10 on Amanda’s TBR: Dystopian Books

Hi, lovelies! I feel like I’ve been sharing mostly recommendation posts lately which made me start thinking about all of the fun books on my TBR that I haven’t been talking about. Dystopian is my favorite genre. I’ve had this post saved to my drafts until I could find enough books to share them with you all. I grew up as a teen at the height of the dystopian craze (think Hunger Games and Divergent). So, I’m always looking for new (or old!) dystopian books that I haven’t read yet.

The School for Good Mothers by Jessamine Chan
“Frida Liu is struggling. She doesn’t have a career worthy of her Chinese immigrant parents’ sacrifices. What’s worse is she can’t persuade her husband, Gust, to give up his wellness-obsessed younger mistress. Only with their angelic daughter Harriet does Frida finally feel she’s attained the perfection expected of her. Harriet may be all she has, but she’s just enough. Until Frida has a horrible day.
The state has its eyes on mothers like Frida — ones who check their phones while their kids are on the playground; who let their children walk home alone; in other words, mothers who only have one lapse of judgement. Now, a host of government officials will determine if Frida is a candidate for a Big Brother-like institution that measures the success or failure of a mother’s devotion. Faced with the possibility of losing Harriet, Frida must prove that she can live up to the standards set for mothers — that she can learn to be good. This propulsive, witty page-turner explores the perils of “perfect” upper-middle-class parenting, the violence enacted upon women by the state and each other, and the boundless love a mother has for her daughter.”

All That’s Left in the World by Erik J. Brown
“When Andrew stumbles upon Jamie’s house, he’s injured, starved, and has nothing left to lose. A deadly pathogen has killed off most of the world’s population, including everyone both boys have ever loved. And if this new world has taught them anything, it’s to be scared of what other desperate people will do . . . so why does it seem so easy for them to trust each other? After danger breaches their shelter, they flee south in search of civilization. But something isn’t adding up about Andrew’s story, and it could cost them everything. And Jamie has a secret, too. He’s starting to feel something more than friendship for Andrew, adding another layer of fear and confusion to an already tumultuous journey. The road ahead of them is long, and to survive, they’ll have to shed their secrets, face the consequences of their actions, and find the courage to fight for the future they desire, together. Only one thing feels certain: all that’s left in their world is the undeniable pull they have toward each other.”

Alone Out Here by Riley Redgate
“The year is 2072. Soon a volcanic eruption will trigger catastrophic devastation, and the only way out is up. While the world’s leaders, scientists, and engineers oversee the frantic production of a space fleet meant to save humankind, their children are brought in for a weekend of touring the Lazarus, a high-tech prototype spaceship. But when the apocalypse arrives months ahead of schedule, First Daughter Leigh Chen and a handful of teens from the tour are the only ones to escape the planet. This is the new world: a starship loaded with a catalog of human artifacts, a frozen menagerie of animal DNA, and fifty-three terrified survivors. From the panic arises a coalition of leaders, spearheaded by the pilot’s enigmatic daughter, Eli, who takes the wheel in their hunt for a habitable planet. But as isolation presses in, their uneasy peace begins to fracture. The struggle for control will mean the difference between survival and oblivion, and Leigh must decide whether to stand on the side of the mission or of her own humanity.”

The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa
“On an unnamed island off an unnamed coast, objects are disappearing: first hats, then ribbons, birds, roses—until things become much more serious. Most of the island’s inhabitants are oblivious to these changes, while those few imbued with the power to recall the lost objects live in fear of the draconian Memory Police, who are committed to ensuring that what has disappeared remains forgotten. When a young woman who is struggling to maintain her career as a novelist discovers that her editor is in danger from the Memory Police, she concocts a plan to hide him beneath her floorboards. As fear and loss close in around them, they cling to her writing as the last way of preserving the past.
A surreal, provocative fable about the power of memory and the trauma of loss, The Memory Police is a stunning new work from one of the most exciting contemporary authors writing in any language.”

Feed by Mira Grant
“The year was 2014. We had cured cancer. We had beaten the common cold. But in doing so we created something new, something terrible that no one could stop. The infection spread, virus blocks taking over bodies and minds with one, unstoppable command: FEED. Now, twenty years after the Rising, bloggers Georgia and Shaun Mason are on the trail of the biggest story of their lives—the dark conspiracy behind the infected.
The truth will get out, even if it kills them.”

Gleanings: Stories from the Arc of a Scythe by Neal Shusterman and various authors
“There are still countless tales of the Scythedom to tell. Centuries passed between the Thunderhead cradling humanity and Scythe Goddard trying to turn it upside down. For years humans lived in a world without hunger, disease, or death with Scythes as the living instruments of population control.
Neal Shusterman—along with collaborators David Yoon, Jarrod Shusterman, Sofía Lapuente, Michael H. Payne, Michelle Knowlden, and Joelle Shusterman—returns to the world throughout the timeline of the Arc of a Scythe series. Discover secrets and histories of characters you’ve followed for three volumes and meet new heroes, new foes, and some figures in between.
Gleanings shows just how expansive, terrifying, and thrilling the world that began with the Printz Honor–winning Scythe truly is.”

