The Way We Fall

The Way We Fall by Megan Crewe is told in journal format by Kaelyn a girl who is stuck on an island which has been quarantined because of a horrible virus that kills everyone that contracts it.  When Kaelyn's friend's father gets mysteriously sick it starts a chain reaction that leads to the island being quarantined as more and more people die every day.  The quarantine gets worse and worse everyday as the islanders are cut off and abandoned  by the rest of the country.

I really enjoyed this novel.  The author did a good job creating a situation that is both terrifying and believable.  Kaelyn is a great character and loved the interactions with her friends and family.  There are enough new revelations as the story goes on to keep the reader interested.   I did find the story to be a little slow at times and I was very frustrated by the sudden ending.

Appropriateness:  There is no adult content in this book.  The romance is limited to a few kisses.  There is a lot of death making this a very emotional book.  I would recommend this book to teens who are a fan of dystopian and post apocalyptic novels.  

Review copy obtained from netgalley

Rip Tide

Rip Tide by Kat Falls is the sequel to Dark Life.  Dark Life follows Ty who lives on the ocean floor. When he meets a topsider (someone who lives on the surface) named Gemma together they must save the underground settlements from being destroyed by outlaws.

Rip Tide puts Ty and Gemma back together as they try to find their parents who were kidnapped after trying to sell their crops.  The pair are soon enveloped into the politics and class distinctions that are a reality for the ocean residents who aren't given enough supplies to live and are willing to take part in life threatening fights to help their towns.  Ty and Gemma face many dangerous situations as they search for Ty's parents.

Rip Tide was full of action and adventure and although it is a sequel to Dark Life it felt like it was written for a different and older audience.  Dark life is very political with the plot being based on the caste like system that keeps different groups of citizens in different lives.  In between the political wrangling is a ton of (often very violent) action scenes.  I had some problems getting through this book and found it fairly clunky and lacking the charm of the first book.

Appropriateness:  While the first book was written for a young middle grade audience (9-11) this book seemed like it was for a more mature audience (which is perfect if your child read the first book when if first came out) because of the political basis for the plot and because the book was very violent.  There are several brutal fight scenes which are a little much for an elementary school audience.  However, all the action will make this a must read for boys who will really enjoy the action scenes.  There is also a hint of romance and a tough female character for female readers.  The lexile of Dark Life was 690 putting the book at a fourth grade level so this book should be around the same.  I would recommend this book to readers 11-15

Review copy obtained by Amazon Vine

Prized

Prized by Caragh O'Brien is the second book in the Birthmarked Trilogy,  In the first book Gaia a teenage midwife escapes from the enclave, a society who has problems with reproduction, with her baby sister after the death of both of her parents.  This book follows Gaia as she enters a new society that has it's own problems.  In Sylum women are not only a minority but they are the rulers of the society presiding over the men and each other with an iron fist allowing for no flexibility.  Gaia finds herself quickly embroiled in the politics of this society through her midwifery and her unwillingness to compromise.

I wasn't sure what to expect with this book as I felt that the author did a fantastic job wrapping up Birthmarked and found myself pleasantly surprised.  The author took readers into a society that while being quite different than the enclave still faced many of the same types of  problems.  Quite like the differences in The Giver and Gathering Blue two societies that are very different but still face the same sorts of problems, in this case of reproduction, genetics and a large part of the population not having control over their society.  Gaia continues to be a strong heroine and her romantic entanglements and midwife skills make for an interesting story.  I finished the book quickly and look forward to the final book in the series.

Appropriateness:  Part of the plot involves drugs that are smoked by members of the community.  It in no way glorifies drug use and I wouldn't find it questionable for even young children.  The romantic relationships involve nothing more than kissing.  I would recommend this book to fans of dystopian fiction 14+ however it is not inappropriate for younger readers.

Ashfall

Ashfall by Mike Mullen stars Alex a teenage boy who is home alone when a giant volcano erupts hundreds of miles away at Yellowstone.  This volcano results a giant ashfall that rains down for days.  After spending several days hidden away waiting for the eruption to stop Alex decides to travel to his Uncle's house to find his parents.  Alex faces plenty of hardship on his journey in a world which has been transformed due to feet of ash which have disrupted everything from communication to water and food supplies.

