Category: Adventure

Red Rising by Pierce Brown

3/20/2018

Darrow lives on Mars deep underground where he works in the mines and struggles for survival.
When his wife is taken from him, he comes to realize that his people, known as Reds, are essentially slaves who have been lied to for hundreds of years.
Darrow is recruited by a guerrilla group called the Sons of Ares, and in a search for justice and revenge, he accepts a mission to infiltrate the Golds, the powerful and cruel overlords who rule the planets.

This book has it all -- nonstop action; a great plot; brutal, bloody fights; a cooler than cool main character; and lots of twists and turns. Kind of like The Hunger Games (spectator sports! battles! revolution!) but about a million times better -- and it's in outer space!

Book 1 of the Red Rising Saga
Grades 9-12

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Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

6/14/2017

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Only seventeen, Kaz Brekker is already one of the most infamous gangsters of the Barrel, nicknamed "Dirtyhands" because there's nothing he won't do.
Inej is known as the Wraith because of her ability to come and go unnoticed as she gathers secrets for and goes on missions with Kaz.
Jesper is a sharpshooter with a gambling problem who is also a member of Kaz's gang.
Nina is a girl with superhuman gifts, but she is essentially a slave at the House of the White Rose.
Matthias is a warrior who's been wrongly imprisoned at Hellgate, a nightmare of a prison, and he is focused on the twin goals of redemption and revenge.
Wylan is a demolitions expert with a secret history.
Can these six come together to pull off an impossible heist, or will enemies within and without their group betray them?

Amazing characters and a plot full of action that does not stop, this one is a must read. If you like adventure stories with a dash of fantasy/supernatural (but completely grounded in a very realistic world) and a plot with more twists and turns than a mountain road, give this one a look.

Grades 7-12
Book 1 of the Six of Crows duology

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Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor

5/11/2017

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Lazlo is an orphan raised in a monastery -- until he he escapes to the Great Library of Zosma where he gets a job and where he can read histories and fairy tales to his heart's content. His one true passion is uncovering information about the Unseen city, a mysterious, mythical city no one has visited or heard from in more than 200 years.
Sarai is a blue skinned girl who has the power to enter and control people's dreams. She lives in a floating tower with her four magical siblings, hidden from a world who would kill her and her sisters and brother if it knew they still existed.
When Lazlo has the chance to join a group traveling to the Unseen city, he seizes the opportunity to fulfill his lifelong dream, and he sets himself on a course destined to intersect with Sarai -- at least in his dreams.

I adored Taylor's Daughter of Smoke and Bone trilogy, and if it's even possible, I loved this book more. It's a gorgeous fantasy novel set in a richly developed world with characters you will love, admire, and root for. It takes a little while for Taylor to set the stage and for the story to get off the ground, but you'll be rewarded for sticking with it.

Grades 9-12
Book 1 of the Strange the Dreamer duology

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Illuminae by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff

4/24/2017

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When the planet of Kerenza is attacked, Kady Grant manages to escape in one of three spaceships while her mom and ex-boyfriend Ezra are each on different ones.
Even though she made it safely off Kerenza, Kady's problems are just beginning: the attackers are in pursuit and plan to finish off the escapees; a plague is infecting the survivors and turning them into deadly zombies; and the artificial intelligence system, AIDEN, that runs the spaceship has gone rogue.
With no one left to turn to in space, it's up to Kady's hacking and Ezra's fighting skills to survive and to save each other as well as the rest of the dwindling number of evacuees on the ships.

This book was such a fun adventure/survival thrill ride (with a smidgen of romance). The format comprised of interview transcripts, memos, instant-messaging transcripts, diary entries, and more made for a unique read. (Don't let the size fool you -- it's a quick read with a lot of white space around the pictures, text messages, and such).

Grades 7-12
Book 1 of the Illuminae Files

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Spontaneous by Aaron Starmer

3/20/2017

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Mara Carlyle's senior year is blowing up -- literally. All around Mara her classmates begin to spontaneously combust, leaving their classmates covered in blood and worrying if they could be the next one to explode.
This is probably not the best time to start a relationship (knowing that either one of them could pop at any time), but that doesn't stop Mara and her new boyfriend Dylan from taking advantage of the time they have together.
As more and more of her classmates explode and the FBI and military get involved, Mara wonders if she and any of her classmates will make it to graduation.

It's a little gory, but if you can get past the exploding people, this darkly humorous and satirical book will not only make you laugh, but it will also make you think about how our society and media respond to disasters. The main character, Mara, is a snarky and sometimes annoying girl who makes a lot of bad decisions including some inappropriate coping strategies, but she describes the end of the world as she knows it in hilarious detail.

Grades 9-12

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The Story of Owen by E. K. Johnston

1/23/2017

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This book takes place in current-day Canada in a world much like our own except that Michigan doesn't exist anymore because it was destroyed by dragons -- and, oh yeah, there are DRAGONS.
Sixteen-year-old Owen Thorskard comes from a long line of dragon-slayers, and when he, his father, and his world-famous aunt move to the small town of Trondheim, people have high expectations of the young slayer-in-training.
When Owen meets the musically talented Siobhan McQuaid on the first day of school, he and his family try to recruit her to be Owen's bard and to join them in the adventurous and dangerous world of dragon slaying. Battles with dragons ensue.

This book proves that you don't have to read fantasy to enjoy a story with dragons, because other than the dragons, this book depicts the life of a fairly ordinary modern high school student -- one who just happens to have a very special talent.

Grades 7-12
Book 1 of the Story of Owen Series

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Court of Fives by Kate Elliot

11/7/2016

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Jessamy is the daughter of a Commoner mother and a Patron father, a commander whose status is dependent on his rank in the army. Jes and her sisters are mixed-race and are looked down on in her world, so they must be very careful in everything they do
When disaster strikes and threatens to tear her family apart, Jes takes the opportunity to compete in the Fives, a complex athletic competition for which she has secretly been training for years.
Jes hopes that the Fives will give her the chance to protect her mother and sisters, save her father’s reputation, and perhaps bring herself a little glory.

The author describes her book as "Little Women meets American Ninja Warrior in a setting inspired by Greco-Roman Egypt" while her publisher has pitched it as "Little Women meets Game of Thrones meets The Hunger Games" -- but I would just say it's a great adventure fantasy story set in a unique world.

Grades 7-12
Book 1 of Court of Fives Series

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book reviews

Red Rising by Pierce Brown

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor

Illuminae by Amie Kaufman & Jay Kristoff

Spontaneous by Aaron Starmer

The Story of Owen by E. K. Johnston

Court of Fives by Kate Elliot

Ms. Wheaton

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