18. Rachel's Story by Leigh Russell

Read on Kindle

2021
244 pgs.
YA dystopia
Finished 2/25/2023
Goodreads rating: 3.74
My rating: 3
Setting: Destroyed world which is now entirely desert

My comments: Dystopian, which I love.  Good story, but too quickly glosses over some of the important, more interesting points.  It ends waiting for the next book.

Goodreads synopsis:  A girl struggles to survive in a dystopian world destroyed by war, where food is scarce, the government rules, and ordinary people only exist to serve.

As a child, living in a post-apocalyptic world, the only person Rachel can rely on is her mother. But when her mother is killed, Rachel is initiated into The Programme, where selected young girls are medicated to make them fertile.

Fearing for her future, Rachel escapes. But freedom comes at a price and Rachel must navigate through a terrifying landscape of persecution to survive.

What is on the other side of the city wall? Will the repressive government hunt her down? One thing is certain. Rachel's world will never be the same again . . .

Rachel's Story is the perfect read for fans of women's fiction and dystopian novels, such as Margaret Atwood's The Handmaid's Tale.

84. A Beginning at the End by Mike Chen

listened to audio borrowed from Bosler Library
narrated by Emily Woo Zeller
Unabridged audio (11:39)
2020 Mira Books
400 pgs.
Adult Dystopia
Finished 5/25/2020
Goodreads rating: 3.59 - 953 ratings
My rating: 2.5
Setting: San Francisco in the (near?) future

First line/s:  "People were too scared for music tonight.  Not that MoJo cared."

My comments:  Well, this book was certainly apropos.  It was all about pandemic, quarantine, deaths, and all the crazy stuff that could possibly happen around it, which was a bit tough to read right in the middle of our current COVID-19 pandemic. I can't say I like this book and I'm not sure why.  The four main characters were interesting, but I couldn't relate at all.  And the seven-year-old daughter, Sunny, was totally unbelievable for me.  A seven-year-old girl, no matter how smart of savvy, would ever be able to make her way from San francisco to Seattle during absolute craziness safely and/or well.  The adults sure couldn't!  No, I can't say that I would recommend this book at all. 
     There was a quote I liked: "Memories are made to fade.  They're built with an expiration date."

Goodreads synopsis:  How do you start over after the end of the world?
          Six years after a global pandemic wiped out most of the planet’s population, the survivors are rebuilding the country, split between self-governing cities, hippie communes and wasteland gangs.
          In postapocalyptic San Francisco, former pop star Moira has created a new identity to finally escape her past—until her domineering father launches a sweeping public search to track her down. Desperate for a fresh start herself, jaded event planner Krista navigates the world on behalf of those too traumatized to go outside, determined to help everyone move on—even if they don’t want to. Rob survived the catastrophe with his daughter, Sunny, but lost his wife. When strict government rules threaten to separate parent and child, Rob needs to prove himself worthy in the city’s eyes by connecting with people again.
          Krista, Moira, Rob and Sunny are brought together by circumstance, and their lives begin to twine together. But when reports of another outbreak throw the fragile society into panic, the friends are forced to finally face everything that came before—and everything they still stand to lose.
          Because sometimes having one person is enough to keep the world going. 

130. The Grace Year by Kim Liggett

Listened to eAudio
narrated  by  Emily Shaffer
Unabridged audio (11:42)
2019
416 pgs.
YA Dystopia
Finished 12/26/2019
Goodreads rating:  4.185 - 37,457 ratings
My rating: 5
Setting:  dystopian anywhere society

First line/s:  "No one speaks of the grace year. It's forbidden."

My comments:  A powerful YA dypstopian novel about a hugely patriarchal society where the women are nothing, and spend their 16th year "duking it out" in the wilderness where the slightest misstep could mean death.  Not only was it hard to put down, it was hard to listen to in places, very hard.  With a few clever surprises thrown in, this author has really flushed out a powerful story.