This was a fantastic dystopian novel which was very engrossing.  Alex and Darla felt very real and the author did a good job with the background of the characters explaining the extraordinary things that happen.  For example, Alex is strong and is able to fight not because he just happens to be but because he has a very strong background in martial arts and while he makes some questionable decisions I never felt like the character deserved to die because of his idiotic decisions (unlike some books I've read recently cough cough EVE).  I also felt that the environment and circumstances for the most part felt realistic as to what could happen in such a major disaster.  The male voice felt true and realistic and this is going to be a book that will speak to young male readers who will be able to relate to Alex. 

Appropriateness:  This book has some adult content which could disturb young readers.  Nothing felt inappropriate but it could make some feel uncomfortable.  There is some fairly graphic violence, the rape and murder of an important character and many scenes where Alex is in so much distress, starving and in great pain.  There is sex and sexual content (which is not detailed) which is fantastically responsible as the two do not have sex for the majority of the book because they have no condoms and realize how irresponsible it would be to have sex without using birth control.  This is a book with a male voice and I would highly recommend it to teenage boys who will enjoy it (it also has some romance and girls will also like it).  I recommend this book to teens 13+

Review copy obtained from Netgalley
   

Tankborn

Tankborn by Karen Sandler is a dystopian novel set in a highly segregated dystopian society.  In this society your status is based on how you were born from the GEN's, genetically engineered, who are slaves to the low born who make up the lower classes and the highest Trueborn classes.  Best friends Kayla and Mishalla are split up when it is time for their assignments.  They both become involved in a mystery involving missing children and become involved with the higher classes in a way they never would have imagined.

While the concept for this book was strong the book is highly bogged down by the fictional vocabulary.  Every single thing in this society has a special fictional name from the food to the vehicles to the names for the social classes, the medication . . . . . Having to constantly decipher these "foreign" terms almost makes the book unreadable.  If you're able to get past these terms you'll find a dystopian romance with a large amount of forbidden romance and a nice mystery.  I think this is going to be a book that people will either love or they're not going to be able to finish because of the writing style.

Appropriateness:  There is a bit of an illusion to prescription drug abuse by some of the elders in the book and the romance gets a bit steamy (but there is no sex).  I would recommend this book to fans of dystopia 13+

Review copy obtained from Amazon Prime

Eve

Eve by Anna Carey follows Eve who has been living in a boarding school since becoming orphaned after a plague that wiped out most of the population.  On the eve of graduation she finds out the world is not as she had believed and that after graduation she and her classmates will be forcibly impregnated instead of going on to train for a job as they believed.  Eve escapes with a little help from a teacher and meets one of her former classmates and a boy that she is afraid of because she has been brainwashed into believing that men are evil.  Eve must try to make it to a hideout while being perused by the military who have been hunting her as the king has decided that she is the one to have his children.

This is one of those books that I loved and hated at the same time.  The dystopian world was completely unbelievable.  I just couldn't believe that less than twenty years after a plague that the world has completely fallen apart and is being ruled by a ruthless dictator who is enslaving all of the orphan children.  I also couldn't believe that Eve was so special that the King would have her tracked specifically.  Speaking of Eve, at times she made choices that were so bad that I was rooting against her, wanting her to get caught because she deserved it for being such an idiot.  However, in spite of all that, I couldn't put the book down.  There was something about this story of a girl who is racing through an unknown land, afraid of everything and misinformed about boys that spoke to me.  Her relationships seemed real and the romance was sweet.

So if you don't think to much about it you'll like the book.  However if you start thinking about it then it cracks apart.

Appropriateness:  There is an attempted rape scene which isn't too traumatic, however Eve takes the blame herself because she thought that she was leading him on (it does fit with the characterization).  I'd be sure to have a date rape conversation with your kids while they're reading this book.  The main romance involves just a bit of kissing and there is a scene where they drink beer (which leads to the attempted rape).  I would recommend this book to readers 13+

Epitaph Road

Epitaph Road by David Patneaude follows Kellen.  In Kellen's world men are rare having almost all died out in a mass epidemic years earlier. The epidemic occurred after the Men in charge had almost ended the world with constant conflicts and environmental ruin. Women took control of the world and things are peaceful and the environment has started to repair itself. However, things are not as perfect as they seem. The new government is controlling and limits procreation and the activities of men.

The story starts with the author allowing the reader to explore Kellen's world. Then we find out that there is a planned outbreak in the area where Kellen's father lives. The characters have to figure out the mystery of the outbreak (which is clearly shown for the reader) and then must save Kellen's father. There is a nice twist at the end and some action. The author paints both men and women as capable of major evil and makes the reader think about what sacrifices would be acceptable to have in order to have a more peaceful world.

