Illuminae

Illuminae
Author: Amie Kaufman
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Total Pages: 610
Release: 2015-10-20
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 0553499130

For fans of Marie Lu comes the first book in an epic series that bends the sci-fi genre into a new dimension. “A truly beautiful novel that redefines the form." —Victoria Aveyard, bestselling author of Red Queen This morning, Kady thought breaking up with Ezra was the hardest thing she’d have to do. This afternoon, her planet was invaded. The year is 2575, and two rival megacorporations are at war over a planet that’s little more than a speck at the edge of the universe. Now with enemy fire raining down on them, Kady and Ezra—who are barely even talking to each other—are forced to evacuate with a hostile warship in hot pursuit. But their problems are just getting started. A plague has broken out and is mutating with terrifying results; the fleet’s AI may actually be their enemy; and nobody in charge will say what’s really going on. As Kady hacks into a web of data to find the truth, it’s clear the only person who can help her is the ex-boyfriend she swore she’d never speak to again. Told through a fascinating dossier of hacked documents—including emails, maps, files, IMs, medical reports, interviews, and more—Illuminae is the first book in a heart-stopping trilogy about lives interrupted, the price of truth, and the courage of everyday heroes. “Prepare yourselves for Illuminae.” —EW.com “[Y]ou’re not in for an ordinary novel experience. . . .” —Bustle.com “A truly interactive experience. . . . A fantastically fun ride.” —MTV.com ★ “[O]ut-of-this-world awesome.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred ★ “…stylistically mesmerizing.” —Publishers Weekly, starred ★ “[A]n arresting visual experience.”—Booklist, starred ★ “[A] game-changer.” —Shelf Awareness, starred “Brace yourself. You're about to be immersed in a mindscape that you'll never want to leave.” —Marie Lu, bestselling author of the Legend trilogy "Genre: Undefinable. Novel: Unforgettable." —Kami Garcia, bestselling coauthor of Beautiful Creatures & author of Unbreakable “An exuberant mix of space opera, romance, zombies, hackers, and political thrills.” —Scott Westerfeld, bestselling author of Zeroes and Uglies “Stunningly creative. Smart, funny, and romantic.” —Veronica Rossi, bestselling author of Under the Never Sky “This is one of those rare books that will truly keep your heart pounding.” —Beth Revis, bestselling author of Across the Universe “This book is xxxxing awesome.” —Laini Taylor, bestselling author of Daughter of Smoke and Bone

Jinxed

Jinxed
Author: Amy McCulloch
Publisher: Sourcebooks, Inc.
Total Pages: 278
Release: 2020-01-07
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1492683752

The Golden Compass meets the digital age! When a coding star enters an elite technology academy, she discovers a world of competition, intrigue, and family secrets—plus a robotic companion that isn't what it seems. Lacey Chu is a girl who codes. She has always dreamed of working as an engineer for MONCHA, the biggest tech firm in the world and the company behind the "baku"—a customizable "pet" with all the capabilities of a smartphone. But when Lacey is rejected by the elite academy that promises that future, she's crushed. One night, Lacey comes across the broken form of a highly advanced baku. After she repairs it, the cat-shaped baku she calls Jinx opens its eyes and somehow gets her into her dream school. But Jinx is different than any other baku she's ever seen...He seems real. As Lacey settles into life at school, competing with the best students in a battle of the bakus that tests her abilities, she learns that Jinx is part of a dangerous secret. Can Lacey hold on to Jinx and her dreams for the future? Jinxed is the perfect... middle grade book for girls who are passionate about coding summer reading chapter book for kids 9-12 science fiction book for kids 9-12 engineer academy book robot book for kids "With a sharp eye toward the rising awareness of device addiction and a keen sense of wonder, McCulloch's tale is a feast for the imagination that celebrates women in STEM fields."—Publisher's Weekly, STARRED review "I raced through this book...a little bit Golden Compass and all adventure."—Amie Kaufman, New York Times bestselling author

The Last

The Last
Author: Hanna Jameson
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
Total Pages: 352
Release: 2019-04-09
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 150119884X