Goodreads synopsis:  No one speaks of the grace year. It’s forbidden.
          In Garner County, girls are told they have the power to lure grown men from their beds, to drive women mad with jealousy. They believe their very skin emits a powerful aphrodisiac, the potent essence of youth, of a girl on the edge of womanhood. That’s why they’re banished for their sixteenth year, to release their magic into the wild so they can return purified and ready for marriage. But not all of them will make it home alive.
          Sixteen-year-old Tierney James dreams of a better life—a society that doesn’t pit friend against friend or woman against woman, but as her own grace year draws near, she quickly realizes that it’s not just the brutal elements they must fear. It’s not even the poachers in the woods, men who are waiting for a chance to grab one of the girls in order to make a fortune on the black market. Their greatest threat may very well be each other.
          With sharp prose and gritty realism, The Grace Year examines the complex and sometimes twisted relationships between girls, the women they eventually become, and the difficult decisions they make in-between. 

124. Enders by Lissa Price

#2 Starters duet
Listened to audio book on my Audible
narrated by Rebecca Lowman
Unabridged audio (7:58)
2013 Delacorte
288 pgs.
YA Dystopia
Finished 12/13/2019
Goodreads rating: 3.72 - 10,988 ratings
My rating:  3.5
Setting: Southern California in the future

First line/s:  "My hand went to the back of my head and I swore I could feel the chip underneath my skin."

My comments:  I'm so glad I was immediately able to get a copy of this book to listen to, directly after reading the first of the two-art series.  I had no questions about what had happened, forgot nothing about what I'd just read.  So reading the two books flowed seamlessly.  The second part of the story wasn't as good as the first, and the ending was very disappointing for some reason.  but the ideaof slipping minds into bodies and minds overlapping minds in the same body ws thought-provoking,scary, and maddening all at the same time.  a Very good dystopian fantasy science-fiction when the two books are combined.

Goodreads synopsis:  Someone is after Starters like Callie and Michael—teens with chips in their brains. They want to experiment on anyone left over from Prime Destinations—Starters who can be controlled and manipulated. With the body bank destroyed, Callie no longer has to rent herself out to creepy Enders. But Enders can still get inside her mind and make her do things she doesn't want to do. Like hurt someone she loves. Having the chip removed could save her life—but it could also silence the voice in her head that might belong to her father. Callie has flashes of her ex-renter Helena's memories, too . . . and the Old Man is back, filling her with fear. Who is real and who is masquerading in a teen body?
          No one is ever who they appear to be, not even the Old Man. Determined to find out who he really is and grasping at the hope of a normal life for herself and her younger brother, Callie is ready to fight for the truth. Even if it kills her. 

123. Starters by Lissa Price

#1 of 2
Listened to Audible/Chirp
narrated  by Rebecca Lowman
Unabridged audio (10:20)
2012 Delacorte Books for Young Readers
352 pgs.
YA Dystopia/Fantasy
Finished 12/11/2019
Goodreads rating: 3.90 - 39,689 ratings
My rating:  4
Setting: Dystopian Hollywood, California

First line/s:  "Enders gave me the creeps.  The doorman flashed a practiced smile as he let me into the body bank.  He wasn't that old, maybe 110, but he still made me shudder."

My comments:  What an interesting premise for a book!  YA dystopia/fantasy all the way!  I'm going to have to think about the ending of this one.  (Spoiler:  was her father the "old man?"  Why else would he have kept his face and his voice in artificial mode?  Why would he care so much about Callie and her brother Tyler?  But he was a horrible person!I am really in a bit of a tizzy about this...) Good story, indeed.  And what's to come?

Goodreads synopsis:  Callie lost her parents when the Spore Wars wiped out everyone between the ages of twenty and sixty. She and her little brother, Tyler, go on the run, living as squatters with their friend Michael and fighting off renegades who would kill them for a cookie. Callie's only hope is Prime Destinations, a disturbing place in Beverly Hills run by a mysterious figure known as the Old Man.
          He hires teens to rent their bodies to Enders—seniors who want to be young again. Callie, desperate for the money that will keep her, Tyler, and Michael alive, agrees to be a donor. But the neurochip they place in Callie's head malfunctions and she wakes up in the life of her renter, living in her mansion, driving her cars, and going out with a senator's grandson. It feels almost like a fairy tale, until Callie discovers that her renter intends to do more than party—and that Prime Destinations' plans are more evil than Callie could ever have imagined. . . .