I enjoyed this book and could not put it down, I would recommend it to readers who enjoy post-apocalyptic novels such as Life As We Knew It who don't require a lot of action or romance.

Appropriateness:  There is nothing in the book that would irritate parents. No sex or drug use and no graphic violence.  This is one of those rare books that boys will like as much as girls. It does have a touch of romance but not enough to turn boys off, it has a strong female main character and there is some action and a frenzied pace at the end of the book to keep the reader interested. The author did a good job of presenting both men and women as equally evil so this book doesn't end up being a male hating or a woman hating book.  The lexile is 720 putting it around a fourth grade level and making this a great book for reluctant or struggling middle school readers.

Glow

Glow by Amy Ryan follows Waverly and Kieran whose lives are turned into disarray when their spaceship is hijacked.  Waverly is taken aboard another ship by a group of settlers who need girls because their fertility was compromised.  She must find a way to escape and save the rest of the girls.  Kieran on the other hand is thrust into a leadership role and then is faced with mutiny after a series of decisions he made put the ship in danger.

While I greatly enjoyed this book it was seriously flawed.  The book followed two characters who spent the majority of time on seperate ships.  So we would have eight chapters (or so) following one character and then it would switch to the other.  It almost like reading two seperate books in a series with the two characters only interacting together for a short time at the beginning and end.

I did however find the two stories very interesting.  There were enough big questions to make all the situations fall into shades of grey as opposed to being plain black and white to make the reader think.  I thought the author gave us a large cast of characters that were interesting and distinct.  The girls being stolen for their ovaries angle worried me at first but it was handled in a way that was completely appropriate for the audience, there is no rape in this book.  I finished the book very quickly and was engrossed in the story.

Appropriateness:  This is a fantastic science fiction novel that will be enjoyed by middle and high school audiences.  It has a bit of romance and a strong female character to appeal to girls but also has a crazy element and a male narrator for much of the book to appeal to male readers.  There is one sex scene that is not detailed and the romance is at a distance for most of the book.  There is a bit of talk about alcohol, a bit of mild torture and violence.  The main characters are sixteen.  I would recommend this book to fans of science fiction and dystopian books aged 12+.

Review copy provided by Amazon Vine

Ashes

Ashes by Illsa Bick stars Alex a teenager with a terminal brain tumor that takes off to go hiking in the woods so that she can be alone and dispose of her parents ashes.  While on the trail she meets up with Ellie, a girl who recently lost her father in Iraq, and her grandfather when a loud pulse goes through the woods making the animals go crazy and Ellie's grandfather dies.  The girls also find that all of their electronics have died.  Alex takes off for the rangers station with a reluctant Ellie eventually joining her.  They find that others on the trail have turned into inhuman predators.  They eventually join up with Tom a war veteran and find out that the very worst has happened, a nuclear war with consequences no one could have predicted.

After reading the description of the book I wasn't enthused.  If I'd had anything else on my e-reader that interested me I probably would have skipped it, a book about a dying teen, a little girl and a war veteran and zombies?  Weird.  I'm glad I took the chance though..  This book was original and engrossing.  Most zombie and apocalyptic books that I have read take place sometime after the post apocalyptic event when some rules have been established.  This takes place at the very start of the apocalypse.  Alex and her companions have no idea what is going on and they get their information very slowly.  The characters all felt very real to me.  I loved that Ellie was presented as mopey and unpredictable instead of sweet and cute.  The reactions of the characters and the society felt realistic.  There were sections that were a little slow and it's not without it's flaws but for the most part it was a real page turner.

Appropriateness:  This book is super creepy and a violent with many scenes that are pretty disturbing.  There is a bit of romance but no sex.  I'd recommend this book to high school aged readers 14+ who are fans of horror and dystopian books. 

Dark Parties

 Dark Parties by Sara Grant follows Neva, a girl living in a very controlling domed city that is falling apart.  They are running out of goods, running out of genetic diversity and people frequently disappear without a trace.  The government tightly controls the information that it's citizens are allowed to have and kids are encouraged to get married and have children as quick as possible.  When Neva decides to start a revolution everything changes.

Dark Parties is a great addition to the Dystopian Genre.  It provides a lot of room for thought and discussion on teenage rebellion, the need for individuality and government control.  The story contains elements found in other dystopian novels in a new way and it makes for a very engaging story that any lover of dystopian fiction will enjoy.