The High House by Jessie Greengrass
“Perched on a sloping hill, set away from a small town by the sea, the High House has a tide pool and a mill, a vegetable garden, and, most importantly, a barn full of supplies. Caro, Pauly, Sally, and Grandy are safe, so far, from the rising water that threatens to destroy the town and that has, perhaps, already destroyed everything else. But for how long? Caro and her younger half-brother, Pauly, arrive at the High House after her father and stepmother fall victim to a faraway climate disaster—but not before they call and urge Caro to leave London. In their new home, a converted summer house cared for by Grandy and his granddaughter, Sally, the two pairs learn to live together. Yet there are limits to their safety, limits to the supplies, limits to what Grandy—the former village caretaker, a man who knows how to do everything—can teach them as his health fails.
A searing novel that takes on parenthood, sacrifice, love, and survival under the threat of extinction, The High House is a stunning, emotionally precise novel about what can be salvaged at the end of the world.”

Good Morning, Midnight by Lily Brooks-Dalton
“Augustine, a brilliant, aging astronomer, is consumed by the stars. For years he has lived in remote outposts, studying the sky for evidence of how the universe began. At his latest posting, in a research center in the Arctic, rumors of war arrive. The scientists are forced to evacuate, but Augustine stubbornly refuses to abandon his work. Shortly after the others have gone, Augustine discovers a mysterious child, Iris, and realizes the airwaves have gone silent. They are alone. At the same time, Mission Specialist Sullivan is aboard the Aether on its return flight from Jupiter. The astronauts are the first human beings to delve this deep into space, and Sully has made peace with the sacrifices required of her: a daughter left behind, a marriage ended. So far the journey has been a success, but when Mission Control falls inexplicably silent, Sully and her crew mates are forced to wonder if they will ever get home. As Augustine and Sully each face an uncertain future against forbidding yet beautiful landscapes, their stories gradually intertwine in a profound and unexpected conclusion. In crystalline prose, Good Morning, Midnight poses the most important questions: What endures at the end of the world? How do we make sense of our lives?”

Tell Me an Ending by Jo Harkin
“Across the world, thousands of people are shocked by a notification that they once chose to have a memory removed. Now they are being given an opportunity to get that memory back. Four individuals are filled with new doubts, grappling with the unexpected question of whether to remember unknown events, or to leave them buried forever. Finn, an Irish architect living in the Arizona desert, begins to suspect his charming wife of having an affair. Mei, a troubled grad school dropout in Kuala Lumpur, wonders why she remembers a city she has never visited. William, a former police inspector in England, struggles with PTSD, the breakdown of his marriage, and his own secret family history. Oscar, a handsome young man with almost no memories at all, travels the world in a constant state of fear. Into these characters’ lives comes Noor, a psychologist working at the Nepenthe memory removal clinic in London. The process of reinstating patients’ memories begins to shake the moral foundations of her world. As she delves deeper into how the program works, she will have to risk everything to uncover the cost of this miraculous technology.
A provocative exploration of secrets, grief, and identity—of the stories we tell ourselves—Tell Me an Ending is a sharp, dark, and devastating novel about the power of memory.“

Archivist Wasp by Nicole Kornher-Stace
“Wasp’s job is simple. Hunt ghosts. And every year she has to fight to remain Archivist. Desperate and alone, she strikes a bargain with the ghost of a supersoldier. She will go with him on his underworld hunt for the long-lost ghost of his partner and in exchange she will find out more about his pre-apocalyptic world than any Archivist before her. And there is much to know. After all, Archivists are marked from birth to do the holy work of a goddess. They’re chosen. They’re special. Or so they’ve been told for four hundred years. Archivist Wasp fears she is not the chosen one, that she won’t survive the trip to the underworld, that the brutal life she has escaped might be better than where she is going. There is only one way to find out.”

And there you have it, ten dystopian books that I’m very interested in reading. Gleanings isn’t actually published yet, but I have it preordered and I know I’ll be reading it as soon as it’s delivered. I also read Firebreak by Nicole Kornher-Stace which I’ve been told relates back to Archivist Wasp. So, I’m excited about that.

Do you have any dystopian books that you recommend?

Keep on reading lovelies, Amanda.

Amanda’s Traveling Library: My New Public Library

Hi, lovelies! I’ve officially moved and unpacked and I’m a little sad to see this feature coming to an end. So, I wanted to come back one last time and introduce you to my new local library system!

Now, I’m not going to give all the details. But this is what I know so far, like my last library they use Libby and Hoopla. They also have a few libraries in the system to visit. I haven’t seen too much for events and activities (my last library was amazing with the activities and stuff they put together).

I decided to visit the branch closest to me with my littlest one to sign up for my library card. The location I visited had an amazing children’s section. There was such a wide selection of children’s books. I’m very excited to try out their story time with both of my kids.

The young adult section looked good, full of new and diverse titles. But there were some high schoolers studying at the table in that area, so I didn’t want to bother them. I’m also not reading as much YA lately. I didn’t end up checking out any books, but I did browse the adult sections. There seems to be a really great selection of books and I’m really hoping to try to use the library for physical books more instead of buying.

Do you visit your local library? What’s your favorite thing about your library?

Keep on reading lovelies, Amanda.