114. Under the Never Sky by Veronica Rossi

Read on my iPhone/ have on Kindle
2012 Atom
374 pgs.
YA Fantasy/Dystopia
Finished 11/15/2019
Goodreads rating:  4.00 - 104,861
My rating: 3:

First line/s:  "Aria pushed herself to her knees, gritting her teeth at the piercing shriek that erupted in her ears."

My comments:  A bleak, dystopian ya novel that's pretty depressing throughout.  Book 2 will probably be interesting, though, with the build up from this one.  There's still a lot to be discovered about the way the characters learn about each other with enhanced senses.  Aria and Peregrive, the two protagonists, are pretty interesting and the story is form both of their POVs.

Goodreads synopsis:  
          WORLDS KEPT THEM APART.
          DESTINY BROUGHT THEM TOGETHER.
          Aria has lived her whole life in the protected dome of Reverie. Her entire world confined to its spaces, she's never thought to dream of what lies beyond its doors. So when her mother goes missing, Aria knows her chances of surviving in the outer wasteland long enough to find her are slim.
          Then Aria meets an outsider named Perry. He's searching for someone too. He's also wild - a savage - but might be her best hope at staying alive.
         If they can survive, they are each other's best hope for finding answers.

106. Summer Frost by Blake Crouch

listened on Audible
narrated  by Rosa Salazar
Unabridged audio (2:19)
2019, Amazon Original Stories
75 pgs.
Adult SciFi
Finished 10/27/2019
Goodreads rating: 4.10 - 4795 ratings
My rating:  1
Setting: Dystopian San Francisco

First line/s:  "I watched her steal the Maserati twenty minutes ago in broad daylight from the Fairmont Hotel."

My comments:   This was a short story from a collection of six, and I didn't really like it.  Maybe because it was so short it didn't flesh out the plot enough, so I didn't follow some of it.  Oh well, this is an author I really enjoy and this won't put me off for another.  Maybe I'll try listening again when I'm in a different mood?

Goodreads synopsis:  A video game developer becomes obsessed with a willful character in her new project, in a mind-bending exploration of what it means to be human by the New York Times bestselling author of Recursion.
          Maxine was made to do one thing: die. Except the minor non-player character in the world Riley is building makes her own impossible decision—veering wildly off course and exploring the boundaries of the map. When the curious Riley extracts her code for closer examination, an emotional relationship develops between them. Soon Riley has all new plans for her spontaneous AI, including bringing Max into the real world. But what if Max has real-world plans of her own?
          Blake Crouch’s Summer Frost is part of Forward, a collection of six stories of the near and far future from out-of-this-world authors. Each piece can be read or listened to in a single thought-provoking sitting.

104. Beyond the Night by Joss Ware and Colleen Gleason

listened to Audible via CHIRP
narrated  by Sebastian Fields
Unabridged audio (10:34)
2000, Harper Collins
357 pgs.
Adult Dystopia/Romance
Finished 10/24/2019
Goodreads rating: 3.60 - 1588 ratings
My rating:  1.5
Setting:  Future Las Vegas

First line/s:  " 'She went after them!" Elliot Drake exclaimed as he jumped over a half wall to join two of his four companions."

My comments:  I don't understand why they would put such a misleading cover on this book.  I think it would encourage many people who would enjoy the story NOT to read it.  I totally look forward to good character development in a story, and this really didn't have much of that.  It is the basis for a really good dystopian adventure, but it's too much telling and very little showing.  Even the parts that are supposed to be steamy aren't very steamy, IMO.  All in all, a very disappointing book.  The story outline is excellent, but it's written very badly.

Goodreads synopsis:  A man with no future . . .
          When Dr. Elliott Drake wakes from a mysterious fifty-year sleep, the world as he knew it is gone. Cities are now desolate, and civilization is controlled by deadly immortals. Stranger still is Elliott's extraordinary new "gift"--he has the power to heal, but it comes with fatal consequences.
          A woman with a past . . .
          Jade barely escaped the immortals and is now hell-bent on revenge. She trusts no one . . . until Elliott. His piercing gaze and tempting touch shatter her defenses, but the handsome doctor seems to have dangerous secrets of his own. Is it safe to trust him with her heart?
If they are to survive in this dark new world, Jade and Elliott must work together to fight the forces that take them beyond danger.
           Beyond desire.

