Hungry For Some New Dystopian Lit? -- HUNGRY by Swain

Hungry

by H.A. Swain

Swain’s near-futuristic dystopia Hungry explodes onto this well-trod genre with a fresh idea, tense plotting, and relatable characterization.  Fans of Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale and Lois Lowry’s The Giver will flock to Swain’s story about a future in which Earth’s resources, ostensibly decimated by wars and superstorms, have vanished, along with any flora and fauna.  Mega-corporation One World swoops in to salvage the remaining humans from starvation by altering their DNA so that they no longer experience any pesky hunger pangs; One World also supplies all nutrition through a formula-like substance called Synthamil.  

In a world in which any type of food is illegal, young Thalia, daughter to One World scientists, begins to suffer inexplicable spasms in her abdomen.  Instead of being shipped off to a “specialist” to eradicate her natural hunger pangs, as was wont to happen, Thalia is determined to seek the truth behind the hunger and One World’s monopoly on food.  She teams up with a non-“privy,” Basil, who leads her further into the resistance movement than she would have thought possible.  Thalia is faced with a decision – do the easy thing or do the right thing, all while battling her genetic “mutation” that makes her mouth water and her stomach growl. 

From the Inner Loops to the Outer, to the Hinterlands and beyond, Thalia’s journey is fast-paced, scientifically-plausible, and scarily possible.  Swain completes a unique tour de force with Hungry, one that requires us to examine our current society, our place within invisible and sometimes all-too-visible hierarchies, and the moralities of genetic engineering.  

* Read this review and more in the May 7, 2014 edition of School Library Journal!

To Salvage The Savaged -- SALVAGE by Duncan

Salvage

by Alexandra Duncan

Ava is a seventeen-year-old girl born aboard a spaceship, the Parastrata; when she makes an understandable, yet regrettable, mistake, she is cast out by her patriarchal family to the unfamiliar and unforgiving Earth below.  With just her aptitude for “Fixes” and her spirit for survival, Ava must navigate through the Gyre, a floating wasteland of trash in the Pacific, to ultimately end up in Mumbai, where she searches for her modrie, her blood-aunt.  

Duncan delivers a finely-paced dystopian science fiction novel that relentlessly charges through the finer plot points, which may leave readers confused as to how exactly Earth resulted in a technologically-advanced wasteland.  Another small hiccup is the strange dialogue given to Parastrata’s inhabitants, and Ava, without explanation, which may be off-putting to slow and reluctant readers.  However, the strength of Ava’s character bears the story well through its 528 pages.    Fans of Beth Revis’s Across the Universe and Matched by Ally Condie will appreciate Duncan’s first dive into the genre.

"I Have Magic Hair That Glows When I Sing" - CRESS by Marissa Meyer

Cress (The Lunar Chronicles, Book Three)

by Marissa Meyer

So, I read Cress when it was published and wasn't impressed – I quickly gave up, probably due to book series exhaustion.  Given the opportunity to review Fairest, a kind of interlude between books three and four of The Lunar Chronicles, I came back and re-read Cress, and I’m so glad I did.  My second reading entranced me, and I began to realize what a master Meyer is at entwining all of the characters without losing plot-lines or world-building.

Cress is ensconced, against her will, in a satellite around Earth doing the bidding of Sybil, a power player in Queen Levana’s entourage.  She spends seven lonely years essentially spying on Earth and all its wonders, including the royal family and Kai.  Like the fairy tale, Cress has floor-length tresses and a sonorous singing voice.  As she sits at her screens and watches videos of the goings-on down below her, Cress begins to sympathize with the plight of Earthens; when presented with the opportunity to defect to their side, she takes it without hesitation.  

What follows is a fast-paced, well-written, and sometimes romantic journey through the Earth’s atmosphere, the Sahara, Europe, and back to the Moon.  Meyer is a master at committing to her details without losing the effect of the storytelling.  Scarlet is my least favorite character, probably because she is the only one of whom I cannot form a clear picture, and thankfully she was not featured that much in this particular book.  The ending of this novel leaves me wanting more, more, more Meyer.  And, if you haven’t read Fairest yet, you must!

This One Time at Prom, We Were Abducted By Aliens, You See... -- The Prom Goer's Interstellar Excursion

The Prom Goer's Interstellar Excursion

by Chris McCoy

Bennett thinks he has struck the jackpot when his long-time crush, Sophie, agrees to go to prom with him.  A few moments after she accepts, Sophie is abducted by horned, red-furred aliens traveling in a wagon-like UFO.  Bennett naturally wants his prom date back, and so he enlists the help of an extraterrestrial band visiting a local In-N-Out to follow Sophie around outer space.  As Bennett focuses on ensuring Sophie is not hunted down by fellow marooned humans in a Hungers Games-like park, he learns the truths behind the band members and their drive to become successful again.

If it sounds implausible, it unabashedly is, but McCoy creates a fun, amusing, and heart-warming story out of the impossibilities.  Witty and action-packed, the plot is boldly glazes over science-fiction details in favor of well-wrought characters.  You’ll root for Bennett to get the girl and even for crusty band member Skark to accomplish his dream of becoming better than the one billionth and sixteenth band in the universe.  The book’s ending, however, is a nicely-placed realistic surprise.

