Star-swept Sea (For Darkness Shows the Stars #2)
Diana Peterfreund
Balzer + Bray

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

Persis Blake has two lives. In one, she’s the center of high society and the Albion queen’s best friend. In the other, she’s the Wild Poppy, rescuing prisoners of the neighboring kingdom’s revolution. When a refugee connected to the head of the Galatean revolution shows up seeking asylum, Persis can’t help but suspect his motives. Justen, a Galatean medic and scientist, carries a secret with him into exile. One that could provide the Galatean Revolutionaries with an even more powerful weapon. Persis and Justen begin to fall for one another, but there’s just one problem. Their love could jeopardize everything.

I bought this book years ago on pure name recognition. I’d been in an email loop for young adult writers with Diana Peterfreund (go TeenLitAuthors!) and her contributions to the group stood out to me as being really helpful. So when I saw this book on the shelf at Barnes & Noble, I was like, hey I like her! And I picked it up.

Once I realized it was a story inspired by The Scarlet Pimpernel, one of my favorite classic tales, I was nervous. I mean… I LOVE that story. And I love the movie with Jane Seymour. So I was really worried that I wouldn’t be able to enjoy the story for pointing out things that didn’t translate well into this sci-fi setting.

How wrong I was. It was obvious to me in reading this story that Peterfreund is a huge fan of The Scarlet Pimpernel. There were moments where I literally put the book down and turned to my husband exclaiming something along the lines of, “I can’t believe she put this in the story! It’s absolutely classic TSP!”

The biggest change of course is the addition of all the sci-fi elements. Instead of Madame Guillotine, we have a drug that causes brain damage. Revolutionaries force this on their imprisoned enemies and treat them as slaves. Within the context of the story, it really translated well. I liked that it raised some big moral questions and still maintained the urgency needed to fuel the Wild Poppy’s action. I loved that Across a Star-swept Sea reversed the gender roles of many of the characters.

The point-of-view of each character was really well-done, too. When I was in the POV of a soldier, it felt like being inside a military mind. When I was in Justen’s POV, I watched him break down situations the way a scientist would. When I was in Persis’s POV, I watched her struggle with all the competing parts of her identity.

If you liked These Broken Stars, I think you should definitely check out Across a Star-swept Sea. Though it’s the second in a series, I think it’s fine to read as a stand-alone. I do want to go back and read the first book, but I didn’t have any trouble following this book without having read the other one first. I hesitate to compare it to the Lunar Chronicles – both are great, and I highly recommend them. The writing felt different to me, but still really good. But yes. I think if you liked the fairytales-gone-sci-fi elements of Cinder, you’ll probably like Across the Star-swept Sea.

Language Content
None.

Romance/Sexual Content
A couple of intense kisses.

Spiritual Content
A brief comment stating that some believe a global misfortune is due to the gods taking revenge on humanity for attempting to perfect themselves.

Violence
There are a couple of quick skirmishes between soldiers, but most of the violence deals more with the use of a weapon which reduces one’s mental capacity. It’s a punishment that revolutionaries use against imprisoned enemies. The story follows discussion about whether there are just instances to use such a weapon. I loved the exploration of this topic and felt like the moral consequences were clearly stated.

Drug Content
See violence. A pill contains the ability to reduce one’s mental capabilities. Also, this society has the ability to temporarily supplement or enhance genes to change the way one looks. It’s still fairly new, fairly controversial, but several characters use the technology to create disguises.

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Review: Lunar Chronicles Series Finale, Winter by Marissa Meyer

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Winter (Lunar Chronicles #4)
Marissa Meyer
Feiwel & Friends

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

As Cinder and her friends race toward Luna, the final battle with Levana draws near. With the help of her friends, Cinder must rally her people against the queen, liberate them by dethroning her aunt, and take her place as queen. If she fails, it’s pretty much game over – Levana will take over earth once her marriage to Kai is complete, where she’ll enslave everyone.

Though Levana’s ward, Princess Winter, has always seemed reclusive and crazy, the people love her. When that love becomes yet another threat to Queen Levana’s rule, Winter’s stepmother orders her killed at the hands of the guard who has loved Winter since they were children. Though Cinder comes to Luna to stir up a revolution, she may be Winter’s only hope.

There were so many moments in this story that satisfied the needs the earlier books in the series created for me. Scarlet and Wolf. Cress and Thorne. Cinder and Kai. All the romance!! So good.