102. Thunderhead by Neal Shusterman

#2 Arc of a Scythe
listened on my iPhone, purchased on Audible
narrated by Greg Tremblay
Unabridged audio (13:02)
2018 Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
513 pgs.
YA Dystopia/Fantasy
Finished 10/19/2019
Goodreads rating: 4.52 - 42,389 ratings
My rating: 5

First line/s:  "How fortunate I am among the sentient to know my purpose.  I serve human kind.  I am the child who has become the parent.  The creations that aspires towards creator."

My comments:  In the year after Citra and Rowan become scythes, Rowan is on the run, killing scythes that are not doing their gleaning fairly, and Citra has created her own way to compassionately do her job.  There's a new protagonist, Grayson, who is a particularly good person and we hear a lot from the Thunderhead, the artificial intelligence that runs everything and everyone on the planet except for the scythes.  In the ultimate battle between good and bad we have to wait for the final chapter knowing that the bad are on the winning side.  What a tense, thrilling journey is this book!  Glad I don't have to wait too long for the final installment.

Goodreads synopsis:  Rowan has gone rogue, and has taken it upon himself to put the Scythedom through a trial by fire. Literally. In the year since Winter Conclave, he has gone off-grid, and has been striking out against corrupt scythes—not only in MidMerica, but across the entire continent. He is a dark folk hero now—“Scythe Lucifer”—a vigilante taking down corrupt scythes in flames.
          Citra, now a junior scythe under Scythe Curie, sees the corruption and wants to help change it from the inside out, but is thwarted at every turn, and threatened by the “new order” scythes. Realizing she cannot do this alone—or even with the help of Scythe Curie and Faraday, she does the unthinkable, and risks being “deadish” so she can communicate with the Thunderhead—the only being on earth wise enough to solve the dire problems of a perfect world. But will it help solve those problems, or simply watch as perfection goes into decline?

93. Machine City by Scott J. Holliday

#2 Det. John Barnes, Detroit Police Detective
Listened on Audible - my purchase
read by J. D. Jackson
Unabridged audio (9:21)
2018 Thomas & Mercer
300pgs.
Adult Dystopian Mystery
Finished 10/1/2019
Goodreads rating:  4.08 - 317 ratings
My rating:  3
Setting: Contemporary Detroit

First line/s: "Former Detroit homicide detective John Barnes sat on the wooden steps that led up to his porch, his leather tool belt unbuckled and set at his side."

My comments:  I was totally boggled by this book, really didn't have much of a clue about what was going on for most of the first 7/8 of the book.  If I hadn't read the first in the series I would really have been stumped.  Then the enlightening chapter and everything (more or less) came together I would not recommend this book to anyone who has not read the first one, and not to anyone who's only going to peripherally listen or read with just half a mind to it!  Difficult to rate....

Goodreads synopsis:  In this unputdownable thriller set in the new future, a detective enters the mind of a killer to find a missing child.          
          To ex-detective John Barnes, the machine is a dangerous and abhorrent addiction. The criminal thoughts it embedded in his brain helped him stop a serial killer, but they left him dazed—with pounding, murderous impulses. Having turned in his badge to salvage what’s left of his psyche, Barnes must return to the darkness at the request of his former partner. A little girl has gone missing. So has Adrian Flaherty, the detective in the kidnapper’s shadow.         
          And only Barnes can hear the clues.
          But the trail is more dizzying and more personal than he feared. The voices are revealing a secret only Flaherty could have known. They’re also telling Barnes that he doesn’t have long to live. To find the girl, he must listen closely. Because the clock is ticking…and Barnes’s mind is going fast.

48. Dread Nation by Justina Ireland

listened on Audible (borrowed from CCLS)
read by Bahni Turpin (great job)
Unabridged audio (11.56 - most I listened to at x1.25 because the narration was quite slow...)
2018 Baker & Bray
455 pgs.
YA dystopia
Finished June 1, 2019
Goodreads rating:  4.15 - 12,133 ratings
My rating:  4
Setting:  Baltimore, MD and Kansas outback after the Civil War

First line/s:  "The day I came screaming and squalling into the world was the first time someone tried to kill me."

