Genre Pick "Michael Vey: The Prisoner of Cell 25" by Richard Evans

Evans, Richard P. Michael Vey: The Prisoner of Cell 25. New York: Mercury Ink/Simon Pulse, 2011. Print; ISBN: 978-1-4516-5650-3; Hardcopy Price: $17.99.

Annotation

Michael Vey is a young man with the extraordinary power to generate electricity. With this power comes the price of being hunted down by Elgen who is after children just like him.

Awards

• Was rewarded the Outstanding Science Trade Books for Students in 2012 by the NSTA for the “physical science” category.

Book Talk

Ever wanted the power to control electricity? Michael Vey has that power. A young man with Tourettes, he has always been an outcast among his peers. The power that he must keep hidden from everyone further complicates things. After meeting with a girl named Taylor who has a similar power, they form a clubs with his genius friend Ostin to form “The Electro Clan.”

Little does Michael know, things will get more complicated. Dr. Hatch from Elgen seeks to collect children like Michael called “Glows” and use them for his own purposes. After kidnapping Taylor and Michael’s mother, Michael is forced to track down Elgen and rescue them. Little does Michael know, Hatch is waiting for him and hopes to gain his allegiance through any methods necessary, including the use of Cell 25. How will Michael fair against an enemy that is prepared for him? What will happen when Michael Vey becomes The Prisoner of Cell 25? 

Book Trailer

 

Genre Pick "The Eye of Minds" by James Dashner

Dashner, James. The Eye of Minds. New York: Delacorte Press, 2013. Print; ISBN: 978-0-385-74139-2; Hardcopy Price: $18.99.

Annotation

Michael was an ordinary gamer/hacker in a virtual reality world living his life on the web. Everything changed when he soon finds himself playing a fatal game with the cyber terrorist, Kaine.

Awards

•  No Awards won as of yet.

Book Talk

What is real, and what is imaginary? The Eye of Minds is a constant twist and turn as the reader tries to understand this virtual world. The characters themselves appear just as confused.

Michael seemed like he knew what the virtual world is. He played there, hacked, and lived his life on the web. When a cyber terrorist named Kaine makes his move, he has been tasked by the government to track him down and retrieve something called the Morality Doctrine. Michael soon find out that what he thought was real turned out to be something else entirely. What will become of Michael has he tries to come to grips within The Eye of Minds? 

Book Trailer

Genre Pick "Virals" by Kathy Reichs

Reichs, Kathy. Virals. New York: Razorbill, 2010. Print; ISBN: 978-1-595-14426-3; Paperback Price: $8.99.

Annotation

While looking for the owner of old dog tags, Tory and her three friends come across a secret decades
old that could endanger all their lives. What they are unaware of is that in their quest, they will gain new and strange abilities on the way as they rescue a wolf-dog pup affected by a scientifically mutated strand of the parvovirus.

Awards

• Was nominated for the Agatha Award for the Children/Young Adults category.

Book Talk

Being a 14-year-old girl in a group of outcasts if tough. Tory’s life begins to get tougher the day she finds some old dog tags in the woods. She and her three friends track the dog tags back to an old murder that someone is willing to kill to keep hidden.

Things get easier however when they get their powers. After rescuing a wolf-dog pup from a research facility, Tory and her friends found themselves changed. They will soon discover that the pup was infected with a mutated parvovirus that changed them genetically, giving them dog like characteristics including super senses, speed, strength, and stamina. The group then decides to use their new powers to find out the truth behind the murder. Thus, their pack is formed… the Virals are formed. 

Book Trailer

Genre Pick "Planet Theives" by Dan Krokos

Krokos, Dan. The Planet Thieves. New York: Starscape, 2013. Print; ISBN: 978-0-7653-3428-2; Hardcopy Price: $15.99.

Annotation

The space battle ship, the SS Egypt, is under attack by the feared Termist alien race. Now it is up to young cadet Mason and his friends to do their part in combating this threat for the sake of their ship, and their home planet.

Awards

• No Awards won as of yet.

Book Talk

A hostile alien race called the Termists has invaded Earth. Humans have been at war with them for years and are now preparing for another assault as the SS Egypt carries a valuable weapon to combat the threat. The Termists have invaded the SS Egypt and taken its crew hostage, all save for a few children still hidden within the ship. Mason, one of the children is now in a race to save everyone on the ship, including the newly appointed captain, his sister. How will Mason survive this ordeal? What will he learn from these Planet Thieves about them and his role in this war?

Book Trailer

 

Genre Pick "Dark Life" by Kat Falls

Falls, Kat. Dark Life. New York: Scholastic Press, 2010. Print; ISBN: 978-0-545-17814-3; Hardcopy Price: $16.99.

Annotation

When the World has become to crowded, people began to become new pioneers, choosing to make their home in the ocean and grow resources for the people on the land. Ty is one of these young pioneers, living in the sea and dealing with all the problems that associate with it, including outlaws who begin to attack homesteads.

Awards

• Awarded the Juvenile Literary Award by The Friends of American Writers in 2011.

Book Talk

Dark Life… this is the name given to the people who live under the sea. Ty is one of these people. He is a young man with a special gift that allows him to stand out from the adults. When a gang of outlaws called the Seablight gang begins targeting homesteads, the town has been tasked by the government to catch them or risk their colony’s future. With this vendetta, Ty has teamed up with a Topsider Gemma who is looking for her brother. Together, they will track down the Seablight Gang, and discover what about them that makes them so special. In this part sci-fi, part western fiction that takes place in the ocean, readers will learn what it means to be, Dark Life.

Book Trailer
 

My Genre Pick: "Science Fiction"

This blog will be completed real soon. To everyone who have followed along for these past few weeks, thank you. I will complete this blog by doing book talks on eight books that are apart of my favorite genre, Science Fiction. Follow along with my blog as I go over different aspects of the science fiction genre from multiple settings and tropes including time travel, space opera, romance, and other areas of interest. Follow along with my book talks, and click on the "Quotes from Teens" link to see what young adults these days think of science fiction and reading in general.

Sicence Fiction Genre "Steampunk!: An Anthology of Fantastically Rich and Strange Stories" by Kelly Link and Gavin

Link, Kelly, and Gavin J. Grant. Steampunk!: An Anthology of Fantastically Rich and Strange Stories. Somerville, Mass: Candlewick Press, 2011. Print; ISBN 978-0-7636-4843-5; Hardcopy Price $22.99.

Annotation

Collected and edited by fantasy and science fiction writer Kelly Link and editor Galvin J Grant, these tales are the representatives of the steampunk genre which showcases its fantastic, strange, and surreal properties.  

Awards

• The novelette “Summer People” by Kelly Link has won the 2011 Shirley Jackson Award.

Book Talk #1

Time traveling watches, automatons, ghosts, thieves, murder, mystery, romance, and a talking chimpanzee. There is no limit to the imagination with the steampunk genre. Read more about these subjects an plenty more in this collection of short stories dedicated to Steampunk. 

 Book Talk #2

What is steampunk? Is it a Victorian fashion sense? Is it robots and steam machines? Steampunk is a genre all its own. This Anthology of Fantastically Rich and Strange Stories will entertain and entice you to get a better look at the genre. Read the many ideas that may be associated with steampunk, from time traveling watches, to super genius Chimpanzees. From all points of science and fantasy, steampunk is not just a genre, fashion sense, or anything associated with it. So then, what is Steampunk? Can you come up with your own definition?

Kelly Link interview