K.B. says, "There are no zombies, no vampires, no drugs and no knuckle-crunching anguish here, but for those who like a compelling read with believable protagonists, this would be one to consider."

"Time travel--the ability to move backwards or forwards in
time--enables a writer to place characters in situations that offer unique opportunities and challenges. In The Future of Us, a glitch with a CD-ROM program allows Emma and Josh, who are attending high school in 1996, a glimpse into a Facebook page created fifteen years later.

When Emma first discovers this incredible site, Josh tells her it must be a hoax, set up by some pranksters at their high school in a more advanced computer science class.  But a single (quite amusing) graphic on the site convinces both of them that the site in a real one.   In addition, and even more amazing...it appears that their respective futures can be altered by everyday actions happening in present day 1996.  Also, one of them appears to have an incredibly fortunate and rich (in both senses of the word) future, while the other is appears
to be vaguely unhappy and dissatisfied.

These longtime friends experience a shared knowledge that no else shares, and so it's as if they're in a separate sphere from everyone else.  Some intriguing choices and ethical dilemmas arise as a result.

I stayed up past my bedtime reading this, despite its being a 'young adult' book.  I really felt drawn in by the alternating narratives of Emma and Josh as they make discoveries about their shared dilemma and about themselves.  They felt fully-formed, and I wanted to see them make the right choices. There are no zombies, no vampires, no drugs and no knuckle-crunching anguish here, but for those who like a compelling read with believable protagonists, this would be one to consider."


--KB

Jackie's Talking About The Hottest YA Book This Season

Juliette hasn't touched anyone in exactly 264 days.

The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette's touch is fatal. As long as she doesn't hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don't fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.

The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war-- and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she's exactly what they need right now.

Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior.

In this electrifying debut, Tahereh Mafi presents a world as riveting as The Hunger Games and a superhero story as thrilling as The X-Men. Full of pulse-pounding romance, intoxicating villainy, and high-stakes choices, Shatter Me is a fresh and original dystopian novel—with a paranormal twist—that will leave readers anxiously awaiting its sequel.

Jackie says:
"This is a fantastic book, but difficult to review because a lot of it's power is in the discoveries that happen as you read through it.  To tell you any of them would be taking away from the book, and I don't want to do that.  I can just give you the premise--the world is dying; the animals are gone, food is scarce, and survivors have been rounded up into rag-tag communities organized by The Reestablishment.  17 year old Juliette has been imprisoned in an asylum that might be for the insane or it might be for the simply unwanted.  She's a convicted murderer, but not an intentional one.  Juliette was born with an unusual power--she can kill with her touch.  No one knows why, and everyone is terrified her.  When the book begins, she hasn't touched, or spoken, to anyone, in 264 days.  Not long after we meet her, she learns of the fate The Reestablishment has for her, and her fight begins.  If you like the X-Men, Hunger Games and heavy adventure of any kind with some romance thrown in, this will catch you up in its web.  Fortunately, this is a planned series because by the time you get to the end of the book, you are going to be ravenous for what comes next."