My comments:  The premise of this book was so hatefully racist that it was hard to read.  Our heroine, Jane, is smart, cocky, and very sure of herself - very likable indeed.  She deals with her lot in life with humor and honesty and it's never hard to swallow her decisions and motivations.  I listened to this while driving back-and-forth to Michigan and it certainly kept my attention, the wailing of the Shamblers notwithstanding!

Goodreads synopsis:  Jane McKeene was born two days before the dead began to walk the battlefields of Gettysburg and Chancellorsville—derailing the War Between the States and changing America forever. In this new nation, safety for all depends on the work of a few, and laws like the Native and Negro Reeducation Act require certain children attend combat schools to learn to put down the dead. But there are also opportunities—and Jane is studying to become an Attendant, trained in both weaponry and etiquette to protect the well-to-do. It’s a chance for a better life for Negro girls like Jane. After all, not even being the daughter of a wealthy white Southern woman could save her from society’s expectations.
          But that’s not a life Jane wants. Almost finished with her education at Miss Preston’s School of Combat in Baltimore, Jane is set on returning to her Kentucky home and doesn’t pay much mind to the politics of the eastern cities, with their talk of returning America to the glory of its days before the dead rose. But when families around Baltimore County begin to go missing, Jane is caught in the middle of a conspiracy, one that finds her in a desperate fight for her life against some powerful enemies. And the restless dead, it would seem, are the least of her problems. 

43. Internment by Samira Ahmed

listened on Audible
read by Soneela Nankani
Unabridged audio (11:17)
2019 Hachette Audio/Little Brown Books for Young Readers
387 pgs.
YA CRF (I cannot call it anything else!)
Finished Sat. May 11, 2019
Goodreads rating:  4.05 - 2128 ratings
My rating: 2
Setting: Contemporary California

First line/s:  "I strain to listen for boots on the pavement.  Stomping.  Marching."

My comments:  Well, I'm going to go against the general flow of raving reviews for this book.  I had many problems with it and I'm not exactly sure how to put my finger on all of them, but I'll try.  However, I do want to say that the premise of this book is spectacular, and very, very timely. 
          I think the author tried, but her writing style and character development didn't work.  And there were so many things included that were hard to believe and so many things not included that needed to be.  (A few possible small spoilers follow.)  Layla's insta-relationship with Jake?  Smuggling her boyfriend in and out of a prison camp - more than once?  NO adults other than an 80-year-old woman with any gumption to say or do anything?  Spending copious time with a prison guard, including in a female prisoner's bedroom, amid cameras and drones and constant surveillance without ever being spotted?  Unfortunately I could go on and on and I haven't even touched on the character development!  Layla's (or the author's) long, drawn out thinking about situations actually work to slow down any action that takes place.  Too much tell, not nearly enough show.  Again, a great premise for a book, but its execution didn't work at all for me. Big sigh.

Goodreads synopsis:  Rebellions are built on hope. 
          Set in a horrifying near-future United States, seventeen-year-old Layla Amin and her parents are forced into an internment camp for Muslim American citizens.
          With the help of newly made friends also trapped within the internment camp, her boyfriend on the outside, and an unexpected alliance, Layla begins a journey to fight for freedom, leading a revolution against the internment camp's Director and his guards.
          Heart-racing and emotional, Internment challenges readers to fight complicit silence that exists in our society today. 

42 Eventown by Corey Ann Haydu

read the book!
2019 Katherine Tegen Books
328 pgs.
Finished May 6, 2019
Goodreads rating:  4.03 - 456 ratings
My rating:  3
Setting: contemporary/dystopian Eventown, USA

First line/s:  "Jenny Horowitz likes horses and the color pink and asking questions about things I don't want to talk about."

My comments:  It's hard to separate my thinking about this book as an adult versus my thinking about it as a kid would.  I pretty much knew what was going on and what was going to happen, but most probably it would be hazier for a nine, ten, or eleven year old.  Like The Giver, this book gives the reader a chance to ponder upon the questions: What would it be like to live in a perfect world?  It was an OK so-so book for me as an adult, but would probably be quite a bit more than that for me as my 10-year-old self.