Youngbloods by Scott Westerfeld

Summary:
Frey has spent her life in a family of deceivers, a stand-in for her sister, manipulated at her father’s command. Free from them at last, she is finding her own voice — and using it to question everything her family stood for.
Tally was once the most famous rebel in the world. But for over a decade, she’s kept to the shadows, allowing her myth to grow even as she receded. Now she sees that the revolution she led has not created a stable world. Freedom, she observes, has a way of destroying things.
As the world is propelled further into conflict and conspiracy, Frey and Tally join forces to put a check on the people in power, while still trying to understand their own power and where it belongs.
With Youngbloods, master storyteller Scott Westerfeld decisively brings back his most iconic character and merges his Impostors and Uglies series into a breathtaking tale of rivalry, rebellion, and repercussion.

Review:
Youngbloods is the final book in the spin off series of my childhood favorite, Uglies. This series stands up well on its own. If you haven’t and don’t want to read the Uglies series, then you will enjoy this fun dystopian series. But if you’re reading this because you’re a fan of the original series. Well, friends, do I have some bad news for you. Youngbloods essentially shits on the original series in a way that made me so mad I almost didn’t finish this book. I continued reading anyway, but Westerfeld really does Tally Youngblood dirty in this book. She’s so unlike the Tally we know and love from the first series. I’m very, very upset by how Tally was shown in this book and I don’t know if Westerfeld can make up for it.
Outside of my huge issue with Tally, I liked this book. I think the overarching plot issues were wrapped up in ways that I was happy with. I liked the action and adventure. I liked getting to see the places we know and love from the first series.
Overall, I liked this book least of all for this series. I don’t like what the author did to the original Uglies characters, but I liked how this story was wrapped up. I’ll go and reread my favorites now.

Keep on reading lovelies, Amanda.

Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel

Summary:
One snowy night a famous Hollywood actor slumps over and dies onstage during a production of King Lear. Hours later, the world as we know it begins to dissolve. Moving back and forth in time-from the actor’s early days as a film star to fifteen years in the future, when a theatre troupe known as the Travelling Symphony roams the wasteland of what remains-this suspenseful, elegiac, spellbinding novel charts the strange twists of fate that connect five people: the actor, the man who tried to save him, the actor’s first wife, his oldest friend, and a young actress with the Traveling Symphony, caught in the crosshairs of a dangerous self-proclaimed prophet. Sometimes terrifying, sometimes tender, Station Eleven tells a story about the relationships that sustain us, the ephemeral nature of fame and the beauty of the world as we know it.

Review:
Station Eleven has been on my tbr for entirely too long. This story follows a wide array of characters before and after a world-changing pandemic. Considering the state of our current world, the bits of the story involving the pandemic that kills 99% of the population was pretty tough to read about as they felt like an all too real possibility for our future. The author painted a vivid picture of how something like this could happen and what the “after” looked like.
As for the plot of this story, there wasn’t really one that I could see. But I was okay with that. I’m not usually a fan of only character-focused stories. I like books that have at least some semblances of a plot to follow, to push the characters forward. But following these characters as they lived through the apocalypse and what the world was after that was really compelling.
The characters, as I mentioned above, are what made this story. While I don’t think we got to know any of them incredibly well, the way that they were all connected was fascinating. I loved seeing all of the details and bits and pieces slowly coming together to connect the characters in one way or another. The journeys that each character went on were compelling and I cared what happened to each and every one of them, except the Prophet, because fuck that guy.
But the thing that stood out most about this story was the writing. I said earlier that that author paints a vivid picture of what the world might look like after society as we know it has ended. But along with that vivid picture, she points out stark contrasts between so many things, but in subtle ways. The writing was lyrical and beautiful, but also thoughtful and thought-provoking.
Overall, I feel like I just went on a journey with these characters, even though there are a few that I feel I got to know much better than others. I think the writing is really what makes this book such an engaging and compelling story with characters that you can’t help but care about. And being set on a backdrop of a post-apocalyptic world made the story that much more interesting. I can absolutely see why so many people love this book.

Keep on reading lovelies, Amanda.

Dustborn by Erin Bowman

Summary:
Delta of Dead River has always been told to hide her back, where a map is branded on her skin to a rumored paradise called the Verdant. In a wasteland plagued by dust squalls, geomagnetic storms, and solar flares, many would kill for it–even if no one can read it. So when raiders sent by a man known as the General attack her village, Delta suspects he is searching for her.
Delta sets out to rescue her family but quickly learns that in the Wastes no one can be trusted–perhaps not even her childhood friend, Asher, who has been missing for nearly a decade. If Delta can trust Asher, she just might decode the map and trade evidence of the Verdant to the General for her family. What Delta doesn’t count on is what waits at the Verdant: a long-forgotten secret that will shake the foundation of her entire world.

Review:
Dustborn is another book that I read for the 12 Challenge from instagram, but also, I bought it impulsively at the Barnes and Nobel 50% off hardcovers sale. I have absolutely no regrets.
Dustborn follows Delta of Dead River as she fucks shit up. That’s it, end of summary. Just kidding. The story starts with Delta rushing to save her sisters life. Things get messy and when she returns to where her people have settled, she learns that they’ve been attacked and kidnapped. While on her way to rescue them, things go from bad to worse when she’s kidnapped and brought to be sold as a slave. The issue is that Delta has a map of the Verdant branded onto her back that no one is supposed to know about. So, when instead of being sold as a slave, she’s brought to the General (who is the person that had her people kidnapped), and he already knows about her brand, things get complicated very quickly.
I liked Delta. She’s just a girl that makes an incredible number of mistakes and missteps. But she’s trying her hardest to save the lives of the people she cares about. She was all heart and minimal brains. That’s mostly a joke. She just is impulsive and often reckless. But I think that’s why I liked her so much. She doesn’t always think things through, but that just made the story that much more interesting.
The world was compelling and learning more about this mysterious Verdant really kept me interested in the story. I wanted to know if they were going to make it there and what the whole Verdant myth was really about. The politics of the world were easy to understand. Survival is everything and those that have the power determine how you survive, or don’t. I absolutely loved when we finally started to get some answers about this world and its history. I think the mythology (religion?) of the gods in the stars was super interesting, but even more so once we learned where it came from.
Overall, this was an engaging story that was full of twists and turns that I didn’t see coming. It’s set on a planet that’s not terribly easy to live on, which created some high stakes. And the characters were interesting and entertaining. I will absolutely be reading more books by this author.

