msjamgochian'sinfinitebooklist

Spark picks up right where Glow left off: a diminished Waverly has returned to the Empyrean, after escaping Anne Mather's clutches on enemy spaceship the New Horizon, to nurse her wounds and assess conditions. Wracked with guilt over the acts she was forced to commit on the New Horizon, she is surprised to find her boyfriend, Kieran, in self-imposed charge of the ship, acting as a semi-evangelical spiritual leader with an authoritarian approach. When Waverly discovers that Kieran has incarcerated hunky Seth Ardvale in the brig for treason, she decides he's taken his power too far. After an unxplained and frightening explosion rocks the Empyrean, Kieran points his paranoid finger at Waverly and Seth, who set out to discover the truth behind the terrorist act. Plenty of action will keep readers turning the pages, even though the plot gets a bit convoluted towards the end, and Waverly's new alliance with Seth turns up the heat on the romance angle. A solid follow-up that wil...

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+

The Gladers are back in this action-packed conclusion to The Maze Runner trilogy. TDC picks up where The Scorch Trials left off: Thomas and the gang once again find themselves in the manipulative hands of those evil shanks WICKED. When Ratman informs The Gladers that a tiny piece of machinery in their heads needs to be removed, Thomas, Teresa, and (surprisingly) Brenda make a break. The rest is exactly what you expect from this action-packed series, including plot twists, fighting, escape, capture, and tough decisions. Blood is spilled. Frequently. Give this series to fans of Robert Muchamore's Cherub and Darren Shan. Don't miss the trailer or the series' packed with extras website . Grade 6+

The premise is exciting: 15 year-old John Smith (his most recent name in a series of created identities) is one of nine members of the Garde, a group of super-powered aliens from the planet Lorien, hiding out on earth from the dread Mogadorians, who are out to exterminate them. The plot is less thrilling: after number four Garde member John moves with Henri, his Cepan (essentially a father figure/mentor from Lorien), to a small rural town in Ohio to evade detection by the Mogadorians, he makes a friend, meets a girl, and stands up to the bullies at his new high school, all while honing his superpowers. The real problem I had with IANF is the author's willingness to throw just about anything into the story at anytime, with seemingly little thought for the reader's intelligence or critical thinking skills. Writing YA lit doesn't mean you can just make stuff up as you go along - which is what the second half of IANF felt like. Read Patrick Ness's Guardian review here . Gra...

Trailer by Julia Golding Julia Golding visited FIS this week and we have had a run on her books since! I am impressed with the amount of research that she weaves into her stories; The Silver Sea is a fine example of her attention to historical detail. Toki and Freydis are living in 19th century Norway when their village is raided by pirates. Toki is taken hostage, but his injured sister Freydis remains behind, hidden in a pit. Before departing to exact vengeance on the pirates and reclaim his son, their father, Othere, bestows Freydis with an African slave for protection, and he turns out to be more than just a guardian. Full of plot twists, engaging characters, and a surprise ending. Grade 6+