Appropriateness:  Sex, procreation and how it can be used to control people is a major theme in this novel.  From the government encouraging pregnancy in it's youngsters to the rebellious teens focusing on not having it to spite the government.  There is one sex scene that is not graphic later in the book and several make out scenes.  The main character is rebellious (although in a good way) and disobedient.

Dark Parties will be released in August of 2011.  I give it four wagging pug tails and recommend it for lovers of dystopian fiction.  It will be enjoyed by readers who enjoyed Birthmarked, Matched and The Hunger Games: Book 1.

Review copy provided by the publisher.

The Fox Inheritance

The Fox Inheritance by Mary E Pearson is a sequel to The Adoration of Jenna Fox which followed Jenna who had been put into an artificial body after a horrible car accident with her two friends Locke and Kara.  Jenna thought she had destroyed the computer drives that contained Locke and Kara's minds but she was wrong and a copy was made.

This book follows Locke as he and Kara are awakened into artificial bodies more than two hundred years later.  Kara and Locke are being held by a scientist who claims that he is going to help while in reality he is keeping the two as floor models so rich international buyers can see his product in action.  Kara and Locke escape with the help of a taxi driver robot and journey to find Jenna and get answers.  This book explores the question of what qualifies someone as a person and equal rights.

I was surprised when I found out there was going to be a sequel to The Adoration of Jenna Fox.  While I greatly enjoyed the book it ended with an epilogue that gave the reader finality and there wasn't really any more of a story to tell.  Thus we have the problem with this book.  Most of the book takes place as a journey and there is no real destination that the reader looks for.  The book takes place in a version of America that's disturbing and strange yet it is not fully explained.  The relationships were not engaging to me and the plot was not strong enough to keep the reader engaged.  The author did do a good job at exploring equal rights and what makes a person.  The idea of the book was good it was just not well executed. 

Appropriateness:  There is no adult content in the book.   The lexile for the first in the series is 570 putting it around a fourth grade reading level.  There is no romance to turn off young readers however the characters are in their late teens.  I would put the interest level at 12+

Dark Life

Dark Life by Kat Falls follows Ty who lives on the ocean floor. When he meets a topsider (someone who lives on the surface) named Gemma together they must save the underground settlements from being destroyed by outlaws.

Dark life is a lighter take on today's popular dystopian genre. Falls has created a world under the sea that is different without being terrible. The characters are fun and face adversity and have plenty of action without much violence or terror.

Appropriateness:  This book has nothing that would irritate a parent and is appropriate for middle grade and intermediate readers. The tale is told from a male perspective and there's enough romance to entice girls who need their love story but not enough to chase away boys or younger readers  The lexile of this book is 690 putting it at a fourth grade reading level.

Plague

Plague by Michael Grant is the fourth book in the Gone series.

This series has a premise that sounds like it was created by a couple of fourteen year old boys in their bedrooms.  The kids are in school when suddenly all the adults disappear and the town is enveloped in a large bubble.  The kids have to figure out their own society but to complicate things some of the kids start developing magic powers including some of the kids at the reform school down the road some of which are EVIL resulting in many battles and lots of fighting.  It's totally absurd which makes it perfect for teenage boys.

In Plague things have gotten bad in the FAYZ.  The town is running out of water, there is a horrible flu going around and the most disgusting bugs that eat kids from the inside out are outside the city.  Albert sends Sam and a few other kids off to go look for water and then the unthinkable happens.  Drake and his horrible whip hand escapes.  This leads to a book filled with action and death and lots of gruesome fights.

This book continued along the same line as the previous books in the series.  It's a fun read with a lot of action.   The book bounced back and forth between characters less often than the previous series.  There were some parts that were hard to follow, the giaiaphage/Drake/Brittany storyline was a little confusing and odd but the majority of the book was interesting and engaging.

Appropriateness:  This series is perfect for teenage boys.  It's sick and twisted and extremely violent.  The violence is gruesome the kids kill each other and some of the characters even relish the idea of torturing and killing other kids.  The kids drink alcohol to excess and there's a sexual relationship between a couple in this edition, and group of kids display some very hateful and racist behavior.  However, there are consequences both physical and emotional to all of the negative behaviors and none of them are glamorized.  I wouldn't give this book to a nine year old but it's absolutely appropriate for the12 and up audience that it's targeted towards and this is a series that boys will enjoy.

