When askings teens what they did this summer, you expect responses like: “I went to camp,” “I visited my grandparents,” or “I slept a lot.” Not so for the teens in the stories presented here! These kids have to overcome forest fires, global cooling, evil scientific organizations, volcanic explosions, and worse. Readers looking for a suspenseful read that takes place in a world gone awry can’t go wrong with any of these titles.
ARMSTRONG, Kelley. The Calling. Bk. 2. (Darkness Rising Series). Harper. 2012. ISBN 9780061797071. JLG Level: MM: Mystery/Adventure Middle & HS (Grades 7-11)
There’s a lot crammed into Armstrong’s young adult novel: paranormal activity, a forest fire, helicopter crash, and kidnapping. It’s going to be trickier than usual for Maya Delaney and her friends to get out of this one! Thank goodness they all start to realize they have super powers; now the teens just have to learn how to use them as well as whom they can trust. Lots of twists and turns, for fans of mysteries and thrillers.
CROCKET, S.D. After the Snow. Feiwel & Friends. 2012. ISBN 9780312641696. JLG Level: CTH: Current Trends High (grades 9 & Up)
Willo returns home to find that his entire family has disappeared. Alone in Snowdonia, Wales, he is determined to find and rescue them. As he heads into the mountains, the teen encounters another parent-less refugee, Mary, younger than him and very scared. Though he should abandon her, he cannot, and they resume the journey together. When a snow truck picks them up, they end up going into the city, which is full of dangers of a different kind. Willo’s voice is unique in YA literature, with odd phrasing and cadence—it may take a bit to get used to, but readers will be rewarded with a great survival tale.
WEAVER, Will. The Survivors. HarperTeen. 2012. ISBN ISBN13: 9780060094768. JLG Level: Y+: Young Adults (Grades 9 & up)
Fans of Susan Beth Pfeffer’s Life As We Knew It (Harcourt, 2006) will find much to like in Weaver’s absorbing tale of a family’s survival after cataclysmic volcanic explosions. Retreating from their comfy home in suburbia, they take refuge in a cabin in northern Minnesota, with Mary’s goat providing milk and Miles’ memory supplying the skills they need to stay alive. A sequel to the 2001 title Memory Boy, this title easily stands alone, and girl readers will be delighted to see how Mary steps up after Miles sustains a head injury and can no longer remember anything.
DASHNER, James. The Death Cure. Bk. 3. (Maze Runner Series). Delacorte. 2011. ISBN 9780385738774. JLG Level: MM: Mystery/Adventure Middle & HS (Grades 7-11)
Dashner wraps it all up in this exciting conclusion to the action-packed series. Having survived the Maze and the Flare, Thomas and his intrepid friends decide to break out of WICKED headquarters and travel to Denver, which is desperately trying to keep the Flare at bay. When they encounter a revolutionary group known as the Right Arm, Thomas decides to trust in them, which may not have been the best, or most moral, decision. Readers will find themselves questioning every move, and while the ending is not tied up with a bow, the conclusion to the series is quite satisfying.
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About Dodie Ownes
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