Keep on reading lovelies, Amanda.

Deal with the Devil by Kit Rocha

Summary:
The United States went belly up 45 years ago when our power grid was wiped out. Too few live in well-protected isolation while the rest of us scrape by on the margins. The only thing that matters is survival. By any means. At any cost.
Nina is an information broker with a mission: to bring hope to the darkest corners of Atlanta. She and her team of mercenary librarians use their knowledge to help those in need. But altruism doesn’t pay the bills—raiding vaults and collecting sensitive data is where the real money is.
Knox is a bitter, battle-weary supersoldier who leads the Silver Devils, an elite strike squad that chose to go AWOL rather than slaughter innocents. Before the Devils leave town for good, they need a biochem hacker to stabilize the experimental implants that grant their superhuman abilities.
The problem? Their hacker’s been kidnapped. And the ransom for her return is Nina. Knox has the perfect bait for a perfect trap: a lost Library of Congress server. The data could set Nina and her team up for years…
If they live that long.

Review:
Deal with the Devil follows a pretty large cast of characters as they’re on a mission to find a library of information that’s thought to be lost. Except only half the team knows the truth of their mission. The team is full of genetically modified and highly trained individuals, some smart, some skilled at shooting or fighting.
Going into this book all I really knew was “mercenary librarians” which was totally the selling point. But I was surprised to find that this story was much more of a romance novel than I anticipated. Knox and his team are trying to rescue their friend, Luna, who has been kidnapped. The price for Luna’s freedom is the delivery of Nina to a not yet disclosed location. So, Knox convinces Nina and her team, Dani and Maya, to join with him and the rest of the Silver Devils to try to find the lost Library of Congress. Much of this book is about the two teams traveling together and getting to know one another. And even though it’s a journey filled with stops and challenges, it’s still a pretty fast-paced story. There’s danger and excitement and the occasional fallen log in the road that’s almost definitely a trap.
I genuinely enjoyed getting to know these characters. I really loved learning more about Nina, Dani, and Maya’s relationship and how they came to create their makeshift library in Atlanta. They all have their own history, their own wounds, but I liked how they worked together and how obvious it was that they cared about one another. Knox’s team was similar. They all worked together on a team named the Silver Devils, but they’ve since fled the big tech company that trained them and sent them on missions. They’ve had to do some pretty morally bad stuff, and they’re all dealing with that. But when they start to actually like Nina and her friends, their mission to turn Nina over to whoever kidnapped Luna gets more complicated than they planned for. I thought the banter and development of relationships between Nina and her team and Knox and his team was the highlight of this story. Between the romance with Nina and Knox and the constant threats of murder from Dani, I genuinely had fun reading this book.
Overall, I think this was a quick and fun story. The world was interesting and mildly terrifying because it was incredibly believable as a potential future. The characters were all entertaining and had their own distinct voices. The only thing that I didn’t like, or really just stuck out to me as odd, was the fact that every single member of both teams was incredibly attractive. Which, sure, it’s a romance-ish novel, but it was mentioned so many times that it felt a bit forced. Instead of showing me that these characters were attracted to one another (which did happen too) it was constantly talked about how stunning and beautiful and fit they all were. This sort of stopped happening after the halfway point in the book, but it was something that stood out to me that I thought was a bit odd. I did really like how the story wrapped up and how the reconciliation happened with the main romance. I’m definitely planning to continue the series and see what trouble these characters will find next.

Keep on reading lovelies, Amanda.

