Gone / Michael Grant

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Imagine life without anyone aged fifteen and older. No teachers. No parents. No adults. How will we, the children, survive? This is a story about the children of Perdido Beach, California, when everyone over the age of fifteen vanishes into thin air. To make it worse, the town is encased within an impenetrable force-field, isolating it from the outside world. With limited supplies and no help from adults, how will the remaining children live? This book is very captivating, and makes me really think about how life would be without any adult. What makes this book more interesting is that some of the animals and people develops supernatural powers, such as talking coyotes and kids who can teleport. Although this book may be hard to understand at first, it is definitely a must-read!

Who would enjoy this? Anyone who enjoys an exciting adventure, with unexpected romance and awesome super powers.

Reviewed by Chi-Yen

Bruiser / Neal Shusterman

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Where do authors get the ideas for their books?! Neal Shusterman has come up with a new concept which I really enjoyed. Bruiser is a loner who looks as if he has been badly abused by his uncle. He keeps himself away from people until he meets Bronte who becomes his girlfriend. Bronte's brother Tennyson is not impressed with her choice, and tries to stop her going out with him. Inevitably, things change as they all get to know each other and find out Bruiser's strange secret. It's a great book especially as it has such an original idea behind it.

Who would enjoy this? I would recommend this to anyone who likes exploring new possibilities and who wants to read a gripping story at the same time.

Reviewed by James

Divergent / Veronica Roth

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One choice decides your friends, defines your beliefs and determines your loyalties... forever.
One choice can transform you.

In society, at the age of sixteen, you are aptitude tested to see which of the five factions will suit you the most. Will you be Abnegation, the selfless, Amity, the peaceful, or Erudite, the intelligent? Or perhaps you value bravery, which is Dauntless, or honesty, which is Candor? But there is a sixth choice, and a rare one: Divergent, where you don't fit in any of the other factions. There is no faction for the Divergent, so you have to choose another faction. For Beatrice "Tris" Prior, a selfless, but also brave girl, she is a Divergent, able to be in Erudite, Dauntless and Abnegation. Tris chooses Dauntless, not foreseeing the significance that her decision will have on her life. This is an interesting book with an unique setting. It is easy to follow, and is a roller coaster of adventures and identity.

Who would enjoy this?  This book is definitely a must-read!! Anyone who enjoys an adventure of finding yourself and some good fights. If you enjoyed 'The Hunger Games', you will love 'Divergent'!

Reviewed by Chi-Yen

Poison study / Maria Snyder

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Yelena Zaltana  faces a tough choice - be executed or become a food taster for the military commander. Knowing that her next mouthful could possibly be her last, she must quickly learn to survive in a palace where nobody and nothing are as they first appear. Fortunately, or unfortunately, seeing as its use is a capital crime, Yelena's developing ability to use magic makes her both powerful and vulnerable as she sets out to find her destiny.
This is such an exciting story with just the right amount of magic, adventure, romance and fantasy that once you start reading you won't be able to put it down.

Who would enjoy this?  If you have never read a fantasy novel, then this is a great one to start with.

Reviewed by Amy

The bridge / Jane Higgins

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Southside against Cityside. It's them against us with the bridges in between. Nik is caught somewhere in the middle, raised in Cityside but as he belatedly discovers, with strong connections to Southside. He's after the truth but he finds there are two sides to every conflict and they both think God is on their side.
This is a believable story about the consequences of greed and the futility of war. Knowing that the author is from Christchurch highlights the possibility that Nik and his friends could be us.

Who would enjoy this? If you like the challenge of 'what if' scenarios you will enjoy this story. Even though it is set in the future it is convincing enough to make you wonder which side you would be on.

Reviewed by Hamish

Heist society / Ally Carter

 

This is a very action-packed novel about a teenager who wants to leave her family business. But this is harder than it sounds when the her family is a gang of exclusive, world-class thieves. Just as she thought her life would finally become "normal", Kat Bishop is sucked back into the world of cons and thieves when her father is suspected of stealing a powerful mobster's paintings. Kat knows there's only one thing to do to clear his father's name: find the stolen paintings and steal them back. Will Kat be able to pull off the biggest heist in history? This book is very intriguing and captivating, making you relate to the characters and the world of thieves. Although the book may be confusing at first, I could see the author wrote with subtle details, leading me on towards the unexpected ending. Overall, one of the best action-packed novels with many twists and turns.

Who would enjoy this? Anyone who enjoys unthinkable spy and thief novels.

Reviewed by Chi-Yen

Wolves, boys and other things that might kill me / Kristen Chandler

This was so interesting! There was romance, a clumsy heroine (I can relate to that!), a really great guy, and then the author added wolves: real ones! So as a bonus I got to learn a little bit about something I didn't know anything about as well as the benefits of a well-written story about finding yourself and having the courage to act in response to your beliefs. I really recommend it. One of my best reads so far this year.

Who would enjoy this? If you like romance, a bit of adventure, learning something new - it's all here.

Reviewed by Amy

Do not pass go / Kirkpatrick Hill

I've always thought that prisons in America were terrible - and so did Deet, whose stepfather was caught with drugs and ended up in prison. I learned a lot about prisoners and prisons, and that people often end up in there because of silly mistakes rather than sheer badness. I thought this was a great book and I am very glad I read it. Deet was a character I could relate to and by the end I could see that the whole horrible experience had definitely had its good side.

Who would enjoy this? If you want to learn more about what it is like to be in prison and what sort of people end up there, all wrapped in a great story then this is one for you.

Reviewed by Jason

Pure / Julianna Baggott

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This is the first in a promised trilogy. I wasn't sure if I liked this book at first - it is set in a dystopian future and has a very original concept at its base, but it was a little bit hard to get into. Before the book started there was a significant nuclear event, with a twist - the powerful people in society detonated a bomb (bombs?) so they could protect their chosen ones and start afresh to make society 'better'. Those who suffered from the detonations carry the marks of them on their bodies, in horrific ways at times. This book gets under your skin - I kept wondering if I would stop reading it, but I never could, and it certainly made me think.

Who would enjoy this? If you like dystopian novels that make you think, then this is a good one.

Reviewed by Amy