Showing posts with label Survival Fiction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Survival Fiction. Show all posts

Saturday, December 22, 2012

Books for Winter


Well, we've finally had our first snow and Winter is here! Read these books to help prepare yourself for the season.

After the Snow by S.D. Crockett
The oceans stopped working before Willo was born so the world of ice and snow is all he's ever known. He lives with his family deep in the wilderness, far from the government's controlling grasp. But, suddenly, Willo's survival skills are put to the test when he arrives home one day to find his family missing. It could be the government; it could be scavengers - all Willo knows is he has to find refuge and find his family. It is a journey that will take him into the city he's always avoided, with a girl who needs his help more than he knows.

Winter Town by Stephen Emond
Every winter, Evan looks forward to a visit from Lucy, a childhood pal who moved away after her parent's divorce. But when Lucy arrives this year, she's changed. The 'girl next door' has chopped, dyed-black hair, a nose stud and a scowl. But even though Lucy's changed, Evan and Lucy connect again. And this time, Evan falls in love. Lucy has secrets. She doesn't tell Evan about her mother's abusive boyfriend, her own violent boyfriend and the fights that got her kicked out of her house. She feels guilty and starts to resent Evan's picture perfect (boring) life. Lucy knows she must break his heart and move on.The next winter, after transferring to an art college against his father's wishes, Evan sees Lucy again. And this time, they know the timing is right.

Snow-Walker by Catherine Fisher
From the frozen mists beyond the edge of the world comes Gudrun to rule the people through fear and sorcery. But the enchantress has one weakness -- her son, Kari, banished as a child to Thrasirshall, the forbidding fortress in the desolate, snowbound north. No one has ever set eyes on Kari, but in secret everyone wonders: Are the rumors true? Was he born a monster? Now, two will discover the truth. Because of their fathers' treachery, Gudrun has exiled Jessa and Thorkil . . . to Thrasirshall. The cousins wonder if they can survive the impossible trek to the ruined castle. And if they do, what will they find at the end of their journey? A beast? Or the means to stop Gudrun?

The Devouring by Simon Holt
The Vours: Evil, demonic beings that inhabit human bodies on Sorry Night, the darkest hours of the winter solstice. When Reggie reads about the Vours in a mysterious old journal, she assumes they are just the musings of an anonymous lunatic. But when her little brother, Henry, begins to act strangely, it's clear that these creatures exist beyond a madwoman's imagination, and Reggie finds out what happens when fears come to life. To save the people she loves, Reggie must learn to survive in a world of nightmares. Can she devour her own fears before they devour her?

Winter's End by Jean-Claude Mourlevat
Milena, Bartolomeo, Helen, and Milos have left their prison-like boarding schools far behind, but their futures remain in peril. Fleeing across icy mountains from a terrifying pack of dog-men sent to hunt them down, they are determined to take up the fight against the despotic government that murdered their parents years before. Only three will make it safely to the secret headquarters of the resistance movement. The fourth is captured and forced to participate in a barbaric game for the amusement of the masses -- further proof of the government's horrible brutality. Will the power of one voice be enough to rouse a people against a generation of cruelty?

Trapped by Michael Northrop
The day the blizzard started, no one knew that it was going to keep snowing for a week. For those in its path, it would become not just a matter of keeping warm, but of staying alive. Scotty and his friends Pete and Jason are among the last seven kids at their high school waiting to get picked up that day, and they soon realize that no one is coming for them. Still, it doesn't seem so bad to spend the night at school, especially when distractingly hot Krista and Julie are sleeping just down the hall. But then the power goes out, then the heat. The pipes freeze, and the roof shudders. As the days add up, the snow piles higher, and the empty halls grow colder and darker, until the mounting pressure forces a devastating decision. . . .

Just Like That by Marsha Qualey
Things change so suddenly. One day Hanna has a long-term boyfriend; then she realizes she doesn't have strong feelings for him and breaks things off. One day Hanna trusts her two best friends completely; the next, all of that trust is toppled. And then Hanna finds herself the bearer of a major secret: she was the last to see two teenagers before they died in an accident on the icy lake. She can't tell anyone, so when she finds herself drawn to Will, the kind of boy who'd increase any girl's pulse, she doesn't hold back. What she learns about him will astonish her. What she learns about herself--her friendships, her family, her life--will affect her more.

The Survivors by Will Weaver
Two years ago, the ash started falling like gray snow. The volcanoes had erupted. For Miles and his sister, Sarah, the real disaster started in the violent aftermath--when they were forced to leave their cushy suburban home and flee to the north woods for safety. Miles got them to a cabin, but now winter is setting in. All they have to get them through is the milk from Sarah's goat and Miles's memory of wilderness survival skills. When Sarah tries to regain some normalcy by attending the local school, she realizes she is no longer quite the person she used to be. Now she is Goat Girl, a Traveler, and it's hard to pretend she isn't. And when a horrific twist of fate robs Miles of his memory, he discovers the heart of his true identity. They knew the volcanoes would change the world. Now, in order to survive, they must change with it.