This propulsive post-apocalyptic thriller “in which Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None collides with Stephen King’s The Shining” (NPR) follows a group of survivors stranded at a hotel as the world descends into nuclear war and the body of a young girl is discovered in one of the hotel’s water tanks. Jon thought he had all the time in the world to respond to his wife’s text message: I miss you so much. I feel bad about how we left it. Love you. But as he’s waiting in the lobby of the L’Hotel Sixieme in Switzerland after an academic conference, still mulling over how to respond to his wife, he receives a string of horrifying push notifications. Washington, DC, has been hit with a nuclear bomb, then New York, then London, and finally Berlin. That’s all he knows before news outlets and social media goes black—and before the clouds on the horizon turn orange. Two months later, there are twenty survivors holed up at the hotel, a place already tainted by its strange history of suicides and murders. Jon and the rest try to maintain some semblance of civilization. But when he goes up to the roof to investigate the hotel’s worsening water quality, he is shocked to discover the body of a young girl floating in one of the tanks, and is faced with the terrifying possibility that there might be a killer among the group. As supplies dwindle and tensions rise, Jon becomes obsessed with discovering the truth behind the girl’s death. In this “brilliantly executed...chilling and extraordinary” post-apocalyptic mystery, “the questions Jameson poses—who will be with you at the end of the world, and what kind of person will you be?—are as haunting as the plot itself.” (Emily St. John Mandel, nationally bestselling author of Station Eleven).

The Wind's Call

The Wind's Call
Author: T.A. White
Publisher: T.A. White
Total Pages: 418
Release: 2019-09-25
Genre: Fiction
ISBN:

Scarred by her past; defined by her future. Eva is a herd mistress without a herd. A tagalong by her own definition. Not thrown away by her people, but rather someone who created a new life for herself when the old one died. When she rescues one of the mysterious winged horses, a creature straight out of myth, from those who would enslave him, Eva opens the door to something her chosen people want more than anything else. An alliance. Now, sent deep into the Highlands and guarded by one of the Warlord’s most trusted warriors, Eva will have to brave the terrors that wait there. Someone is sowing the seeds of dissent upon which war turns. Failure will lead to death, but success may bring revelations she’s not ready to face. The balance of power is shifting in the Broken Lands. Those who survive will need to adapt quickly to the ever-changing landscape. Choosing her friends wisely has never been so important.

The Super Life of Ben Braver

The Super Life of Ben Braver
Author: Marcus Emerson
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Total Pages: 321
Release: 2018-03-06
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1250143268

It all started with a peanut butter cup . . . which leads Ben Braver to a secret school for kids with super abilities. Ben has never had any special powers—and maybe never will. But could this be his chance to become the superhero he's always dreamed of? Packed with black-and-white art and comic strips throughout, The Super Life of Ben Braver is the first book in a hilarious adventure series about the greatness that lies within any middle schooler who dreams big from Marcus Emerson, the author of the smash hit Diary of a 6th Grade Ninja series.

The Glass Arrow

The Glass Arrow
Author: Kristen Simmons
Publisher: Tor Teen
Total Pages: 335
Release: 2015-02-10
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 1466828781

"Like The Handmaid's Tale, Simmons's book serves as essential commentary on women's rights."--Cosmopolitan.com Once there was a time when men and women lived as equals, when girl babies were valued, and women could belong only to themselves. But that was ten generations ago. Now women are property, to be sold and owned and bred, while a strict census keeps their numbers manageable and under control. The best any girl can hope for is to end up as some man's forever wife, but most are simply sold and resold until they're all used up. Only in the wilderness, away from the city, can true freedom be found. Aya has spent her whole life in the mountains, looking out for her family and hiding from the world, until the day the Trackers finally catch her. Stolen from her home, and being groomed for auction, Aya is desperate to escape her fate and return to her family, but her only allies are a loyal wolf she's raised from a pup and a strange mute boy who may be her best hope for freedom . . . if she can truly trust him. The Glass Arrow is a haunting, yet hopeful, new novel from Kristen Simmons, the author of the popular Article 5 trilogy. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

The Hollow Ones

The Hollow Ones
Author: Guillermo del Toro
Publisher: Hachette UK
Total Pages: 262
Release: 2020-08-04
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1538761734