Goodreads synopsis:  The world tilted for Elodee this year, and now it’s impossible for her to be the same as she was before. Not when her feelings have such a strong grip on her heart. Not when she and her twin sister, Naomi, seem to be drifting apart. So when Elodee’s mom gets a new job in Eventown, moving seems like it might just fix everything.
Indeed, life in Eventown is comforting and exciting all at once. Their kitchen comes with a box of recipes for Elodee to try. Everyone takes the scenic way to school or work—past rows of rosebushes and unexpected waterfalls. On blueberry-picking field trips, every berry is perfectly ripe.
          Sure, there are a few odd rules, and the houses all look exactly alike, but it’s easy enough to explain—until Elodee realizes that there are only three ice cream flavors in Eventown. Ever. And they play only one song in music class.
          Everything may be “even” in Eventown, but is there a price to pay for perfection—and pretending?

34. We Set the Dark on Fire by Tehlor Kay Majia

listened on Audible - borrowed from CCPL
read by Kyla Garcia
Unabridged audio (9:54)
2019 Katherine Tegen Books
384 pgs.
YA Dystopia
Finished 3/31/19
Goodreads rating:  3.78 - 982 ratings
My rating: 1
Setting: Dystopian Mexico, seemingly

First line/s:  "Daniela Vargas woke at the first whisper of footsteps coming up the road."

My comments:  Yuck.  I'm so glad this endless book is over.  It took a zillion pages to tell a story that could've been told in 100.  So incredibly repetitious that I went cross-eyed every time Dani thought the same thoughts over and over...and over...again.  I don't care about any of the characters.  At all.  I hve no idea why it's gotten so many good reviews...I do love the premise, but not much else.

Goodreads synopsis:  At the Medio School for Girls, distinguished young women are trained for one of two roles in their polarized society. Depending on her specialization, a graduate will one day run a husband’s household or raise his children, but both are promised a life of comfort and luxury, far from the frequent political uprisings of the lower class. Daniela Vargas is the school’s top student, but her bright future depends upon no one discovering her darkest secret—that her pedigree is a lie. Her parents sacrificed everything to obtain forged identification papers so Dani could rise above her station. Now that her marriage to an important politico’s son is fast approaching, she must keep the truth hidden or be sent back to the fringes of society, where famine and poverty rule supreme.
          On her graduation night, Dani seems to be in the clear, despite the surprises that unfold. But nothing prepares her for all the difficult choices she must make, especially when she is asked to spy for a resistance group desperately fighting to bring equality to Medio. Will Dani cling to the privilege her parents fought to win for her, or to give up everything she’s strived for in pursuit of a free Medio—and a chance at a forbidden love?

30. Cornerstone by Misty Provencher

(#1 in Cornerstone series)
read on my iPhone
2011 self published:  Corner Stone Publishing
230 pgs.
YA Dystopia/Fantasy
Finished 3/19/19
Goodreads rating:  3.91 - 1388 ratings
My rating:  3.5
Setting:  Contemporary America

First line/s:  "I HATE PAPER DAY.  HATE.  IT.  But I still do it every week, sometimes twice a week, because my mom asks me to.  I know I shouldn't.  I know it doesn't help.  But I do it because I know that the only people in the world that we can count on is us."

My comments:  Cornerstone is the kind of book that draws you in immediately.  The first half of the book, well, I just couldn't put down.  The second half slowed down a bit and didn't hold my attention quite as much.  The instalove was the most offputting for me because I didn't understand what made Garrett so quickly drawn to Nalena.  Why hadn't he befriended her earlier?  The ending was not as much a cliffhanger as it was a segue into another chapter.  Will I read more?  Probably not, but I did enjoy this one. 