Kimberly

Monday, September 3, 2012

Hunger for Excitement @ Your Library!

It's National Library Card Sign-Up Month and the library has a lot of Hunger Games themed activities going on this month. We'll be showing the film, hosting a scavenger hunt, and there are plenty of chances to win prizes all month long! See our newsletter for more information.

And here are some new Hunger Games readalikes to keep you busy until the Catching Fire movie is released!

The Way We Fall by Megan Crewe
When Kaelyn lets her best friend leave for school without saying goodbye, she never dreams that she might not see him again. But then a strange virus begins to sweep through her small island community, infecting young and old alike. As the dead pile up, the government quarantines the island: no one can leave and no one can come back. Those still healthy must fight for the island's dwindling supplies or lose all chance of survival. As everything familiar comes crashing down, Kaelyn joins forces with a former rival and discovers a new love in the midst of heartbreak. When the virus starts to rob her of friends and family, she clings to the belief that there must be a way to save the people she holds dearest.

After the Snow by S.D. Crockett
The oceans stopped working before Willo was born so the world of ice and snow is all he's ever known. He lives with his family deep in the wilderness, far from the government's controlling grasp. But, suddenly, Willo's survival skills are put to the test when he arrives home one day to find his family missing. It could be the government; it could be scavengers - all Willo knows is he has to find refuge and find his family. It is a journey that will take him into the city he's always avoided, with a girl who needs his help more than he knows.

Legend by Marie Lu
What was once the western United States is now home to the Republic, a nation perpetually at war with its neighbors. Born into an elite family, June is a prodigy being groomed for success in the Republic's highest military circles. Born into the slums, Day is the country's most wanted criminal. But his motives may not be as malicious as they seem. From very different worlds, June and Day have no reason to cross paths--until the day June's brother, Metias, is murdered and Day becomes the prime suspect. Caught in the ultimate game of cat and mouse, Day is in a race for his family's survival, while June seeks to avenge Metias's death. But in a shocking turn of events, the two uncover the truth of what has really brought them together and the sinister lengths their country will go to keep its secrets. 

Ashfall by Mike Mullin
Alex is home alone when the Yellowstone supervolcano erupts. His town collapses into a nightmare of darkness, ash, and violence, forcing him to flee. Now Alex must journey from Cedar Falls, Iowa, to Illinois to find his parents and sister. Along the way, he struggles with a landscape transformed by more than a foot of ash. The disaster brings out the best and worst in people desperate for food, clean water, and shelter. When an escaped convict injures Alex, he searches for a sheltered place where he can wait--to heal or to die. Instead, he finds Darla. Together, they fight to achieve a nearly impossible goal: surviving the supervolcano.

And don't forget to read Divergent by Veronica Roth! You can also find more dystopian novels here.

Kimberly






Wednesday, March 7, 2012

When Technology Goes Wrong

We're celebrating technology this week but what happens when we relinquish too much control to our technology? The following books ask us to consider how much technology we really need in our lives and what happens when that technology goes wrong.

Feed by MT Anderson
For Titus and his friends, it started out like any ordinary trip to the moon - a chance to party during spring break and to play around with some stupid low-grav at the Ricochet Lounge. But that was before the crazy hacker caused all their feeds to malfunction, sending them to the hospital to lie around with nothing inside their heads for days. And it was before Titus met Violet, a beautiful, brainy teenage girl who knows something about what it's like to live without the feed-and about resisting its omnipresent ability to categorize human thoughts and desires. Identity crises, consumerism, and star-crossed teenage love in a futuristic society where people connect to the Internet via feeds implanted in their brains.

Ashes by Ilsa Bick
An electromagnetic pulse flashes across the sky, destroying every electronic device, and wiping out every computerized system. Not to mention that the EMP also kills most of the world's population, turning some of those who remain into zombies and giving the others superhuman senses. Alex hiked into the woods to say good-bye to her dead parents and her personal demons. Now desperate to find out what happened after the pulse crushes her to the ground, Alex meets up with Tom, a young soldier, and Ellie, a girl whose grandfather was killed by the EMP. For this improvised family and the others who are spared, it's now a question of who can be trusted and who is no longer human.  

Candor by Pam Bachorz
In the model community of Candor, Florida, every teen wants to be like Oscar Banks. The son of the town's founder, Oscar earns straight As, is student-body president, and is in demand for every club and cause. But Oscar has a secret. He knows that parents bring their teens to Candor to make them respectful, compliant--perfect--through subliminal Messages that carefully correct and control their behavior. And Oscar' s built a business sabotaging his father's scheme with Messages of his own, getting his clients out before they're turned. After all, who would ever suspect the perfect Oscar Banks? Then he meets Nia, the girl he can't stand to see changed. Saving Nia means losing her forever; however, keeping her in Candor, Oscar risks exposure . . . and more. 