A horrific crime that defies explanation, a rookie FBI agent in uncharted territory, and an extraordinary hero for the ages: an investigation spirals out of control in this heart-pounding thriller. Odessa Hardwicke's life is derailed when she's forced to turn her gun on her partner, Walt Leppo, a decorated FBI agent who turns suddenly, inexplicably violent while apprehending a rampaging murderer. The shooting, justified by self-defense, shakes the young FBI agent to her core. Devastated, Odessa is placed on desk leave pending a full investigation. But what most troubles Odessa isn't the tragedy itself -- it's the shadowy presence she thought she saw fleeing the deceased agent's body after his death. Questioning her future with the FBI and her sanity, Hardwicke accepts a low-level assignment to clear out the belongings of a retired agent in the New York office. What she finds there will put her on the trail of a mysterious figure named Hugo Blackwood, a man of enormous means who claims to have been alive for centuries, and who is either an unhinged lunatic, or humanity's best and only defense against unspeakable evil. From the authors who brought you The Strain Trilogy comes a strange, terrifying, and darkly wondrous world of suspense, mystery, and literary horror. The Hollow Ones is a chilling, spell-binding tale, a hauntingly original new fable from Academy Award-winning director Guillermo del Toro and bestselling author Chuck Hogan featuring their most fascinating character yet.

Unleashed

Unleashed
Author: Amy McCulloch
Publisher: Sourcebooks, Inc.
Total Pages: 352
Release: 2021-01-05
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 1492683787

The Golden Compass for the digital age in this action-packed sequel to Jinxed. When Lacey Chu wakes up in a hospital room with no memory of how she got there, she knows something went really wrong. And with her cat baku, Jinx, missing in action and MONCHA, the company behind the invention of the robot pet, threatening her family, she isn't sure who to turn to for answers. When Lacey is expelled and her mom starts acting strangely after the latest update from MONCHA, Lacey and her friends work together to get to the bottom of it and discover a sinister plot at the heart of the corporation. Lacey must use all her skills if she has a chance of stopping MONCHA from carrying out their plans. But can she take on the biggest tech company in North America armed with only a level 1 robot beetle and her friends at her side? Praise for Jinxed: "[A] vividly imagined Toronto-set middle grade series opener intertwines smartphone technology with the hallmarks of classic science fiction via a fun, insightful narrative and bright voice...With a sharp eye toward the rising awareness of device addiction and a keen sense of wonder, McCulloch's tale is a feast for the imagination that celebrates women in STEM fields."—Publishers Weekly (STARRED REVIEW) "McCulloch effectively strikes a balance between worldbuilding and action...A solid series starter for tinkerers and adventurers alike."—Kirkus Reviews "A little bit Golden Compass, a little bit Hunger Games, and all adventure!"—New York Times bestselling author Amie Kaufman

The Irresistible Rogue

The Irresistible Rogue
Author: Valerie Bowman
Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks
Total Pages: 351
Release: 2015-11-03
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1466884398

Bestselling author Valerie Bowman sets the stage in Regency England for her Playful Brides series, where couples' misadventures on the way to the altar are witty, romantic romps based on some of the world's most beloved plays. The fourth entry in the series, The Irresistible Rogue, is inspired by Philip Barry's The Philadelphia Story. A PROPOSAL FROM A SCOUNDREL Daphne Swift has not laid eyes on her devilishly charming husband, Captain Rafferty Cavendish, in quite some time. As a matter of fact, she wants the rogue to annul their brief marriage so that she can marry the reliable and estimable Lord Fitzwell. But the breathtakingly handsome Rafe is not interested in letting Daphne go-at least not without paying his scandalous price... THE SEDUCTION OF HIS WIFE Rafe prefers to face the dangers of spying alone, but this time he needs his innocent, fiery wife to uncover the information he seeks. He has even agreed to release her from their marriage if she submits completely to his plan. However, Daphne's alluring combination of courage and curves makes her a dangerous distraction, and it is not long before Rafe is trading subterfuge for seduction in order to prove that Daphne is meant to be his and his alone... Valerie Bowman's Playful Brides novels are: "Smart and sensual...readers will be captivated."-RT Book Reviews "Sexy, satisfying romance."-KirkusReviews "Merry, intelligent, and wholly satisfying."-USA Today

Social Queue

Social Queue
Author: Kay Kerr
Publisher: Text Publishing
Total Pages: 293
Release: 2021-09-28
Genre: Young Adult Fiction
ISBN: 1922459291

A funny and insightful novel about an autistic teen who realises she's been missing all the signs when it comes to her romantic life.