Goodreads synopsis:  Nalena Maxwell has been branded ‘The Waste’ at her new school, due to her mom's obsessive paper hoarding. Nalena desperately wants something to change in her life, but when she receives a sign (and it's the wrong dang one) inviting her into a mysterious, ancient community, too much changes. What she knew of her family, what she thought of her life and what she believed about her future, is no longer applicable. Seventeen years worth of family skeletons come crashing into Nalena's life and it is the boy...the one that smiles at her like he wants to hear everything she'll ever say...that already knows her powerful secrets. But it is only Nalena that can choose between protecting the life that is already crumbling beneath her feet and the one that might sacrifice everything she could ever have.

17. Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse

The Sixth World #1
listened on Audible (8:58)
read by Tanis Parenteau
2018 Saga Press
287 pgs.
Adult Fantasy/dystopia
Finished 2/11/2019
Goodreads rating:  4.12 - 5367 ratings
My rating:  3
Setting: Navajo reservation in the near future
A great review is in The Quiet Pond blog.

First line/s:  "The monster has been here.  I can smell him."

My comments:  I have mixed feelings about this book because I didn't totally understand it.  I could follow a lot of the mythological Navajo/Dineh superstitions of monsters and witchcraft and clan magic, but not enough of it to fully understand what was going on all the time.  I used my imagination as much as I could, but there are still a lot of gaps/holes in my understanding of the plot.  I'm glad I read it, but I don't think I'll read any more.  I listened to the to this on audio, and it was really well read.

Goodreads synopsis:  While most of the world has drowned beneath the sudden rising waters of a climate apocalypse, Dinétah (formerly the Navajo reservation) has been reborn. The gods and heroes of legend walk the land, but so do monsters.
          Maggie Hoskie is a Dinétah monster hunter, a supernaturally gifted killer. When a small town needs help finding a missing girl, Maggie is their last—and best—hope. But what Maggie uncovers about the monster is much larger and more terrifying than anything she could imagine.
          Maggie reluctantly enlists the aid of Kai Arviso, an unconventional medicine man, and together they travel to the rez to unravel clues from ancient legends, trade favors with tricksters, and battle dark witchcraft in a patchwork world of deteriorating technology.
          As Maggie discovers the truth behind the disappearances, she will have to confront her past—if she wants to survive.
          Welcome to the Sixth World.

4. We Are Omega by Justin Woolley

read on my iPhone
12/9/18 by Lonely Robot Books (not many reviews yet)
328 pgs.
YA SciFi/Dystopia
Finished 1/7/18
Goodreads rating:  4.55 - 11 ratings
My rating:  2 (or less....)
Setting: 2025 Nevada, USA

First line/s:  "I push my face into the pillow, trying to muffle the sound of my sobs."

My comments:  Told from two points of view - Molly and Miles.  Both are unlikable from the start.  As I approached the end I didn't care who won or lost, who was killed or died, I just wanted the story to end.  I disliked the protagonists equally as much as I did the antagonists.  And if Molly said "netting" one more time, I was going to scream!

Goodreads synopsis: I AM. YOU ARE. WE ARE OMEGA.
          Six years ago an alien spacecraft crashed into the remote Nevada desert, releasing a virus that killed one-fifth of the Earth's population.
          Molly McManus, who lost her parents to the plague, can't forgive the aliens just because they give humanity a few new toys. For Wells Marsden, a computer hacker desperate to atone for his past, the aliens might just offer the fresh start he needs.
          Both Molly and Wells find themselves, for very different reasons, at the Institute for the Betterment of Humanity – a prestigious facility for gifted youth to learn from the aliens. But when they discover Earth's visitors aren't as benevolent as they claim they must escape the Institute, join a mysterious resistance group known only as Omega, and save humanity from disaster – so long as humanity itself doesn't get in their way.
          WE ARE OMEGA is a science fiction adventure featuring hacking, telekinetic powers, giant alien crabs out to control the planet and two troubled teens who just might be the best hope we have. It's a thundering read for fans of Illuminae, The 5th Wave, and I Am Number Four.

2. Theory of Bastards by Audrey Schulman

read on my iPhone
2018 Europa Editions
416 pgs.
Adult dystopia
Finished 1/3/2019
Goodreads rating: 4.11 - 775 ratings
My rating:  4
Setting:  Somewhere in the midwest, 40 to 50 years in the future.