The Power by Naomi Alderman

GoodReads Summary:
In The Power the world is a recognisable place: there’s a rich Nigerian kid who lounges around the family pool; a foster girl whose religious parents hide their true nature; a local American politician; a tough London girl from a tricky family. But something vital has changed, causing their lives to converge with devastating effect. Teenage girls now have immense physical power – they can cause agonising pain and even death. And, with this small twist of nature, the world changes utterly.
This extraordinary novel by Naomi Alderman, a Sunday Times Young Writer of the Year and Granta Best of British writer, is not only a gripping story of how the world would change if power was in the hands of women but also exposes, with breath-taking daring, our contemporary world.
Review:
I don’t know what I was expecting from this book, but the story I got what so far beyond that. To keep it short, this book is basically about women who gain electrical abilities. Some parts of the world, the women take over completely, other parts of the world, women gain power by hiding their power. I think this story was incredibly told from several different perspectives in different parts of the world. I think that is what made this book so great.
We follow Margot who is the Mayor when it’s discovered that girls have electrical abilities, her daughter being one of them. When Margot’s daughter wakes the power in Margot, she realizes that she needs to change the way things are being seen in the world. Everyone’s searching for a cure, but Margot wants to teach and train the girls instead of letting them be seen as potential enemies or threats. I thought Margot’s perspective was interesting and I was rooting for her.
Allie/Eve was also a super interesting character. She runs away from her foster family and finds herself at a convent. She hears a voice in her head and it was never totally clear to me whether this was a mental health thing or if there was actually someone talking in her head. I think her ability to influence the other girls at the convent and the way she used YouTube and the population to gain followers was fascinating.
Roxy was the daughter of a high level drug dealer. She was so fierce and powerful. I loved that she was still loyal to her family despite most of the world deciding that men were useless now. I liked that she had goals and aspirations. I liked that she was loyal to her friends, too.
Finally, Tunde was a Nigerian man who caught a picture of women using their power when it first started to appear. He was offered money in exchange for it, which motivated him to travel and continue getting photos and stories that no one else was getting. I think his story was the most fascinating because he was a man in a now female dominated world, so there were times he was really frightened and others he was genuinely afraid for his life. I think because he traveled so widely it gave the reader a chance to see so many different places and how things were going.
Overall, this was a fascinating story to see the world as we know it flipped to women having the power. I think it was also a really interesting choice to frame this story as if it was a historical story being written by a man in a far off future where women are still in charge. I was confused a bit at first as there was no mention of this, but I think it added such an interesting aspect to the story.

Keep on reading lovelies, Amanda.

The First 7 by Laura Pohl

GoodReads Summary:
Clover Martinez and The Last Teenagers on Earth are busy exploring the galaxy after leaving earth behind…even if they can’t help but be a little homesick.
So when their ship receives a distress signal from their former planet, they hope against hope that it means other survivors. But as soon as they arrive, they realize something’s deeply wrong: strange crystal formations have popped up everywhere and there’s some sort of barrier keeping them from leaving.
Seeking the origin of the formations and the reason for the barrier, the group discovers a colony of survivors hidden in the mountains. But the survivors aren’t who they seem…
Review:
I enjoyed The Last 8 so much that I immediately had to start the audiobook for book two, The First 7. I loved The First 7 so much that I listened to the entire audiobook in one afternoon.
I loved this book for the characters. I enjoyed the plot and the whole storyline, but I was so invested in the characters and oh boy, was there drama with this found family. I’ll mention the storyline first and then I can get into what I actually want to talk about today. I was interested in the storyline. At the end of book one, our characters travel into space. At the start of this book, we get to see the characters in space after exploring for several months. There is an altercation toward one of the Last Teenagers and they leave the planet they’re on. When they return to their ship, they receive a distress signal. A distress signal that was coming from Earth. They argue about whether or not to return and see what or who sent this signal.
After returning to Earth, they realize that they weren’t the last humans on Earth. Other people survived. They arrive near the community called Unity. But they soon have more problems to solve than they bargained for. Something happens to one of their friends that they need to figure out and there is this barrier preventing them from going back into space. I will say that I completely saw through one of the smaller twists, but I was stumped about most of what was actually going on. The mystery and suspense of waiting for this found family to find all the answers was really well done.
Now, the characters. Sadly, this friend group has some issues during this book. They’re at odds because some of them aren’t acting like they’re worried about the problems anymore and they just want to stay and live in normal lives in Unity. But the problems that are in this book are ones that really need to be solved. So, the half of the group that’s working on it is mad at the other half for not making any effort. There’s all sorts of issues and hurtful things are said. It was really hard to see this found family that I loved be so at odds with one another. But I was really happy with the resolution and how they all worked the issues out. There were moments of putting their fights aside for bigger issues, but they also talked about what their fights were really about and I liked that a lot.
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I think the narrator did a really great job with both of these books. I will definitely listen to more books that have this narrator. I really enjoyed getting to see these characters return to Earth and I thought the plot was interesting. I will absolutely be reading more books by Pohl in the future. This was a diverse story that followed characters that weren’t always easy to love, but had wonderful growth and development.

Keep on reading lovelies, Amanda.

