The Scorch Trials by James Dashner

Now, if you haven't read The Maze Runner (you can read my review here) and have even the slightest hope of doing so, I might suggest you stop reading this.

Don't say I didn't warn you. 

Ready? Here goes.

It's taken me a few days to figure out what to say. On the one hand, I couldn't put this book down. But on the other hand...(I have five more fingers, yes, I know) it took more of an apocalyptic turn.

The Scorch Trials picks up right where The Maze Runner leaves off. The boys (and Teresa) are safe and being cared for by the strangers that rescued them. Except the sense of safety lasts maybe two pages before you're thrust into yet another mind-boggling, unending sense of hopelessness with the realization that this "safety net" was all a ploy, just another part of the Trials. There is something even greater, something more dangerous, they have to endure - all in the name of saving the human race from total destruction.

Their next mission: to walk north 100 miles to a new "safe-haven". Sounds easy, right? Well, maybe I should mention the 100 miles is across barren wasteland scorched into oblivion by solar flares, equipped with magnificent electrical storms with no place for you to hide, unbearable and blinding heat, and diseased zombie-humans on the prowl.

I don't feel I can give an adequate review beyond this point. Mainly because I'm not a fan of zombies and I hate being scared. That being said, this book wasn't the kind that left me waking up in the middle of the night thinking every shadow was a zombie (and, consequently, making me attack my dog). No, no, no. Despite fearing whatever monstrosity lurked on the next page, I simply HAD to turn it ("click" for you Kindle readers). I had to know what was going to happen next. With all the unanswered questions, thrilling pace, plot twists, I had to go on.

Needless to say, by the end I was exhausted, worried I was going to slowly mutate into a zombie. Well, not really. But, if you like dystopian/zombie/apocalyptic novels, definitely give these a try. Even though this particular blend isn't my favorite, I'll still read the third and final installment of his series, The Death Cure which will be released October 11, 2011.

Happy reading!

***If you like YA Fantasy, check out my book, GAIA'S SECRET. The sequel is coming soon!

The Maze Runner by James Dashner

It seems I've been on a "dystopian" kick lately and need to fix that so I don't turn myself into a conspiracy theorist. That being said, I intend to go straight to this book's sequel, The Scorch Trials, before switching genres. But first, let's talk about The Maze Runner.

Thomas wakes up in a elevator shaft. His memory has been wiped clean; he can't remember his age, where he came from, or his family. All he can remember is his first name. The elevator stops, the doors open, and the story unfolds.

He's trapped in the heart of a maze with other teenage boys, some of which have survived there for a couple years. There are four "doors" that lead from their Homestead into the maze. Every day, a select group of boys, called "runners", runs into the maze in hopes of solving it. And, every night, the "doors" close--their only protection from the monsters that dwell inside the maze. The Maze Runner follows Thomas and his inexplicable need to be a "runner" as he struggles to solve the puzzle before the monsters kill the lot of them.

This book held me captivated to the very end! The pacing was so perfect it was borderline tiresome, and Dashner's world-building was incredibly thorough and "believable". If I could compare this to anything, I would say it's like a cross between Ender's Game and Lord of the Flies.

Now...to download the sequel! Where's my Kindle? :)

***If you like YA Fantasy, check out my book, GAIA'S SECRET. The sequel is coming soon!

Matched by Ally Condie

Thanks to Lauren (my amazing cousin) for this recommendation! This was a fabulous story. Once I was about 39% into it (according to my Kindle), I could NOT put it down. Did I mention this was a fabulous story?

The setting is some time in the future within a dystopia that feels more like a utopia...at first. Citizens' lives are completely controlled and monitored, but that's not really a bad thing. How could it be? They've got nice homes, perfect families, and they don't have to worry about disease, famine, jobs, marriage--because Society has already chosen it for them through years and years of study and probability. But that's the problem for Cassia. She's stumbled across the beauty of choice and free will. Unfortunately, now she wants to make her own choices about everything. She can't 'go gently' any more.

At age 17 Cassia has been Matched. Society has chosen the best spouse for her--which happens to be her best friend, Xander. That's where her problems start. Not because she doesn't care for her friend. It's because she's accidentally fallen in love with someone else, someone that helps her discover what it is to feel and what it means to be free. And Society would destroy their lives before ever allowing that.

This story was like a 1984 meets Gattaca. Exciting to the very end as the world around Cassia changes with rumors of a rebellion. We're left hanging with the promise of its sequel Crossed, which will be released this November. Thanks Ms. Condie for an intriguing read!

Go check it out here: http://www.amazon.com/Matched-Ally-Condie/dp/0525423648