Wither. The Chemical Garden Trilogy: Book 1 by Lauren DeStefano
At age sixteen, Rhine Ellery has four years to live. Thanks to a botched effort to create a perfect race, all females live to be twenty and males live to age twenty-five. While geneticists seek a miracle antidote, orphans roam the streets, polygamy abounds and girls are kidnapped and married off in order to repopulate the world. After Rhine is kidnapped and sold as a bride, she is desperate to escape from her husband's strange world, which includes a sinister father-in-law in search of the antidote and a slew of sister wives who are not to be trusted. On the cusp of her seventeenth birthday, Rhine attempts to flee--but what she finds is a society spiraling into anarchy.

A Long, Long Sleep by Anna Sheehan
It should have been a short suspended-animation sleep but this time Rose wakes up to find her past is long gone -- and her future full of peril. Rosalinda Fitzroy has been asleep for sixty-two years when she is woken by a kiss. Locked away in the chemically induced slumber of a stasis tube in a forgotten subbasement, sixteen-year-old Rose slept straight through the Dark Times that killed millions and utterly changed the world she knew. Now, her parents and her first love are long gone and Rose-- hailed upon her awakening as the long-lost heir to an interplanetary empire-- is thrust alone into a future in which she is viewed as either a freak or a threat. Desperate to put the past behind her and adapt to her new world, Rose finds herself drawn to the boy who kissed her awake, hoping that he can help her to start fresh. But when a deadly danger jeopardizes her fragile new existence, Rose must face the ghosts of her past with open eyes -- or be left without any future at all.

Unwind by Neal Shusterman
In a society where unwanted teens are salvaged for their body parts, three runaways fight the system that would "unwind" them. Connor's parents want to be rid of him because he's a troublemaker. Risa has no parents and is being unwound to cut orphanage costs and Lev's unwinding has been planned since his birth, as part of his family's strict religion. Brought together by chance and kept together by desperation, these three unlikely companions make a harrowing cross-country journey, knowing their lives hang in the balance. If they can survive until their eighteenth birthday, they can't be harmed -- but when every piece of them, from their hands to their hearts, are wanted by a world gone mad, eighteen seems far, far away. Unwind challenges readers' ideas about life -- not just where life begins and where it ends -- but what it truly means to be alive

Memento Nora by Angie Smibert
Nora is about to experience her first visit to TFC (Therapeutic Forgetting Clinic). Her parents are insisting she go after witnessing a horrible terrorist attack. Not everyone trusts the TFC though. When Nora meets Micah and Winter, she is thrust into a world of mystery and rebellion. Soon, the graphic novel, "Memento," based on their sad and frightening memories, becomes a hit. Copies are spread into different cities. Will they be able to keep their identities a secret? Will they be able to stay ahead of the people in the black vans? Will they be able to keep their memories?

From Voya

Kimberly

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Beauty Queens by Libba Bray

In Libba Bray’s Beauty Queens, an airplane carrying a group of teenage beauty pageant contestants crashes on a deserted island.  Only about a dozen of the beauty queens survive and are subsequently forced to use their unique talents to survive on their own.  They must also battle with an evil corporation that is planning an illegal arms deal with an Elvis-impersonating dictator and they must try not to get their hearts broken by a gang of hot, reality tv show pirates.

Beauty Queens is just as absurd as Bray’s Printz award-winning Going Bovine (about a boy with mad cow disease who is on a quest to save his life) but it’s also just as humorous and heartfelt.  Bray satirizes everything from pageants and the cosmetics industry to consumerism, reality television, politics and religion while exploring issues of gender, race, and sexuality--and it’s all  hilarious.

Kimberly

Friday, October 30, 2009

If you liked Hunger Games . . .

You're going to love Catching Fire,the second in the Hunger Games Trilogy by Suzanne Collins.

We all have a pretty good idea that the title, Catching Fire, has to do with radical ideas that ignite into revolution in this futuristic dystopia, but without spoiling the story, wait till you see what the title also means! The pin Katniss wears to her first hunger game symbolizes many things as well. Adventure, survival, political suspense, and conflicted romance are what binds this story to our hearts. There are many rewards for the reader in this sequel that imaginatively recaps the first book without weighing down the sequel. Be sure to put your name on the reserve list for this popular book. Now we can't wait for the third and final page-turner in this series.
Leona

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Ghost of Spirit Bear

After a year in exile on an Alaskan island as punishment for severely beating a fellow student, Cole Matthews returns to school in Minneapolis having made peace with himself and his victim--but he finds that surviving the violence and hatred of high school is even harder than surviving in the wilderness.

Mikaelsen, Ben. Ghost of Spirit Bear. Gr. 5-8 Young Adult MIK

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Book Break - Book Discussion and Snack

Join us for a book discussion on
The Call of the Wild by Jack London
on Thursday, February 19th from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m.
in the library meeting room.
Also, we will be comparing and contrasting
Hatchet by Gary Paulsen to The Call of the Wild
on Thursday, February 26th from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m.
in the library meeting room.
To pick up books for the discussions, stop by the Bartlett Public Library Reference Desk.