msjamgochian'sinfinitebooklist

Another excellent entry into the burgeoning dystopian young adult genre, Divergent is set in a futuristic Chicago that is divided into five factions, each representing a virtue: Candor, Abnegation, Amity, Erudite, and Dauntless. When Beatrice Prior turns sixteen, she has to choose a faction for life. Torn between staying loyal to her family's faction, which feels oppressive in its austerity, or being true to her own desire for excitement, she decides to leave the only life she has known behind and join the Dauntless. What ensues is a suspenseful, thoughtful, and entertaining ride to a cliffhanger ending. Beatrice's (who renames herself Tris) intimate voice will endear her to readers , and the slow burn of a romance between her and hunky Tobias will hook them on the trilogy completely. Not to be missed. Click here for a full review and here for Ms. Roth's website . Perfect for fans of The Hunger Games. Grade 7+

Fifteen year-olds June and Day are from different worlds. Day, the country's most wanted and elusive criminal, lives in the slums under the radar, fighting for justice against the Republic, the elite government who periodically poisons its own people in the name of science. June, born into a high-ranking military family, lives in an exclusive neighborhood and is training to be the next big thing in the Republic's ongoing fight against the Colonies (North America is divided in half). Day becomes the prime suspect when June's beloved older brother Matias is killed, and their paths intertwine in a confusing mix of suspicion, lies, friendship, and illicit feelings. The action-packed story is told in alternating chapters in the completely credible voices of June and Day. The incredible Ms. Lu has an undeniable talent for writing prose that is easy to understand yet complex and poetic enough to entice even the most reluctant reader. Legend is a fantastic, fast-paced, fun, and...

A fresh and thought-provoking dystopian young adult novel set in the not-so-distant future where the scored are watched and rated 24/7. Scored masterfully addresses the rapidly disappearing middle class in America, the quiet evaporation of privacy, and what it means when we're always 'on.' Cory Doctorow eloquently sums it up in his Boing Boing review , "This book is the antidote to the pointless hand-wringing about Facebook, reality TV, and the PATRIOT Act, a chance to get out of the trite cul-de-sac where these conversations always end up, and to move into green pastures." Give this to fans of The Hunger Games and Marie Lu's Legend . The easy reading level makes it a superb EAL/ESL alternative to 1984 or Brave New World. Grade 7+

Sixteen-year-old Gaia Stone is following in her mother's footsteps: training as a midwife and providing the Enclave (a walled community unlike her own, with running water, electricity, and resources) with three infants each month, when her parents are kidnapped for harboring secrets and her world is turned upside down. Gaia decides to smuggle herself into the Enclave to save her family and finds out the ugly truth swimming just underneath the Enclave's pristine surface. An action-packed adventure with a strong, impulsive, and spirited heroine that fans of fantasy will fall in love with. Don't miss the sequel, Prized , and look for the final installment, Promised , in October. Check out Ms. O'Brien's wonderful wiki for teachers, , full of ancillary materials, here . Give it to fans of The Giver and Graceling. Grade 7+

I didn't realize how much I had been missing Kurt Vonnegut until I started reading this collection of dystopian short stories. Saunders manages to continue the work that Vonnegut did so masterfully: pointing out the absurdity of life and the idiocy of humankind (albeit affectionately) in sadly funny fashion. The title story is set in an aged theme park beseiged by neighborhood gangs, emptied of patrons, and peopled with a bizarre circus of employees who perform an eclectic collection of roles, including The Desperate Patrol, Versimilitude Inspector to Special Assistant, and Exit Sealage. Click here for a full review and here for Mr. Saunder's website . Perfect for fans of sci-fi blended with satire. Grade 10+

18 year-old orphan Wade Watts is my new favorite superhero. He's a geek, and his physical world stinks: he lives in a miserable tiny trailer stacked five high with his unkind Aunt (and her fresh-out-of-prison boyfriend), he isn't particularly good looking, and he spends much of his time in an abandoned van in a junkyard. In his real world, which happens to be online in the OASIS, Wade is a champion: he's smart, he's witty, and he's a kick ass gunter. The OASIS itself was created in 2012 by brilliant programmer James Halliday, who has just died, leaving behind a treasure hunt hidden within his virtual reality universe. The first person to complete the quest inherits Halliday's billions and gets to control the OASIS. Of course, evil corporate goons step in, and the adventure begins. I know I'm in love with a book when I immediately send it to my friend Ami . This one was on its way to her in Seattle within minutes of turning the last page. Click here for a ful...

From the Publisher: Godspeed was fueled by lies. Now it is ruled by chaos. It's been three months since Amy was unplugged. The life she always knew is over. And everywhere she looks, she sees the walls of the spaceship Godspeed. But there may just be hope: Elder has assumed leadership of the ship. He's finally free to enact his vision - no more Phydus, no more lies. But when Elder discovers shocking news about the ship, he and Amy race to discover the truth behind life on Godspeed. They must work together to unlock a puzzle that was set in motion hundreds of years earlier, unable to fight the romance that's growing between them and the chaos that threatens to tear them apart. I enjoyed AMS just as much as Across the Universe and for all the same reasons. The slow build-up romance between Amy and Elder, the Godspeed , and the fast-paced action. Give this series to fans of Glow . Grade 8+

Just as good the second time around.

Craig Thompson's long-awaited graphic novel is a stunning, gorgeous, epic, masterfully crafted work of art. Set in a futuristic undefined Middle East, the story travels back and forth through time, spanning the lives and relationship of two orphans, Dodola and Zam, who are beset by misfortune. I appreciated the book as an objet d'art much more than I enjoyed the storyline, which at times felt like a ruse. Did Mr. Thompson simply want to draw Dodola naked? Over and over again in a variety of compromised positions? Click here for the Guardian review. Grade 11+

Would you make the choice to be cryogenically frozen if it meant waking up with your beloved family 300 years later? Seventeen-year-old Amy joins her parents in the icebox aboard the spaceship Godspeed, destined to land on Centauri Earth, but her plans are altered when she is woken up 50 years before contact. Elder, the dark, tall, and handsome future leader of the ship, is the guy who couldn't resist thawing her out, and their romance paired with the discovery of foul play on the Godspeed keeps this sci-fi adventure moving. Don't miss the cool 3-D interactive diagram of the ship on Ms. Revis's website! Book one in a planned trilogy, Revis's debut novel is a perfect match for sci-fi book clubs. The relationship between Amy and Elder will engage readers of realistic fiction or romance, and the use of alternating perspectives will keep even reluctant readers turning the pages. A must-read for fans of Ender's Game. Click here for the full YA Reads review . A Million...