First line/s: "When Frankie's vehicle pulled in, she saw a whole group of them waiting for her, exactly what she hated. Dressed up, milling around, eager supplicants.  Ten or eleven researcher in all, probably every PhD at the Foundation."

My comments:  Most misleading cover of all time!!! Much of this book was written more like non-fiction than fiction, even omitting quotation marks for any spoken word. The story was primarily about the watching of and research about a group of 14 bonobos (a type of ape, a very smart type) who lived together in a research facility a few years in the future. When an unknown catastrophe changes the world, Frankie and Stotts have to work together and use their wits To save the bonobos  – and themselves. I truly can’t believe how much I enjoyed this book, it’s not the sort of book I would usually go for.

Goodreads synopsis:  “Stage four. Surgery. Recovering.” While those are the simple words that once described Dr. Francine Burk’s situation, the reality is much more complex. Her new reality is bacon rinds for breakfast and feeling unduly thrilled by her increasing ability to walk across a room without assistance. And it’s being offered a placement at a prestigious research institute where she can put to good use her recent award money. With the Foundation’s advanced technological resources and a group of fascinating primates, Francine can begin to verify her subversive scientific discovery, which has challenged the foundations of history—her Theory of Bastards.
          Frankie finds that the bonobos she’s studying are as complex as the humans she’s working alongside. Their personalities are strong and distinct, and reigning over it all is Mama, the commanding matriarchal leader of the group. Frankie comes to know the bonobos and to further develop her groundbreaking theory with the help of her research partner, a man with a complicated past and perhaps a place in her future. And then something changes everything, and the lines that divide them—between subject and scientist, between colleague and companion—begin to blur. 
          With deft skill and heartbreaking honesty, Audrey Schulman delves into the very nature of her characters. Her newest novel explores the nuances of communication, the implications of unquestioned technological advancement, and the enduring power of love in a way that is essential and urgent in today’s world. This thrilling literary novel will resonate, long after the final page is turned..

MOVIE - Mortal Engines

PG-13 (1:51)

Wide release 12/14/18

Viewed 12/14/18 in Camp Hill
IMBd: 6.4/10

RT Critic:  26  Audience:  59
Critic's Consensus:  Mortal Engines has no shortage of eye-catching special effects, but lacks enough high-octane narrative fuel to give this futuristic fantasy sufficient cinematic combustion.

Cag:  1.5

Directed by Christian Rivers

Universal Pictures

Based on the book by Philip Reeve

My comments:  Excruciatingly long and really quite boring, no surprises, over-acted.  Maybe if I had read the book?  Not impressed.

RT/ IMDb Summary:  Hundreds of years after civilization was destroyed by a cataclysmic event, a mysterious young woman, Hester Shaw (Hera Hilmar), emerges as the only one who can stop London -- now a giant, predator city on wheels -- from devouring everything in its path. Feral, and fiercely driven by the memory of her mother, Hester joins forces with Tom Natsworthy (Robert Sheehan), an outcast from London, along with Anna Fang (Jihae), a dangerous outlaw with a bounty on her head.

99. Scythe by Neil Shusterman

#1 Arc of a Scythe
read on my iPhone
2016 Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
435 pgs.
YA Dystopia
Finished 12/10/2018
Goodreads rating: 4.36 - 55,325 ratings
My rating:  4.5

First line/s:  "We must, by law, keep a record of the innocents we kill."

My comments:  How can you give a five rating to a book that is all about killing  A story that gives you the heebie-jeebies?  A tale that is unremitting in its darkness?  I don't think I can...quite. It's a clever story, and I couldn't wait to get back to it if I had to put it down, but it was....horrible, in its way.  A perfect world, like the world of The Giver, showing off huge chinks in the perfectness.  It makes me shudder.  Shusterman is quite a masterful writer.

Goodreads synopsis:  Thou shalt kill.
          A world with no hunger, no disease, no war, no misery. Humanity has conquered all those things, and has even conquered death. Now scythes are the only ones who can end life—and they are commanded to do so, in order to keep the size of the population under control.
          Citra and Rowan are chosen to apprentice to a scythe—a role that neither wants. These teens must master the “art” of taking life, knowing that the consequence of failure could mean losing their own.