dystopian | The Stacked Shelf

In the follow up to ‘The Testing’, Cia has made it to the University. Having taken the exams that will determine the future of their careers in the United Commonwealth, Cia and the other successful testing candidates now have a whole new set of challenges to face.

Cia’s memories of her first Testing have been erased, but as she prepares for her initiation into her class, disturbing flashbacks make her question the University and all it stands for. With her dreams full of suspicions about what happens to students that fail to live up to the University idea of its ideal candidate, she is thrown into a dizzying round of intense studying, ruthless initiation processes and cut-throat competition.

When she learns about a group of rebels working against the government officials in charge of the University, Cia has to choose whether to risk her life, and the lives of the people that she cares about, by joining their cause. But who can she trust? And who is doing everything they can to make sure she’ll fail? Continue reading →

Rick Yancy’s ‘The 5th Wave’ is part of a new trend of Y/A books that feature alien invasions and their impact on the human race. But there are no little green men in the book – there’s just a faceless enemy who is cleverer and more ruthless than any that we’ve imagined before.

Invasion books are usually characterised by groups of people banding together to make war on the enemy. But here – the enemy is not there to fight. They’ve been making their move from far away, effectively clearing the earth ahead of making it their home. Humans are, as the main character points out, nothing more than cockroaches to them – an infestation to be snuffed out as effectively and efficiently as possible. This happens over five ‘waves’ – featuring everything from infectious diseases to forced natural disasters to our own human paranoia – which paint a terrifying picture of how human life could be completely decimated.

Cassie is one of the few that have survived. She’s on her own, hiding out in the woods in a desperate bid for survival. Her only plan is to find her little brother and make sure he’s safe. After she’s shot in the leg, she’s taken in by fellow survivor, Evan. But even as she starts to develop feelings for him, she starts to suspect that he is more than what he seems. Continue reading →