Alabama Moon and The Selection

     How important is friendship?  Can we do without it?    In the video above we get to hear the point of view of the main characters from two different books.  Moon is the main character in the book, Alabama Moon by Watt Key.  Moon and his dad have lived in a cabin in the back woods of Alabama for Moon's whole life.  Moon has been taught to rely on himself and not to trust others.  After his dad dies, Moon follows his dad's instructions to travel from Alabama to Alaska where Moon's dad claims there are more people like them.  Such begins Moon's adventure and a journey to figure out what he himself believes.
     America, from The Selection by Kiera Cass, has always had friendship.  After growing up poor in the colony, she has found that friendship is something she cherishes and it doesn't cost anything.  She finds herself in the castle as part of The Selection process in which Prince Maxon has to choose his future bride.  America has agreed to be in The Selection because it is a way for her family to have more food and money.  She has no interest in Maxon, but wants to stay in the castle as long as possible to benefit her family.  She feels very alone at first, but quickly makes friends and finds her support.
    Both books are page turners, but for different reasons.  Alabama Moon has adventure and danger while The Selection has adventure and romance.  

Red Queen

     Just when you think you have Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard figured out, there is another twist! Those who enjoyed The Hunger Games, Legend, or Divergent, should give this a try. There is betrayal around every corner, and throughout the book I wasn't totally sure who the good guys were. The sequel, Glass Sword, is to be released in February 2016.

The Adoration of Jenna Fox

In The Adoration of Jenna Fox, author Mary Pearson calls into question what truly makes a human. Is it our inteligence? Our personalities and emotions? Our organs, skin, hair, and physical features?

Main character Jenna wakes up from a coma after an accident with no memories of who she is, where she is from, or what happened to her.  Jenna begins her path to recovery in a secluded house with her mother and grandmother, and occasional visits from her father.  She is aided by home videos, one for every year of her life.  Set in the near future, Jenna's world is extremely similar to ours except for several advances in technology and medicine that enable life-saving procedures, although with ethical concerns and consequences.  As Jenna learns more about herself through the home videos, and her memories start resurfacing, she also makes several startling discoveries about her accident and who she is today because of it.  

One theme of this book is to believe and trust in your instincts.  Even as Jenna struggles to find herself and remember herself, she is driven by her intuition in her actions and interactions with others.  When she meets Ethan, she instinctually knows that he is a good person despite his past actions.  When she finds somethings hidden in locked closet, she follows her gut feelings to discover the truth about her accident.

I really enjoyed reading this book because many of the components that make it sci-fi aren't completely unbelievable or far from what is available in medicine today.  The author raises so many deep thinking questions about the human race, and how far we would go to save and protect the ones we love.

The Testing

The Testing by Joelle Charbonneau is the first book in a dystopian trilogy where students are selected to be tested in order to enter the society's University.  Combining elements of The Giver, The Hunger Games, and Legend this story follows Cia, a girl from the Five Lakes Colony.  No one in her colony has been selected for the Testing in the previous 10 years; but Cia and three of her classmates get selected shortly following graduation. Throughout the four phases of the Testing, Cia and her friends are tested academically, physically, and especially psychologically.  Cia learns quickly that the Testing is not all it seems to be, and failure in any form is dangerous, if not deadly. 

Cia shares many similarities with characters like Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games and Tris Prior from Divergent.  This is a fast-paced read, filled with action.  A great choice for anyone who loves dystopian novels!