In The After

In The After
by Demitria Lunetta

From the publisher:
"They hear the most silent of footsteps.
They are faster than anything you've ever seen.
And They won't stop chasing you...until you are dead.

Amy is watching TV when it happens, when the world is attacked by Them. These vile creatures are rapidly devouring mankind. Most of the population is overtaken, but Amy manages to escape—and even rescue “Baby,” a toddler left behind in the chaos. Marooned in Amy’s house, the girls do everything they can to survive—and avoid Them at all costs.

After years of hiding, they are miraculously rescued and taken to New Hope, a colony of survivors living in a former government research compound. While at first the colony seems like a dream with plenty of food, safety, and shelter, New Hope slowly reveals that it is far from ideal. And Amy soon realizes that unless things change, she’ll lose Baby—and much more.

Rebellious, courageous, and tender, this unforgettable duo will have you on the edge of your seat as you tear through the pulse-pounding narrow escapes and horrifying twists of fate in this thrilling debut from author Demitria Lunetta."

Let me start by saying that I don't usually like alien invasion/zombie infestation books.  I could name off several that other people loved and I did not:  The 5th Wave , The Forest of Hands and Teeth, Ashes, and so on.  So it came as a great surprise to me that I really liked this book. Maybe it was because I never felt completely hopeless.  In all of the others, I lost all hope for the puny humans and knew that however the books were resolved (I never finished the series), it would be completely unrealistic.  Okay, I realize there is nothing realistic about any alien invasion/zombie apocalypse book, but somehow In the After made it feel possible. 

The book is divided into 2, possibly 3 parts.  There is explanation of the character's life in The Before (a very short part in the beginning and then told through flashbacks and memories), then there is her survival and finding of Baby in The After, and then comes the part in New Hope.  I found all three parts fascinating.  Amy is a heroine to root for, she is smart, sassy, loyal and just keeps on ticking no matter the horrors that keep coming at her.  I loved Baby and the silent, yet completely dependant and trusting relationship they formed.  At times while reading this, I would become very aware of the noise I was making while walking through the house or doing dishes or whatever.  How hard would it be to live in complete silence?  I found it interesting how the author portrayed that through Amy and Baby's interaction with Amber. 

New Hope was intriguing, and I for one didn't see what was coming (although several other reviewers said they did).  This was an exciting, fast, and breathtaking read.  I was invested in the characters and cared about what happened to them.  I understand this is just a duology, so we should get questions answered and have resolution after just one more book.

Areas of concern:

Very few cuss words.

Attempted rape.

Disgusting and violent alien/zombie creatures.

Evil dictator.

Suggested Ages:

Booklist - Grades 7-12

Kirkus Reviews - Ages 13+

The 5th Wave

The 5th Waveby Rick Yancey

From the publisher:
"The Passage meets Ender’s Game in an epic new series from award-winning author Rick Yancey.

After the 1st wave, only darkness remains. After the 2nd, only the lucky escape. And after the 3rd, only the unlucky survive. After the 4th wave, only one rule applies: trust no one.

Now, it’s the dawn of the 5th wave, and on a lonely stretch of highway, Cassie runs from Them. The beings who only look human, who roam the countryside killing anyone they see. Who have scattered Earth’s last survivors. To stay alone is to stay alive, Cassie believes, until she meets Evan Walker. Beguiling and mysterious, Evan Walker may be Cassie’s only hope for rescuing her brother—or even saving herself. But Cassie must choose: between trust and despair, between defiance and surrender, between life and death. To give up or to get up."

There are a lot of people who love this book, so I'm pretty sure I'm in the minority here, but I didn't think it was that great. I really hated the hopeless feeling throughout the whole thing. There is no way the puny humans are going to be able to overcome the highly sophisticated aliens without some ridiculous plot twist, so why keep reading? I wasn't overly fond of the main character, Cassie, and the love story was kind of creepy since it involved someone she caught in lies over and over. I actually liked the Zombie parts best (character's name, not actual zombies or I wouldn't have finished the book), even though he was incredibly full of himself. I think Sammy was the only character I really liked. The story had moments of excitement and intensity, but it just wasn't for me.