* Catch this review and more in the January 7, 2015 edition of School Library Journal!

Somehow Marigolds Come Into Play -- A Fall of Marigolds

A Fall of Marigolds

by Susan Meissner

I wanted to like this book; Meissner attempted to deftly weave similarities between a woman living and working in 1911's NYC and a woman living/working in present-day NYC (having suffered a tragedy in the 9/11 terrorist attacks).

I felt the parts dealing with the present-day (and the near-past flashbacks to 9/11) were handled fairly well; they felt raw, real, and organic.  My issue with the novel stemmed from the 1911 flashbacks, which focused on a woman who lost a potential love in the Triangle Shirtwaist factory fire.

Clara met and fell in love with Edward in the elevator to the building; they had not even gone on a date when the fire broke out and Edward tragically died.  Trying to escape the painful memories, Clara volunteered for a stint on Ellis Island as a nurse.  A brief stint turned into months of near-isolation as Clara attempted to move past the tragedy that has now overtaken her life.

Clara, to me, is a weak and unrealistic character.  Every person around her handles her with kid gloves.  She is repetitive and quite honestly too overwrought; it is obvious she has some severe mental issues going on, but instead of forcing her to confront them and get treatment, her friends and family pander to them.  It's infuriating.  Somehow she gets two men to fall in love with her, too.  Whatever!

I'd Like a Side of Nausea With That, Please: The Killer Next Door

The Killer Next Door

by Alex Marwood

Alex Marwood’s gristly thriller The Killer Next Door holds back no punches when it comes to the grimier, slimier aspects of humanity.  A group of residents in South London rent rooms from “The Landlord,” a portly man who has no qualms about invading personal space.  The residents – Vesta, Hossein, Collette, Cher, Thomas, and Gerard – all have their quirks, of course, but the most interesting have to be Thomas, Collette, and Cher.

Thomas is referred to as “The Lover,” a quiet, pensive man who also happens to be a serial killer.  The pungent odors from his hobby of mummifying the women he “loves” permeate through the old house; the residents dismiss it as odd, but not alarming.  Thomas presents one side to the world: a hard-working, sensitive guy who is eager to help his neighbors.  Inside of his apartment, however, he engages in some rather distasteful habits – let’s just say those habits regularly clog up the drains.  Marwood does not shy away from vivid descriptions of Thomas’s diversions; for instance: “Jecca left the house in a series of carrier bags, flesh falling from bone like a five-hour pot roast…Katrina, her body cavities cleared more studiously, was a steep learning curve.  His incision, down the front of the abdomen the way a pathologist would do it, left the trunk loose and floppy, and her nose was ruined by his clumsy attempts to remove the brain with the crochet hook. The parichistic entry, via a slit in the left-hand side, though it means having to plunge himself arm-deep in viscera, produces a neater, more human-shaped final product” (93).

Collette, also known as Lisa, is on the run from her former boss after she accidentally witnesses a horrifying incident.  Three years and a duffel bag of money later, she stumbles upon 23 Beulah Grove.  Collette only wants to keep a quiet profile and periodically visit her mother in the nursing home; unwittingly, she is drawn into a series of crimes and intrigues far beyond her imagination.

Cher drinks, smokes, and steals; her days pass by in a yellow haze of fear, hunger, and longing.  She is only fifteen years old and is determined not to return to the foster home, even if it means robbing men much larger and stronger than her.  Her heart, though, is pure, and she forms an unlikely friendship with Collette and Vesta.

When a culminating event brings the residents together, they learn more than they bargained for about some of their neighbors.  Marwood is a master at sketching out characters, then filling them in subtly with unique details.  If you can handle a bit of gristle and fat, then definitely dive into this contemporary thriller fiction.

My only qualm is that there is a plethora of British terms throughout the novel – of course, that makes sense since the novel is set in London.  At times it was distracting and frustrating to not know what certain terms meant in context…but that is my own failing, not Marwood’s.

"Well, if Fortune Be a Woman, She's a Good Wench..."

Wench

by Dolen Perkins-Valdez

After weeks of reading mediocre literature, I was about to give up and forego my nightly ritual that I've had since childhood of reading until I go to sleep.  Luckily, I came across Perkins-Valdez's novel, Wench, which had me riveted.

The story involves a group of four female friends, who are slaves, and their vacations to the "free country" up North.  All of the women are involved sexually with their Masters, and the protagonist, Lizzie, is in love with her Master, Drayle.  The women are constantly tempted to run for freedom, especially when they discover free blacks in Dayton, and are befriended by a white Quaker woman.  They experience an extreme of unpleasant situations and adversity; I began to really ache for their heartaches, but the characters seemed to accept most of the situations as normal--which in itself is heartbreaking.

The only thing that I did not understand was the love Lizzie had for Drayle--I really didn't see a love story there, and I assume I am not supposed to.  However, Lizzie seemed more intent on manipulating Drayle for special favors than being in love with him.

Perkins-Valdez uses realistic dialogue and smooth, cadenced narration to create an unforgettable historical fiction novel.