Golden Son by Pierce Brown

GoodReads Summary:
As a Red, Darrow grew up working the mines deep beneath the surface of Mars, enduring backbreaking labor while dreaming of the better future he was building for his descendants. But the Society he faithfully served was built on lies. Darrow’s kind have been betrayed and denied by their elitist masters, the Golds—and their only path to liberation is revolution. And so Darrow sacrifices himself in the name of the greater good for which Eo, his true love and inspiration, laid down her own life. He becomes a Gold, infiltrating their privileged realm so that he can destroy it from within.
A lamb among wolves in a cruel world, Darrow finds friendship, respect, and even love—but also the wrath of powerful rivals. To wage and win the war that will change humankind’s destiny, Darrow must confront the treachery arrayed against him, overcome his all-too-human desire for retribution—and strive not for violent revolt but a hopeful rebirth. Though the road ahead is fraught with danger and deceit, Darrow must choose to follow Eo’s principles of love and justice to free his people.
He must live for more.
Review:
Golden Son was somehow even more wild than Red Rising. I really didn’t think that was possible, but apparently it was. In this book, it’s two years after the end of Red Rising. Darrow has started working for the man that killed his wife. He’s been sent to the Academy which seems to me like a more relevant version of the Institute. I don’t want to get too much into the plot (and that will probably continue in my reviews for the rest of the series).
Darrow is such an interesting character. He’s born a Red but was carved into a Gold and thrown into their world. He’s still the boy that grew up in the mines, but he’s also now a man that has killed. He’s a Red that’s been turned into a leader. He isn’t with his loyal friends that he made during his time at the Institute at the start of the book, but they do eventually all come together. I didn’t love the start of the book because it felt like I’d missed a bunch of time because I had. There was more than a year of time that we just didn’t get to see. We do get a few memories of that time, but I was confused at first.
I didn’t really start loving this book until the crew got back together. I missed Darrow being with Mustang and Severo and all of the friends. Darrow is completely in his element when he has his friends. I liked that he was still thinking about how it would be hard to do what he was sent to do when that meant betraying the people that were loyal to him.
I really loved that we got to know more about the Sons of Ares. I didn’t like the first meeting with them in this book because who and what we saw wasn’t what the Sons of Ares were supposed to be about. So, when we see other members that we already know, it was exactly what I wanted it to be. I love the plot twists that involved the Sons of Ares because I totally didn’t see them coming. And the ending was absolutely devastating.
Overall, this book was just as violent and gory as the first book. It was excellent. I loved Darrow. I loved getting to see another planet in this universe. I liked the politics. This was a very political story and I really enjoyed that. I love all the characters and their relationships. I liked how thoughtful Darrow was about the things he was doing. I can’t wait to continue the series. I do want to say that I listened to the audiobook for this book and the narrator was incredible. I will absolutely be continuing the rest of the series on audio because I loved the narrator so much.

Keep on reading lovelies, Amanda.

Red Rising by Pierce Brown

GoodReads Summary:
Darrow is a Red, a member of the lowest caste in the color-coded society of the future. Like his fellow Reds, he works all day, believing that he and his people are making the surface of Mars livable for future generations.
Yet he spends his life willingly, knowing that his blood and sweat will one day result in a better world for his children.
But Darrow and his kind have been betrayed. Soon he discovers that humanity already reached the surface generations ago. Vast cities and sprawling parks spread across the planet. Darrow—and Reds like him—are nothing more than slaves to a decadent ruling class.
Inspired by a longing for justice, and driven by the memory of lost love, Darrow sacrifices everything to infiltrate the legendary Institute, a proving ground for the dominant Gold caste, where the next generation of humanity’s overlords struggle for power. He will be forced to compete for his life and the very future of civilization against the best and most brutal of Society’s ruling class. There, he will stop at nothing to bring down his enemies… even if it means he has to become one of them to do so.
Review:
Wow, I have been sleeping on this series. Someone gifted me the ebook and I put off reading it for so long. Now, I might be obsessed. I don’t own the rest of the series, but at the recommendation of a friend, I’m going to continue the series via audiobooks.
Darrow is a Red. This means that he is a part of the lowest color in his world. He works in the mines every day. He works hard thinking that he will someday help the other colors be able to live on the surface of Mars. But when his wife is hanged, he takes her down and buries her body, knowing that this will sentence him to death. But instead of dying, he wakes up among the Sons of Ares. The Sons of Ares is a rebellion that it working toward changing the color system. They show Darrow that the higher colors have terraformed the surface of Mars hundreds of years ago and there are even some Reds that live and work on the surface. He realizes that his people are nothing short of slaves, mining for the higher colors. The Sons of Ares give him the task of becoming a Gold and testing to get into the Institute, something they’ve tried and failed to do in the past.
This is where the story really gets interesting. I really enjoyed the start of the story, seeing how much Darrow loves his family and his wife, Eo. I also enjoyed the process of Darrow being made into a Gold. But when he passes the test and gets to the Institute, the story is almost non-stop action. I will say that this story was very graphic and gruesome, so if you don’t like that sort of thing, maybe skip this one. But I loved every second of it. It was a fascinating conversation about humanity. I think the tests they endure at the Institute were horrific and complex, but completely captivating.
Overall, I really liked this book. It was dark and gritty, but also occasionally hopeful. It’s a story about one kid being sent on a mission to change the way of the world. I hope we get to see Darrow get some support from the Sons of Ares now that he’s passed the Institute’s tests. I think the ending was perfect to leave the reader wanting more. I liked that Darrow made friends among the Golds even though it complicates his plans. I also really liked that Darrow actively thought about this. He couldn’t help but make friends, but it weighed on his heart that he was going to have to betray them eventually. I’m very excited to continue the series.

Keep on reading lovelies, Amanda.

