Pearson, Mary E. Fox Forever.

Pearson, Mary E.  Fox Forever.  Macmillan/Henry Holt  2013  290p  ISBN 978-0-8050-9434-3  hs  Hardback  VG-BN  Science fiction    

The ending of the final volume of the Jenna Fox Chronicles does not disappoint.  Finely drawn characters, a compelling plot, and an epilogue bring the story, begun in The Adoration of Jenna Fox, full circle.  Set 260 years in the future, the story opens with Locke having been trapped in a six-inch cube for all that time, only to be given a body bioengineered by an evil scientist.  His favor for the Resistance requires him to infiltrate the inner circle of friends of Raine, the daughter of an evil politician.  Finding more than he bargained for, he falls in love with her and discovers more levels of evil within the back rooms of power. 

While the ending is bittersweet, fans of Jenna Fox will appreciate the closure. This trilogy will appeal to fans of Nancy Werlin’s The Double Helix and Collins’s The Hunger Games.  It is a thoroughly satisfying read, dystopian science fiction at its finest.  It is highly recommended for high-school libraries.  There is some sex, some violence and some creepy mutants -- dictating that this is not for younger readers.  Schools will want to have all three volumes of the trilogy.   

Summary: This final volume in the Jenna Fox Chronicles brings the story full circle.  Before he can begin a new life with Jenna, Locke must return to Boston to infiltrate an evil politician’s daughter’s circle as a favor to the Resistance movement.  

Dystopian novels                                                  --Pat Naismith

LLloyd, Saci. Momentum.

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LLloyd, Saci.        Momentum.         Holiday House   215p      $16.95   978-0-8234-2414-6     2012          ms/hs   E-BN  Dystopian fiction                  

Hunter is a privileged citizen who lives in a different world from the Outsiders.  Two differing life paths interface when Hunter becomes enamored with the Outsiders’ freedom.  This dystopian novel takes place in London.  The story is about a strict, straight-laced government for the Citizens and the creative adaptive environment of the Outsiders.  Conflict comes when a faction of the governmental soldiers (Kassaks) decide to take control for themselves.  This is a fast-paced novel in which readers will gain insight into how people can be continually manipulated because they have so much to lose.  Readers will see that there the characters look at things in different ways, but that working together, as Hunter and Uma do, usually results in the most satisfactory solution.

Readers will enjoy a look into the future in this novel by the author of the Carbon Diaries.         

Disasters-Fiction, Science fiction                                                                            --Linda McNeil

 

Crockett, S.D. After the Snow.

Crockett, S.D.    After the Snow.   Macmillan/ Feiwel & Friends   288p $16.99 978-0-312-64169-6   secondary       VG      Science Fiction  

In the dystopian, post-2059 ice age, young Willo survives, using skills that his father passed on to him, along with the certainty that their family represents hope to a population living under a very repressive government.  

While searching for his family, Willo comes across a young girl who was apparently abandoned.  While this is a well-written novel about an ice-age dystopian society, and two young people trying to survive, it took this reader quite a while to get involved in the story.  The book is written as a narrative, and the stilted speech of Willo (the narrator) is what made the novel difficult to read at first.  However, once one catches on to the rhythm of the narration, reading becomes much easier, and this reader was able to just get into the story.  Another dystopian novel, this one has a unique spin, with the cold, icy world created by the author.

Dystopian novels, Survival-Fiction                          --Lynn Fisher

Gee, Maurice. The Limping Man.

Gee, Maurice.      The Limping Man.   

Orca  2011  195p  18.00 978-1-55469-216-3 

hs     Fantasy           G     

The “Limping Man” saps characters’ will, leaving

them powerless with love for him even as his cruelties multiply.           

“Limping Man” is the final book of the “Salt” trilogy.  There are several story

lines. One story revolves around Hari and Pearl’s grandson Ben, who has been

raised by his grandparents, but doesn’t fit well in their world or his father’s

world (with the people).  Another story returns to the burrows, where Hana’s

mother dies, choosing to swallow poison than die in the great witch-burning. 

Hana seeks revenge on the Limping Man, who caused her mother’s death.  She must

try to discover the Limping Man’s power source, which permits him to control

minds, before he destroys them all.

 “Limping Man” is reminiscent of “Salt,” the first book in the series. 

The theme of a small group overcoming oppression/prejudice provides a common thread

throughout all three volumes.  “Limping Man” stands alone, but is better in

context. 

Fans of the dystopian series and genre will devour this quick read.

            Welliver, Hilary