eleanor & park, by Rainbow Rowell (2013)

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Allegiant, by Veronica Roth

Red Thread Sisters, by Carol Antoinette Peacock

Wonder, by R. J. Palacio

Boy Meets Boy, by David Levithan

The 5th Wave, by Rick Yancey (2013)

There will be no awakening.
     The sleeping woman will feel nothing the next morning, only a vague sense of unease and the unshakable feeling that someone is watching her.  Her anxiety will fade in less than a day and will soon be forgotten.

Sixteen-year old Cassie is a survivor.  As far as she knows, she could the last human in the universe.

So I'm probably not the last human on Earth, but I'm one of the last.  Totally alone - and likely to stay that way - until the 4th Wave rolls over me and carries me down.

Cassie has devised rules for her survival.

The first rule of surviving the 4th Wave is don't trust anyone.  It doesn't matter what they look like.

The only way to stay alive is to stay alone.  That's rule number two.

The Others, as she calls them, are extra-terrestrial.  Four Waves have washed over earth since the Arrival.  Billions killed.

The 1st Wave killed 500,000 people.
The 2nd Wave killed millions.
The 3rd Wave killed than 3.5 billion people.

How do you rid the Earth of humans?  Rid the humans of their humanity.

Cassie must do whatever is necessary to keep her promise to her younger brother.  And along the way, she must face what she fears the most.

The 5th Wave is an exciting, dark read.  Narrated from two points of view, this dark world is filled with action and intrigue.  This is the first book in the series.

Rating:  7 out of 10 stars
* language, sexual references

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To check this book out at NOLS, click HERE!

Cinder, by Marissa Meyer (2012)

The screw through Cinder's ankle had rusted, the engraved cross marks worn to a mangled circle.

Sixteen-year old Cinder is the only full-service mechanic at New Beijing's weekly market.  One day an interesting client brings in a outdated, broken android.  That person was Imperial Prince Kaito, the handsome prince of the Eastern Commonwealth.  As Prince Kai explains why he wants Cinder to fix his android, Cinder knows he's lying.

Few people know that Cinder is a cyborg, part human, part robot.  Cinder was an 11-year old orphan when her father brought her home from Europe.  Much to Cinder's step-mother's dismay, cyborgs are considered second class citizens.

Meanwhile letumosis blue fever is a world-wide pandemic.  There is no cure and every victim dies.

"Our research team is determined to find a vaccine for this disease that has now taken one of my parents and threatens to take the other, as well as tens of thousands of our citizens."

When one of Cinder's family members comes down with the plague, things begin to spiral out of control.  Cinder is drawn into the world of imperial secrets and political intrigue.  Is Cinder the key to not only curing letumosis, but saving the world from imminent destruction?

Goodreads

To check this read out at NOLS, click HERE!