Jekel Loves Hyde

Jekel Loves Hyde by Beth Fantaskey chronicles Jill Jekel a girl whose father has just been murdered and Tristen Hyde a boy with a troubled past, a murdered mother who has murderous visions put there by the monster in his head. Both characters are of course chemistry nuts and they pair up to try to win a chemistry competition and to perfect the formula from the old novel to rid Tristen of his beast.

This novel is plagued with problems. The first problem is that the author chooses to have both characters narrate the story and doesn't give either one enough of a voice so that the reader can know immediately (without reading the chapter title) who is narrating. The romance wasn't believable and the main story was illogical and absurd. The main characters sneak around and break into schools preparing dangerous chemical compounds for Tristen to drink while also preparing for a high school chemistry scholarship competition. Tristen admits that he's dangerous and has fantasies that involve murdering Jill yet she still loves him and tries to change him. As you get further into the plot it becomes more and more strange and unbelievable.

Appropriateness:  As for content that parents would find objectionable there's discussion of rape (along with the monster within being blamed) drinking and glorified petty crime. There is a lot of violence that's excused as being the fault of the alter ego and a girl running to a guy who has told her how dangerous he is and how he dreams of raping and murdering her (and she doesn't even seem to like him that much).

The Gardner

The Gardner follows Mason as he tries to help a girl (who is called The Girl in most of the book) and find out her mysterious origins. Most of the book involves running away from the evil company and then once some answers are given they run back to it and get answers to their big questions. The big evil isn't so evil and the action is lackluster at best moving towards a mildly satisfying conclusion.

The initial premise is an interesting one but the execution is off. Too much time is spent on finding out the big secret and the final resolve is anticlimactic. The world that Mason lives in isn't a new one and the enemy isn't scary enough to create much suspense. The relationships in the story are one dimensional and the plot is predictable.

While I did finish the book quickly and did remain engaged in the story there are far better dystopian books in the YA genre such as Dark Life, Birthmarked and the authors first novel The Compound that I would recommend to readers.

Appropriateness:  There isn't anything objectionable in the book.  The lexile is 620 putting it at a third or fourth grade reading level making it a book that is good for older struggling readers.

The Clone Codes

The Clone Codes is a science fiction novel which uses historical events as a framework to tell the story. Leanna has grown up in a world where clones are slaves and cyborgs are segregated from society. Leanna's mother is arrested for belonging to a group that has helped those who are not treated equally throughout history. Leanna then learns (through her super cool virtual tools) that she is a clone and spends the rest of the book hiding from those who are hunting her.

This is a nice dystopian for intermediate readers and the historical framework should tie in nicely to their history studies.  The book ends abruptly with no real conclusion so I'm assuming that it's the first in a series. This would be understandable (because kids and teens love series) except that the novel was so short that there was no reason to cut the story off.

Appropriateness:  The suggested age for this novel (per the ARC) was 12 and up. After reading the novel I'd put 12 as the top age that would enjoy the book. The book is very short and the font is large (I finished the book in about two hours) and the story is very unsophisticated. It is interesting enough to keep one interested, however the story isn't exciting or complicated enough for teens and if the author had made the main character a few years younger it would have been more appropriate. The lexile is 680 putting it at a fourth grade level.

ARC received from Amazon Vine

Momento Nora

Memento Nora by Angie Smibert follows Nora who lives in a society where people take a pill to forget the stresses in their lives.  After Nora witnesses a car bombing she takes her first trip to a TFC (therapeutic forgetting center) so that she can forget all about the incident.  While there she spots a boy who makes a big deal of not taking the pill so she decides to spit hers out.  Nora and Micah then make and distribute a comic book which causes a huge amount of controversy.



I had mixed feelings about this book.  The plot was much like many other dystopians I've read lately (girl is happy with her life till she meets boy, boy points out what is wrong with society, girl and boy rebel with little to no thought of how it will effect their families) but it was a nice read with a believable dystopian world.  The main problem I had was the books mixed character narratives, the characters voices were not distinct enough that I could keep track of whose narrative I was reading.  I also didn't love that I paid hardback prices for a book that was under 200 pages with short paper (although that could be a big plus for reluctant readers).  It was more of a novella than a novel and novellas should be in paperback, and with a large part of the plot being about a comic book I would have loved for them to add some pictures.

