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SHU |
Everlost
(age 14+) by Neal Shusterman adventure ... action ... fantasy Publisher comments: It begins with an accident. Nick and Allie don't survive the crash, and now their souls are stuck halfway between life and death in a sort of limbo called Everlost. It's a magical yet dangerous place, where bands of lost souls run wild andanyone who stands in the same spot too long sinks to the center of the Earth. Frightened and determined, Nick and Allie aren't ready to rest in peace just yet. They want their lives back, and their search for a way homewill take them deep into the uncharted areas of Everlost. But the longer they stay, the more they forget about their pasts. And if all memory of home is lost, they may never escape this strange, terrible world. |
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HER |
The Dune Chronicles (age 14+) by Frank Herbert adventure ... action ... science fiction Catalog: Opposing forces struggle for control of the universe when the archenemy of the cosmic emperor is banished to a barren world where savages fight for water. title: Dune title: Dune Messiah title: Children of Dune title: God Emperor of Dune title: Heretics of Dune title: Chapterhouse, Dune |
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CAR |
The Ender Saga (age 14+) by Orson Scott Card adventure ... action ... science fiction Publisher comments: In order to develop a secure defense against a hostile alien race's next attack, government agencies breed child geniuses and train them as soldiers. A brilliant young boy, Andrew "Ender" Wiggin lives with his kind but distant parents, his sadistic brother Peter, and the person he loves more than anyone else, his sister Valentine. Peter and Valentine were candidates for the soldier-training program but didn't make the cut, young Ender is the Wiggin drafted to the orbiting Battle School for rigorous military training. Ender's skills make him a leader in school and respected in the Battle Room, where children play at mock battles in zero gravity. Yet growing up in an artificial community of young soldiers Ender suffers greatly from isolation, rivalry from his peers, pressure from the adult teachers, and an unsettling fear of the alien invaders. His psychological battles include loneliness, fear that he is becoming like the cruel brother he remembers, and fanning the flames of devotion to his beloved sister. Is Ender the general Earth needs? But Ender is not the only result of the genetic experiments. The war with the Buggers has been raging for a hundred years, and the quest for the perfect general has been underway for almost as long. Ender's two older siblings are every bit as unusual as he is, but in very different ways. Between the three of them lie the abilities to remake a world. If, that is, the world survives. title: Ender's Game title: Speaker for the Dead title: Xenocide title: Children of the Mind title: Ender's Shadow title: Ender in Exile title: Shadow of the Hegemon title: Shadow Puppets title: Shadow of the Giant |
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ASI |
Foundation Series (age 14+) by Isaac Asimov science fiction ... adventure ... action Publisher comments: For twelve thousand years the Galactic Empire has ruled supreme. Now it is dying. But only Hari Sheldon, creator of the revolutionary science of psychohistory, can see into the future--to a dark age of ignorance, barbarism, and warfare that will last thirty thousand years. To preserve knowledge and save mankind, Seldon gathers the best minds in the Empire--both scientists and scholars--and brings them to a bleak planet at the edge of the Galaxy to serve as a beacon of hope for a fututre generations. He calls his sanctuary the Foundation. But soon the fledgling Foundation finds itself at the mercy of corrupt warlords rising in the wake of the receding Empire. Mankind's last best hope is faced with an agonizing choice: submit to the barbarians and be overrun--or fight them and be destroyed. title: Foundation title: Foundation and Empire title: Prelude to Foundation title: Foundation and Earth title: Second Foundation title: Foundation's Edge |
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SNI |
The Fallen Series (age 14+) by Tom Sniegoski fantasy ... adventure ... action Publisher comments: Aaron Corbet isn't a bad kid, he's just a little different. On the eve of his eighteenth birthday, Aaron dreams of a darkly violent landscape. He can hear the sounds of weapons clanging, the screams of the stricken, and another sound he cannot quite decipher. But gazing upward at the sky, he suddenly understands. It is the sound of great wings, angels' wings, beating the air unmercifully as hundreds of armored warriors descend on the battlefield. Orphaned since birth, Aaron is suddenly discovering newfound (and sometimes supernatural) talents. But it's not until he is approached by two men that he learns the truth about his destiny, and his role as a liaison between angels, mortals, and Powers both good and evil, some of whom are hell-bent on his destruction. title: The Fallen. Book One title: The Fallen. Book Two, Leviathan title: The Fallen. Book Three, Aerie title: The Fallen. Book Four, Reckoning |
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CAS |
Graceling
(age 14+) by Kristin Cashore growing up ... fantasy ... action ... adventure Publisher comments: Katsa has been able to kill a man with her bare hands since she was eight; she's a Graceling, one of the rare people in her land born with an extreme skill. As niece of the king, she should be able to live a life of privilege, but Graced as she is with killing, she is forced to work as the king's thug. She never expects to fall in love with beautiful Prince Po. She never expects to learn the truth behind her Grace, or the terrible secret that lies hidden far away...a secret that could destroy all seven kingdoms with words alone. With elegant, evocative prose and a cast of unforgettable characters, author Kristin Cashore creates a mesmerizing world, a death-defying adventure, and a heart-racing romance that will consume you, hold you captive, and leave you wanting more. |
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DOC |
Little Brother
(age 14+) by Cory Doctorow science fiction ... adventure ... action Publisher comments: Marcus, aka "w1n5t0n," is only 17 years old, but he figures he already knows how the system works, and how to work the system. Smart, fast, and wise to the ways of the networked world, he has no trouble outwitting his high school's intrusive but clumsy surveillance systems. But his whole world changes when he and his friends find themselves caught in the aftermath of a major terrorist attack on San Francisco. In the wrong place at the wrong time, Marcus and his crew are apprehended by the Department of Homeland Security and whisked away to a secret prison where they're mercilessly interrogated for days. When the DHS finally releases them, Marcus discovers that his city has become a police state where every citizen is treated like a potential terrorist. He knows that no one will believe his story, which leaves him only one option: to take down the DHS himself. |
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LAR |
Magic or Madness Series (age 14+) by Justine Larbalestier family ... fantasy ... action ... adventure Publisher comments: For fifteen years, Reason Cansino has lived on the run. Together with her mother, Sarafina, she has moved from one place to another in the Australian countryside, desperate not to be found by Reason's grandmother Esmeralda, a dangerous woman who believes in magic. But the moment Reason walks through Esmeralda's back door and finds herself on a New York City street, she's confronted by an unavoidable truth...magic is real. title: Magic or Madness title: Magic Lessons title: Magic's Child |
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MYE |
Fallen Angels
(age 14+) by Walter Dean Myers historical ... realistic ... adventure ... action ... survival ... war Publisher comments: A coming-of-age tale for young adults set in the trenches of the Vietnam War in the late 1960s, this is the story of Perry, a Harlem teenager who volunteers for the service when his dream of attending college falls through. Sent to the front lines, Perry and his platoon come face-to-face with the Vietcong and the real horror of warfare. But violence and death aren't the only hardships. As Perry struggles to find virtue in himself and his comrades, he questions why black troops are given the most dangerous assignments, and why the U.S. is even there at all. |