At first, I wasn’t super crazy about Winter. Jacin wasn’t my favorite either. As the story progressed, I liked both of them more, but I think it was tough to compete for my affection amid the cast of other characters. I am always blown away by how seamlessly Meyer incorporates elements from the fairytales into her novels. In all the chaos of the other story elements, I kept forgetting that Winter had elements from Snow White. As the elements from the familiar tale emerged, I found myself super excited and surprised by them. I feel like this has to be the highest praise a fairytale retelling can earn because to tell a familiar story in such a fresh, new way has to be really difficult.

This entire series has been so much fun to read. It’s largely clean (I think there was maybe the heaviest content in Fairest, which is Levana’s story) and because even the approach to the mind manipulation is taken from a sci-fi standpoint, it doesn’t feature the use of magic. If you like sci-fi or fairy tale retelling, this whole series is excellent. If you’re new to the series, check out my review of Cinder, the first book in the series.

Profanity/Crude Language Content
Mild profanity used very infrequently.

Romance/Sexual Content
Kissing.

Spiritual Content
Lunar people possess a gift which allows them to manipulate bioelectricity and therefore control the minds of those around them. There’s a lot of discussion about the ethics of this behavior and under what circumstances it’s appropriate for the mind control to be used. Cinder struggles with when and how to employ her gift and whether or not using it makes her as evil as Levana. Winter’s stubborn refusal to use her gift has caused mental instability.

Violence
Winter witnesses an execution in the Lunar court in which the prisoner uses a knife to kill himself while under the control of a high military official. It’s graphic but brief. Scarlet bears evidence of her torture in Lunar custody, though she doesn’t discuss it. There are some battle scenes between Lunars and revolutionaries. The wolf soldiers are a bit scary, and some of the battles contain vivid imagery. Winter also hallucinates some disturbing images – the walls bleeding, that sort of thing.

Drug Content
None.

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Review: The Feuds by Avery Hastings

Dystopian or Post-Apocalyptic, Romance, Sci-Fi, Young Adult/Teen 12-18, , , , , ,

The Feuds
Avery Hastings
St. Martin’s Griffin

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Goodreads

As a member of the privileged, genetically enhanced Priors, Davis lives a sheltered life in which she pursues dance and enjoys parties with her friends. As the day of the Olympiads draws ever nearer, the pressure rises for Davis to succeed in competition, but to do that, she’ll have to be perfect.

Cole has only known about Priors from the outside. As an Imp, or Imperfect citizen, he’s second-class, barred from opportunities that could mean a world of difference to him and his struggling family. Cole makes his living as a fighter, working for an up-and-coming politician. When the man asks for one last favor before financing Cole’s biggest fight yet, Cole can’t refuse. After all, what’s the harm in bringing down a Prior? Then he meets Davis, and his whole perception of her people changes. If he follows through with his job, it will destroy the girl he may be falling in love with. If he fails, he will be destroyed.

After reading the sequel, Torn, I really wanted to read this book. As I read Torn, I kept thinking, man, there’s so much history to this story! I really wanted to read the story referenced in all these little backstory hints. Then I discovered there IS a first book. So, now I’ve read it.

I wish I’d read The Feuds closer to the time I read Torn. It’s been long enough that I’ve forgotten some of the things I liked or disliked about the second book, and I know there were things I was hoping were more deeply explored in the first book in the series. One of those things was Davis’s relationship with her dad. He’s a much more present character in The Feuds, and the relationship between them does drive a few of the story elements, so that was satisfying. It made the second book make more sense in terms of what was said vs just hinted at.

I still wanted more information about the Olympiads and the Feuds. They were happening, but I think I wanted to feel like this was a huge tradition really grafted into a culture, and it really just felt like an event. Which was okay.

In terms of the story, I think I liked Cole better in this book but Davis better in the second book. Over all, I think I liked the second book better. I’m not sure if that’s simply because I read it first?

Readers who liked the Uglies series by Scott Westerfeld might like this series. The writing is very different, but some of the themes explored in terms of what makes a person beautiful or valuable are similar.

Language Content
Extreme profanity used with moderate frequency.

Sexual Content
Cole and Davis have a powerful, immediate connection. They share passionate kisses. Davis is still a virgin when the story begins, as if she’s waiting for someone special. It’s implied that she and Cole have sex on a rooftop in what could be their last moments together.

Spiritual Content
Davis comments that she wishes she could believe in God sometimes because of the hope that faith offers. Her world has proven that God does not exist.

Violence
Cole provides for his family by fighting in an arena. He’s brutal and gifted. The fights are briefly described, one through a terrified Davis’s eyes. One fighter is killed in the arena.

Drug Content
Davis and her friends have fancy parties where alcohol and drugs are consumed. When one of her friends seems to be in some kind of medical distress, Davis assumes she’s had some kind of drug or too much alcohol.

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