The 100 by Kass Morgan

GoodReads Summary:
Ever since a devastating nuclear war, humanity has lived on spaceships far above Earth’s radioactive surface. Now, one hundred juvenile delinquents—considered expendable by society—are being sent on a dangerous mission: to recolonize the planet. It could be their second chance at life…or it could be a suicide mission.
CLARKE was arrested for treason, though she’s haunted by the memory of what she really did. WELLS, the chancellor’s son, came to Earth for the girl he loves—but will she ever forgive him? Reckless BELLAMY fought his way onto the transport pod to protect his sister, the other half of the only pair of siblings in the universe. And GLASS managed to escape back onto the ship, only to find that life there is just as dangerous as she feared it would be on Earth.
Confronted with a savage land and haunted by secrets from their pasts, the hundred must fight to survive. They were never meant to be heroes, but they may be mankind’s last hope.
Review:
I have to start this review with a little backstory. I have been wanting to read this series for quite a few years because I watch (read: am obsessed with) the tv show. The final season of the 100 tv show is starting and I thought I would try to catch up with the books before I finish the show. I might even rewatch the whole show after I read the whole book series. Okay, onto the book review.
The 100 follows 100 people that are under 18 and have been arrested. The space station they grew up on is running out of air, so the higher-ups need to figure out if Earth is livable again or not. We follow four different points of view and their stories. I really enjoyed the science fiction parts of this story. The concept of the human race destroying the Earth is not out of the realm of possibilities, and I’ve always been fascinated by space. I would love to travel in space and live there as well. I didn’t love the class issues that still lingered in space. This was something that was changed in the show, there were different stations, but none were better than another.
Clarke is the first point of view we see. We get her backstory as well as where she currently is. I really liked her. She’s smart and creative. She’s good in hard situations. I thought she was strong and well developed. I thought the backstory with her parents (which is different in the book from the show) was dark but somehow fascinating.
Wells is the chancellor’s son. He’s also Clarke’s ex-boyfriend and the reason that her parents died. I thought that Wells had the hardest journey. He purposefully committed a crime so that he would be sent to Earth alongside Clarke. Was that choice worth it? He’s made to be ‘other’ because he is the son of the chancellor. He’s familiar with leadership, but when he tries to share what he knows, he’s shunned. Wells is determined and continues trying to be helpful which I liked. I’m interested to see how his story compares to the show in the next book.
Bellamy is my favorite. I love him in the book and the show. I also totally ship him with Clarke. Bellamy did whatever he needed to get onto the ship that held his sister, the one going to Earth. His sister, that he doesn’t know as well as he thinks he does, that never should have been born. Bellamy isn’t afraid of making waves or pissing people off. But he quickly proves that he’s probably the most prepared to survive on Earth. I will love him forever.
Then there’s Glass. She’s not even in the show so I was interested right from the start. Glass was supposed to be one of the 100, but snuck off the ship through the air vents to see her boyfriend, Luke. I had a love/hate relationship with her story. Her history is not pretty. She’s a part of the wealthier station and Luke is not. So, when certain events happen, she says hateful things and breaks up with him to protect him. But once she sees him again, the truth starts to come out. I’m definitely interested to see where her story goes. There are more secrets to be spilled and I thought it was an interesting choice to keep one of the perspectives on the space station.
Overall, I definitely enjoyed this book. I’m very excited to continue the series and see what happens to these characters that I love dearly.

Keep on reading lovelies, Amanda.

Shatter City by Scott Westerfeld

GoodReads Summary:
When the world sees Frey, they think they see her twin sister Rafi. Frey was raised to be Rafi’s double, and now she’s taken on the role . . . without anyone else knowing.
Her goal? To destroy the forces that created her.
But with the world watching and a rebellion rising, Frey is forced into a detour. Suddenly she is stranded on her own in Paz, a city where many of the citizens attempt to regulate their emotions through an interface on their arms. Paz is an easy place to get lost . . . and also an easy place to lose yourself.
As the city comes under a catastrophic attack, Frey must leave the shadows and enter the chaos of warfare – because there is no other way for her to find her missing sister and have her revenge against her murderous father.
Review:
As I’ve mentioned with literally all the other books that take place in this world, this book was full of action and excitement. We’re still following Frey like we were in the first book, but when the story starts, she’s back to pretending to be her sister. This was one of the things I didn’t like about this book. There were so many instances where the twins had to or chose to pretend to be the other. I honestly felt bad for Frey because she just wanted to be herself, for once, but so many things were preventing that. I just wanted her to be herself like she wished so badly. Despite not liking this aspect, I still liked Frey. She was strong and determined. She made choices that maybe weren’t always the right ones, but she made them with her head and her heart.
We get to see so much more of the world in Shatter City as the characters travel all over. I liked seeing the familiar places, like Diego, as much as I liked getting to discover new ones. Along with seeing the world, the plot was complex and interesting. There were so many different storylines being brought together. Some were resolved in this book, which I liked, and some left for the next one.
Overall, I didn’t enjoy this as much as the first book but I still liked it. It was an exciting story with characters that I cared about. I’m eagerly awaiting book threes release. Also, I just have to add that I swear to god if we don’t get to see Tally in this series I’m going to be so mad.

Keep on reading lovelies, Amanda.