Appropriateness:  This book didn't have any adult content.  The main characters lie to their parents and break the law.  There are some car bombings and some domestic violence (Nora's Parents).  The romance is essentially just a strong friendship.  I'd put the interest level at 12-15 and I think it would appeal to boys as much as it would appeal to girls.

America Pacifica

 America Pacifica by Anna North is a dystopian novel that takes place on a tightly packed small tropical island where Americans have moved to following an ice age which made North America Uninhabitable.  The island is controlled by a leader who ensures that the rich (those who made it to the island first) live a nice and comfortable life while the poor squander to stay alive.  Darcy has grown up on the island in severe poverty dropping out of school to work at a nursing home to help support herself and her mother.  When her mother disappears she drops everything to find her and uncovers more than she expected about the real history of the island and it's founders.

I had mixed feelings about this book, it's being cross marketed to the YA audience so I expected something completely different, once I realized it was an adult book I enjoyed it more.  The book is very gritty.  Darcy lives in total poverty and is so desperate to find her mother that she is willing to do anything to get information.  While the story was entertaining it was not always engrossing and the dystopia and "enemy" were not strong enough for this book to be fantastic.  There were plot points and characters that were unnecessary and distracting to the main plot which bogged down the story for me and the lack of a strong and prevalent secondary character kept me detached at times.  Darcy went from place to place and met with different people most of which did not ever appear again.

Appropriateness:  As I said earlier I was initially under the impression that this was a Young Adult audience because it has been cross promoted to YA bloggers.  This is not a young adult book, it is an adult book that has a main character that is a teenager.  The main character is a reformed drug addict (who huffed solvent) and speaks longingly about the drugs as an escape.  There is quite a bit of sexual content in this book which are "icky" rather than erotic.  There are descriptions of sexual organs, masturbation and a graphic description of Darcy having sex with someone for information.  There is some violence but not a large amount and there is no romance at all.  I would recommend this book to science fiction and dystopia fans 16+ who would not be put off by the sexual content.  This book isn't erotica by any sense and would not be harmful for younger readers however the nature of the sexual content is of the type that would make younger readers uncomfortable.

Divergent

Divergent by Veronica Roth takes place in a dystopian world where citizens are sorted into factions when they reach adulthood by personality traits.  The different factions take care of different parts of the government, the Abnegation faction where Beatrice grew up prides itself on it's selfnessless and is in control of the government.  While taking the assessment there is a problem with Beatrice's result, she does not fit solidly into any of the traits and is classified as a divergent.  However, it is dangerous being a divergent in a society that rewards a solid focus.

I was weary when starting Divergent.  I've read so many dystopians lately that seem to be written with a cookie cutter format but this one is different.  The world that Roth created is strong and interesting.  Beatrice (who goes by Trice) is strong and independent and true to herself.  When she chooses a different path than is expected she fights for acceptance and to earn a place in her new faction.  There is a romance but it isn't the focus and Tris in no way needs a man to enlighten or save her.  This dystopian is original and has the quality of Westerfields Uglies or Suzanne Collin's The Hunger Games.

Appropriateness:  There are mentions of adults drinking and being drunk as part of society but the teenagers do not drink.  There is some sexual content and a scene which could be interpreted as the main character possibly having sex (although it is very vague).  The book is quite violent and contains many graphic fight scenes and murders.  The main character is 17.  I would put the interest level at 14+

The novel will be released in early May.  I received an ARC from Amazon Vine.

Birthmarked

Gaia's world is outside the wall.  She is a midwife and those outside the wall are required to give up three of their babies to the enclave inside the wall where they will live the privileged life every month.  When Gaia's parents go missing she suddenly questions her existence and the rules that her society has always followed.  She breaks into the enclave and finds that things there aren't as perfect as they've always seemed.

As the story continues the moral story of a perfect race and the perils of inbreeding and genetic manipulation (with an elementary genetics lesson wrapped in) becomes an engrossing one and Gaia has to make difficult choices to save herself and do what she knows is right.

Gaia is a wonderfully strong teen heroine.  She fights for what's right and won't let anyone or anything stop her.  If you liked Katniss from The Hunger Games and Tally from the Uglies series you'll love Gaia. 

The ending is complete yet leaves space for a sequel which I will be thrilled to purchase.

Appropriateness: There isn't any subject manner that will annoy adults.  No drinking, drugs, sex or graphic violence.  The romance is sweet and the heroine is the type of girl that parents would like their daughters to be.

Review copy provided by Amazon Vine