Areas of concern:
Incredibly violent - mass killings; bodies, blood, guts and gore everywhere; children watching family members die...
Horrible language - I quit marking it because it was on either every page or every other page. It seemed to calm down a little past the middle, or else I was de-sensitized by then. Many uses of the "f" word and all the other bad words you can think of.

Suggested Ages:
Publisher's Weekly - Ages 14+
School Library Journal - Grades 9+
*I ordered this book for our library because of all the hype and before suggested ages were posted.  I'm not sure it is appropriate for middle school - definitely not below 8th grade.* 

Dangerous

Dangerous
by Shannon Hale

From the publisher:
"Maisie Danger Brown just wanted to get away from home for a bit, see something new. She never intended to fall in love. And she never imagined stumbling into a frightening plot that kills her friends and just might kill her, too. A plot that is already changing life on Earth as we know it. There's no going back. She is the only thing standing between danger and annihilation.

From NY Times bestselling author Shannon Hale comes a novel that asks, How far would you go to save the ones you love? And how far would you go to save everyone else?"

Let me start by saying I'm not a Shannon Hale fan. I read and didn't like Austenland , I read The Princess Academy and The Goose Girl and only mildly liked them. So when I saw this one, I thought I would give it a try because I'm not really fond of princess-y books, so maybe this one would be more up my alley. It definitely was. So probably the intense Shannon Hale fans will like it less :). While there were definite flaws in the story - it starts out so quickly that it is hard to form relationships with Luther and with Maisie's parents because they were suddenly gone and we moved on to the next part of the book - I really enjoyed it once we got to the tokens. So here's how it fanned out for me: First part was kind of blah, after the tokens came into force I thought it was really exciting and good, then the whole alien thing came into force and I thought it was a little weird. However, on the whole I quite enjoyed the book. I really liked the characters, especially Maisie Danger Brown, and I appreciated that she had a really good relationship with her parents, although several of the other characters had lousy ones.

Areas of concern: There is quite a bit of kissing, a couple find themselves staying in a one room apartment sharing the same mattress on the floor. Nothing happens beyond kissing, although it is discussed and the male character assures the girl he has "protection". One of the male characters is a real player and hook-ups are mentioned.
Quite a bit of violence - several key characters are killed by other key characters, and there is a lot of bloodshed and tension about loved ones.
No bad language, although one character cusses alot, but the author uses bleepity-bleeps saying that the main character doesn't like the language.\

Suggested Ages:
Kirkus Reviews - Ages 12-18
Publisher's Weekly - Ages 12+

I Am Number Four

I Am Number Four
by Pittacus Lore

From the publisher:
"Nine of us came here. We look like you. We talk like you. We live among you. But we are not you. We can do things you dream of doing. We have powers you dream of having. We are stronger and faster than anything you have ever seen. We are the superheroes you worship in movies and comic books-but we are real. Our plan was to grow, and train, and become strong, and become one, and fight them. But they found us and started hunting us first. Now all of us are running. Spending our lives in shadows, in places where no one would look, blending in. we have lived among you without you knowing. But they know. They caught Number One in Malaysia. Number Two in England. And Number Three in Kenya. They killed them all. I am Number Four. I am next."

This is the first book in The Lorien Legacies series.  There is a big controversy about the author of this book, but in spite of that I liked it.  It was recommended to me by one of my Media Aides and she loved it!  I thought it was an intriguing premise, I liked the characters, and it was a quick and easy read. I did NOT like all the bad language.  And I found the ending highly implausible.

Numerous uses of the "s" word, the "h" word and the "d" word.  Some kissing.  Heavy violence at the end.

Suggested age:
School Library Journal - Grades 7 and up
Publisher's Weekly - Ages 14 and up