Impostors by Scott Westerfeld

GoodReads Summary:
Frey and Rafi are inseparable . . . two edges of the same knife. But Frey’s very existence is a secret.
Frey is Rafi’s twin sister-and her body double. Their powerful father has many enemies, and the world has grown dangerous as the old order falls apart. So while Rafi was raised to be the perfect daughter, Frey has been taught to kill. Her only purpose is to protect her sister, to sacrifice herself for Rafi if she must.
When her father sends Frey in Rafi’s place as collateral in a precarious deal, she becomes the perfect impostor-as poised and charming as her sister. But Col, the son of a rival leader, is getting close enough to spot the killer inside her. As the deal starts to crumble, Frey must decide if she can trust him with the truth . . . and if she can risk becoming her own person.
With Impostors, master storyteller Scott Westerfeld returns with a new series set in the world of his mega-bestselling Uglies.
Review:
I have been waiting to read this book until I managed to reread the entire Uglies series and I’m so glad I did. Impostors takes place around fifteen years after the end of Specials. Like with Extras, I really enjoyed getting to see the aftermath of Tally’s actions and to see how the world was changed by her revolution. I also really enjoyed getting to see a different part of this world that I’ve loved for so many years. This was such a different book from Extras and I really enjoyed that.
We follow Fray as she’s sent to a neighboring city as a hostage. She’s the extra daughter. The body double for her twin sister, Rafia. The world doesn’t even know she exists. I thought she was such a complicated and interesting character. Her struggle of loving her sister but hating her father was so interesting. I loved her strength and how out of place she felt. It was fascinating to see her in a situation she wasn’t comfortable in (pretending to be Rafia full time) but then becoming herself again (after her father does some terrible things) and showing who she really is. I liked that it didn’t take very long for her to share her secret because I hate the secret keeping trope. I loved the sister relationship because I’m a sucker for siblings in books, but I have a bad feeling about Rafia for some reason.
Then there’s Col. I totally liked him from the start. I thought he was interesting despite his “boring” reputation. He loves his family and his people. He’s a natural leader and just a really good friend. I’m so excited and anxious about how this book ended with Fray and Col so I’ve borrowed book two from the library while I wait for the paperback edition to be published (to match the rest of the series).
Overall, like most of Westerfeld’s books, this was full of action and adventure. It was a fast-paced story and I couldn’t wait to find out what was going to happen next. I’ve quickly become so invested in these characters and their storylines. I cannot wait to continue the series.

Keep on reading lovelies, Amanda.

Extras by Scott Westerfeld

GoodReads Summary:
A few years after rebel Tally Youngblood takes down the Specials regime, a cultural renaissance sweeps the world. “Tech-heads” flaunt their latest gadgets, “kickers” spread gossip and trends, and “surge monkeys” are hooked on extreme plastic surgery. Popularity rules, and everyone craves fame.
Fifteen-year-old Aya Fuse is no exception. But Aya’s face rank is so low, she’s a total nobody. An extra. Her only chance at stardom is to kick a wild and unexpected story.
Then she stumbles upon a big secret. Aya knows she is on the cusp of celebrity. But the information she is about to disclose will change both her fate…and that of the brave new world.
Review:
Part of me remembers not liking this book the first time I read it. I think that’s because I really loved the first three books so much that getting a fourth book that takes place in a different city with totally different characters (for the first half) was annoying to me. But rereading it years later, I actually really enjoyed it.
Extras takes place about three years after the ending of Specials. So the world is working on figuring out how to continue, but it’s been enough time to see what Aya’s city has become. There’s nothing but freedom. So, everyone looks different based on what interests them. I thought that this book taking place in a different city was wonderful. We got to see a different part of the world we knew and how it’s changed since the “mind rain.” I thought this book was really interesting in the sense that it says a lot about social media (in a form different from what we know today) and people’s desire to chase fame.
We follow Aya who is fifteen and just wants a story big enough to boost her ranking. I liked Aya, though she could be a little annoying at times with her fierce desire to be well known. Despite that, she really learned a lot about herself and grew as the book went on, which I appreciated. I liked that her brother was a big part of the story because I’m always here for good sibling relationships.
Like the other books in this series, the story was fast-paced and full of action. I also really like the suspense and mystery of what the characters were trying to uncover. It was a compelling plot.
Overall, I enjoyed this book and I’m very excited to continue in this world with the Imposters series, which I believe is set in the same world.

Keep on reading lovelies, Amanda.

Specials by Scott Westerfeld

GoodReads Summary:
Tally thought they were a rumor, but now she’s one of them. A Special. A super-amped fighting machine, engineered to keep the uglies down and the pretties stupid.
But maybe being perfectly programmed with strength and focus isn’t better than anything she’s ever known. Tally still has memories of something else.
Still, it’s easy to tune that out—until she’s offered a chance to stamp out the rebels of the New Smoke permanently. It all comes down to one last choice: listen to that tiny, faint heartbeat, or carry out the mission she’s programmed to complete. Either way, Tally’s world will never be the same.
Review:
My issues with this book are pretty much the same as they were with the previous book. I didn’t like the group of “new” specials that Shay created. They centered around self-harm, specifically cutting, and I really didn’t like that. I did like how Tally stood up and stopped cutting because she knew it wasn’t right, despite that sometimes it made her feel good.
Tally kind of annoyed me in this book, but it wasn’t really her fault. It was more than at the beginning of each book Tally was having to go through everything she’d just succeeded in the previous book. It was a little repetitive and just annoying. All her progress was lost at the end of each book and she had to go through it all over again. Despite this, I still liked Tally. She’s been through some shit at this point. I loved her and Zane together and was sad that we didn’t really get that in this book (I’m also just mad in general about Zane’s storyline).
I did really like how Shay and Tally we’re together again in Specials. They didn’t really have a very healthy relationship because of their past betrayals. I liked how their relationship was left. I think their forgiving one another and reconciliation was satisfying.
Overall, like the first two books, Specials was action-packed, fast-paced, and exciting. I know the fourth book doesn’t really follow the same characters but I’m still excited to see what’s going on in this world next. I really liked getting to see more of the world and the other cities in it. I thought it was interesting how things were all brought together from Tally’s various adventures. I also remember being really mad about the ending of this book when I read it the first time years ago, but I actually kind of liked it. I think it was a fitting end to who Tally has shown herself to be. I also appreciated that the romance between her and David wasn’t just immediately resumed. I’m going to stop now so I can read Extras.

Keep on reading lovelies, Amanda.